Artist Statement- Justin Relkin
My work is rooted in my experience as a nurse, where I often find myself guiding people through moments that exist at the threshold between life and death. In these spaces, certainty dissolves and what remains is presence, compassion and the quiet act of witnessing. These encounters, when life slowly loosens its grip and death begin are deeply human moments that require patience, humility, and a willingness to sit with the unknown.
In nursing, the role is not always to intervene, but sometimes simply to accompany. At the end of life, care becomes less about fixing and more about holding space, helping patients and families move through fear, grief and acceptance. This experience has profoundly shaped how I approach my art practice.
In the studio, I approach materials much like I approach these transitional moments in care, with attentiveness and openness. I begin without a fixed outcome, allowing the work to evolve through layers and gestures causing forms to emerge, dissolve, and reappear, echoing the fragile boundary between presence and absence. The process becomes a negotiation between control and surrender, much like the emotional landscape of palliative care.
My work is not meant to illustrate death directly, but to explore the space surrounding it such as the uncertainty, stillness, and transformation that accompany profound change. The studio becomes a place where I can process and translate these experiences into visual language. Through texture, mark-making, and abstraction I attempt to capture the tension between holding on and letting go.
Ultimately, my practice reflects the act of guiding, both in nursing and in art. Just as I accompany patients and families through unfamiliar territory, my work invites viewers to enter spaces where clarity is elusive and meaning must be felt rather that explained. In this way, art becomes another form of care- a quiet navigation through the unknown.

Artist Bio- Justin Relkin (b.1979)
Justin Relkin is an emerging artist based in Huntsville, Alabama and a BFA candidate at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. A Largely self-taught artist, Relkin has used art for most of his life as a therapeutic outlet, an ongoing practice that helps him navigate the complexities of mental health, emotional intensity, and reflection.
Before formally pursuing an art degree, Relkin built a career in public service. He worked as a firefighter before transitioning into nursing, a profession he continues today. These experiences working in environments defined by urgency, care, resilience, and human vulnerability inform the emotional undercurrents of his artistic practice.
Relkin’s work often emerges from personal reflection and lived experience, using art as a way to process emotion and translate them into visual form. His transition into formal academic fine art has allowed him to deepen this exploration while expanding his technical and conceptual approaches. Since entering the BFA program at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, he has exhibited in student exhibitions and presented his work among peers within the art community and social media.
Balancing healthcare work with studio practice, Relkin continues to develop a body of work that reflects both introspection and the lived experience, exploring how creativity can function as both expression and healing.