Artist Biography

Marilee Salvator is an interdisciplinary artist whose work explores ecological systems, growth, accumulation, and interdependence through printmaking, sculpture, and installation. Drawing on ecofeminist perspectives, she investigates the relationships between natural processes, resilience, vulnerability, and the often-overlooked connections that shape our environment. Her work frequently incorporates natural and organic materials, including plant matter, seed pods, branches, and kombucha SCOBY pellicles, emphasizing cycles of growth, transformation, and decay.

Salvator earned a BFA in Printmaking from Illinois State University and an MFA in Printmaking from the University of New Mexico. Her work has been exhibited in over 160 group exhibitions throughout China, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, North America, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Scotland, Serbia, and South Korea, as well as in 35 solo exhibitions across North America.

Her artwork is included in 35 public collections, including the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, MD, the Musculoskeletal Institute at Emory Healthcare in Brookhaven, GA, JCI University in Jingdezhen, China, and the Sakima Art Museum in Okinawa, Japan. Salvator has also lectured and served as a visiting artist at numerous universities and art centers throughout North America.

Her practice has been enriched through residencies at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts; Atelier Silex in Trois-Rivières, Quebec; Bernheim Forest in Clermont, KY; RAIR Foundation’s Historic Berrendo Studios in Roswell, NM; Remarque Print Workshop in Albuquerque, NM; the Sanbao Ceramic Institute in Jingdezhen, China; and WOWArtSci in Taos, NM. She has received grants from organizations including the Great Meadows Foundation, the Kentucky Foundation for Women, and South Arts.

She currently lives in Bowling Green, Kentucky, where she serves as Full Professor of Art at Western Kentucky University and shares her home with her two canine art critics, Petunia and Juniper.

Artist Statement

I am fascinated by the natural world, spending countless hours exploring, collecting, and examining details that others might overlook. My practice moves between printmaking, sculpture, and installation, often taking the form of large-scale suspended environments, intricate organic structures, and layered prints inspired by microscopic life and natural systems. I combine traditional printmaking processes with unconventional materials, including handmade papers, kombucha SCOBY pellicles, invasive vines, and snake sheds.

Ecofeminist thinking informs my practice, particularly the connections between the exploitation of nature and the marginalization of women and other communities. I am drawn to the ways people attempt to manage and control nature, often disrupting the very systems they seek to protect. Ideas of vulnerability and resilience, along with visibility and invisibility, influence how I approach these relationships.

Collaboration plays an important role in my practice. I work with scientists, artists, living organisms, and natural processes. These collaborations introduce unfamiliar techniques, information, and processes that influence how I develop my work.

My collaborations with scientists Dr. Thomas Trott and Dr. Matthew Dick introduced me to the invasive marine bryozoan Cribrilina mutabilis. These tiny organisms form colonies of individual zooids that depend on one another for survival. Their modular structure reminded me of my printmaking practice, where individual elements accumulate to create larger compositions. Using scientific imagery from their research, I digitally deconstruct and reconstruct these organisms into imagined hybrid forms. I translate these images into laser-engraved matrices that I print by hand. Working with these organisms has influenced how I think about natural systems, individual and collective identity, and our attempts to manipulate the environment.

I also approach natural materials as collaborators. I make homemade walnut stains and leave thin kozo papers outdoors, allowing sunlight, evaporation, and weather to create unpredictable patterns. I cultivate kombucha SCOBY pellicles in my studio, observing and responding to the shapes, textures, and surfaces that develop as they grow. Snakes shedding their skins provide another unexpected material for experimentation. Growing, collecting, and transforming these materials has become an integral part of my practice. These processes require patience, observation, and a willingness to let the materials influence the outcome.

Collaboration continues throughout the installation process. Rather than recreating fixed arrangements, I respond to the architecture, lighting, and physical characteristics of each exhibition space. I often work with curators and installation teams to determine how individual elements relate to one another and interact with the surrounding environment. Their knowledge, ideas, and creative problem-solving contribute to the final installation.

Intuition remains central to my practice. I often begin with a material, an experiment, or a question without knowing what the final work will look like. I follow the materials, make adjustments, and allow the work to develop through experimentation, repetition, and accumulation.

 -Marilee Salvator

Please email Marilee for all inquires about her artist practice @
marileesalvatorstudio@gmail.com

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