Terri Yacovelli
York, PA
Creating abstract encaustic works that invite deeper reflection through color.
Message
Terri Yacovelli is a contemporary visual artist whose work explores inner landscapes through abstraction, color, and intuitive mark-making. With a background in painting and education, her practice blends formal inquiry with expressive experimentation, using encaustic and mixed media to create layered, atmospheric works. Yacovelli’s artwork has been featured in solo exhibitions at notable venues such as the Crary Art Museum, (PA) The Gorelick Gallery at Central Piedmont College (NC) and the Rehoboth Art League’s Ventures Gallery (DE). She has participated in curated group exhibitions at institutions including the Susquehanna Art Museum (Harrisburg, PA), Anonymous Society Gallery (Redding, CT), The Carroll County Arts Council (Westminster, MD) and Gallery 40 (Poughkeepsie, NY). Her work has also appeared in juried exhibitions organized by the Inter-Society Color Council, the American Women Artists Association, and the International Encaustic Artists. Her art has been featured in publications such as Clover & Bee Magazine, Canvas Rebel, and Wax Fusion Magazine. In addition to her studio practice, she is a certified R&F encaustic instructor. Through artist talks, community workshops and mentorship, she continues to foster dialogue around artmaking as a healing and transformative practice.
Statement
In an era shaped by acceleration and distraction, my art calls for stillness and interior attention. My work maps internal and perceptual states through abstraction. I explore how we navigate physical presence and inner perception, examining the human impulse to make meaning in an uncertain world. The work invites viewers to engage with an inner landscape shaped by memory and observation.
Color functions as a psychological force—carrying emotion, resonance, and association. Hues operate as shifting states that register differently depending on individual reference and context. The paintings encourage a slowed, attentive mode of looking, where awareness deepens and meaning remains open.
Guided by intuition and mark-making, I build layered surfaces that hold both luminosity and restraint. Architectural elements—ladders, doors, and passages—appear as recurring structures, suggesting movement, transition, and pause. Lines are obscured, broken, and reconnected, reflecting paths shaped by both intention and chance. These suspended spaces echo internal states as well as broader patterns of navigation and change, holding tension between control and surrender. The work opens a shared space, guiding us to consider movement through perception, memory, and lived experience, rather than arrival.