Claudia Cappelle
Claudia Cappelle was born in Chicago. She studied at the American Academy of Art and earned a B.S. in Medical Illustration from the University of Illinois. After moving to the Washington, D.C. area in 1983, she continued painting at the Art League in Alexandria and the Corcoran School of Art. In 2024, she received her MFA in Studio Arts from Towson University. Her residencies include the Fields Project in Oregon, Illinois (2012) and the Creative Alliance in Baltimore (2019–2021). Cappelle’s work has been exhibited across the D.C. metro area and Virginia, as well as in the PNC Headquarters Collection in Pittsburgh and the U.S. Department of State’s Art in Embassies program in Bahrain. Her practice continues to evolve, exploring spiritual concerns, and the tension between permanence and impermanence in nature.
Artist Statement
My work explores the connection between nature and spirituality through the lens of Buddhist teachings that embrace impermanence, imperfection, and the passage of time. Inspired by daily walks, I collect nature’s debris—fallen leaves, weathered branches, and fragments—and use them as tools formark-making on long sheets of silk or paper. This co-creative process with nature has shifted my focus from perfection to a process that honors life’s quiet rhythms of aging, change, decay, and renewal. I invite viewers to slow down, notice the overlooked, and find beauty and meaning in the imperfect.
Sacred Garden
Claudia Cappelle, “Sacred Garden”, 2022
Materials: Jacquard dyes on silk
This piece speaks to spirituality through its ethereal atmosphere. The organic shapes are in constant transformation yet interconnected. The floating black shapes anchor the composition and create a reverence or place of contemplation.