Irene Podgornik Badia is an Italo-Catalan printmaker and beekeeper, who graduated at the Academy of Fine Arts of Urbino, Italy. She has worked at the “Art Print Residence” of Arenys de Munt, Catalunya, Spain, where she has deepened her experience in etching and printmaking. Her commitment to printmaking led her to the involvement with the Edinburgh Printmakers and the East London Printmakers.
In Irene’s work, Nature is both a subject to represent and a tool to express herself. Bees are pivotal for the ecosystem we all share and the artist focuses on the beauty of this equilibrium. Bees, plants, barks, water, air and earth interpenetrate each other telling their stories as well as the artist’s story. Maps of beloved places are used to describe the landscape of her soul, a land where roots and barks can look like streams whose source and direction are still unknown. In Irene’s works it is possible to smell wet soil, touch the rough bark of a tree and see the flight of bees.
“Nulla die sine linea”: no day without a line. Etching is a statement, the line is an expedient to question life and a possible first step towards the answers.