By Natasha Dalziel

Whether she is painting in the art studio, doodling in her sketchbook, or working with the Boston Fine Arts club, Zoe Vittori-Koch ’24 is consistently engaged in creative spaces. For February’s Artist of the Issue, The Banner sat down with Zoe to discuss all things art.

How did your interest in art begin?

I grew up in a community of artists and creative people, so art is something that I’ve always been surrounded by in some way. However, I only started getting more interested in art towards the end of middle school. My friends and family members were excited to share and discuss art with me, and I then started to become a lot more engaged with my own artwork. Going into high school, I liked both photography [as well as] painting and drawing. Ultimately, I decided to focus on painting and drawing at Winsor after I took Ms. Macaulay’s Introduction to Painting class. 

Tell us about your AP portfolio. 

My AP portfolio focuses on my Nona’s [ grandmother’s] dementia. The portfolio shows the progression of my Nona’s dementia and has mixed media pieces as well as painted portraits. In the mixed media pieces, all of the different elements are very intentional and based on what I observed as my Nona’s dementia progressed. It’s been really cool to incorporate things like documents from her office and pages from her books because it has added a very personal aspect to these works. The portfolio is obviously a very personal project for me, and, as much as I am creating it to submit a body of work, I am also using this experience as an opportunity to reflect on my Nona and her mind. 

From where/whom do you take artistic inspiration?

From everywhere! I love taking pictures of random things that I find when I’m walking around. But I also do intentionally look at actual art, whether that be at museums, in books, or online. My mom also used to work in museums and galleries, so she is a great resource to discuss art with. For the portfolio, it’s been very helpful to make a Pinterest board with inspiration pictures that I can come back to when I’m figuring out different styles and techniques that I may want to incorporate into my pieces. 

To you, why is art important?

Art is so important in my mind because there are so many different aspects of it that we can value. One can appreciate creating art, looking at art, teaching art, or sharing art. Art has been used to make extremely powerful statements, and it has also been used as a simple tool for expression. Art is so cool because every artist gets to really make their own rules for how they want to create. 

Vittori-Koch’s deep emotional reflection and playful creativity is certainly reflected in her art, which is captivating to both admire and discuss. The Banner looks forward to seeing her continue to create!

Responses edited for clarity and brevity.

Pictured above is a piece from Vittori-Koch’s AP Art Portfolio