John Joseph Costello ’19
Artist Statement
I draw and print to encourage myself to focus and to capture the awe-dread in our world. I can sit in the power I am trying to create, whether pride, courage or fear. For this, I find printing to be ideal. Working though stages of material preparation, drawing, carving, and then finally printing results in every chance to dwell in the feeling of what I want my prints to evoke. It is time consuming. Historically, it has been accomplished through a division of skilled labor, inside the studio and out, so choosing to work with printmaking as a sole artist gives me frequent humility, as well as humor and joy. It invites the question of what else around us is the result of creativity we do not think about, but live alongside.
Bio
John Joseph Costello is a creative printmaker from Plymouth, MA who currently lives and works in Portland, Maine. He graduated from Maine College of Art and Design in 2019 with a BFA in printmaking. He now makes his work at Peregrine Press on Pleasant Street.