Irenka Pareto is an emerging printmaker exploring the infinite possibilities of relief printmaking. Born in Barcelona (Spain), Irenka moved to the US in 2006 to complete her PhD in Education. Irenka’s path to printmaking started in 2019 through self-study and practice. In 2021, she opened her printmaking studio, The Wonderstruck Printmaker, and became a full-time artist. Since then, while continuing to learn and explore the medium, she has shown her work in exhibitions, taught relief printmaking, and shared printmaking processes online. Her work can be found at www.thewonderstruckprintmaker.com

Irenka’s work focuses on ordinary life’s beauty as an act of resistance to inattentiveness and dehumanization. This is especially important today, a time dominated by rising fascism, isolating capitalism, and fear for the planet’s future. Irenka’s work is grounded in the idea that what we pay attention to (and what we ignore) can have a fundamental impact on what we think is possible. The choice of relief printmaking is not accidental: This slow craft acts as a way to reclaim human attention against today’s social and digital push for distraction. A reminder to notice and to document what’s worth protecting.