Tori Karpenko
Where Water Becomes Sky
Traver Gallery is pleased to present Where Water Becomes Sky, Tori Karpenko’s inaugural exhibition in our new Ship Canal location. Expanding his exploration of landscape, Karpenko pushes further into abstraction with a series of acrylic paintings on panel, sculptures, and his latest venture—reverse painting on glass. By layering and carving into multiple surfaces, he dissects color, shape, and depth, echoing the shifting refractions of light on water. The result is a dynamic interplay of transparency and form, where each piece reveals new visual possibilities.
Karpenko says of his work, “We are blessed in the Pacific Northwest with an abundance of high mountain lakes, crystalline in their purity. The surface of these reservoirs is one of nature’s most dynamically beautiful canvases and an intriguing challenge to paint.
“Constantly shifting with the wind, sun, and clouds, I have spent much time immersed in the alchemy of reflections dancing on alpine lakes. When perfectly still, the water mirrors its surroundings, with only subtle color shifts altered by depth. When it moves, even slightly, the image dissolves into abstraction—shapes stretch, break apart, and reform in endless variation.
“At the water’s surface, the reflection loosens and reveals a portal to another world. Whereas the sky constantly changes above, the depths below hold remnants of time—mountain artifacts resting undisturbed for centuries. This meeting of fleeting movement and grounded stillness is the magic of where water becomes sky.”
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About
Tori Karpenko - view profile
Tori Karpenko is a father and community builder who works in service of place-based healing and environmental stewardship. He graduated cum laude from art school in Iowa and studied painting in Florence, Italy. In 2001 he moved to the Methow Valley, where he continues to contribute to his community as a place-maker, teacher and ambassador for the arts. In 2015 he was awarded a GAP grant from Artist Trust in support of his first solo show at Traver Gallery, followed by an invitation to participate in his first museum exhibit, “The Wild Nearby” at the Burke Museum in 2016. In 2020 he received a fellowship from the McMillan Foundation, which allowed him to expand his practice to include larger sculptures and public art installations. In 2024, he was invited to install a public project at the Seattle Art Fair. For this project he transformed a 22’ tall fire salvaged western red cedar into a sculpture that reconciles with our collective losses while maintaining a delicate thread of hope for salvaging what we have left.
Karpenko continues to contribute to his community of fellow artists across the state through volunteer commitments like serving as a regional ambassador for Artist Trust and as a founding Board Member for Wheelhouse, a statewide trade association supporting the creative economy. For the last fourteen years he has worked as the Director of Campus Operations at TwispWorks, a rural economic revitalization project that has re-purposed a 6.4 former USFS complex into a hub for creative enterprise and community gathering space. In 2025, he is revisiting reverse painting on glass in his fifth solo show at Traver Gallery.