photo credit Heather Canterbury
ARIZONA ARTIST NOMINEE
Daniella Napolitano
Daniella Napolitano’s work is based on her detailed observations of animals and plants in her urban environments. Napolitano explores the complicated relationships between humans and the natural world in these settings and shares the information in what she calls a “popular”rather than “scientific” form. Her visual narratives incorporate factual drawings but with a whimsical, witty approach to animal and human behavior. Her early pieces, before moving to Phoenix for graduate school, are image-based experiments with book formats. Her more recent works combine her own text with her printed drawings and this information is often gathered using a conceptual, organizing framework. Her books and zines are beautifully drawn, designed, dyed, printed and bound, taking different formats and folds. She utilizes the aesthetic qualities of intaglio and relief printing and the intimacy of the book to capture factual representations as well as express personal and emotional responses to the natural.
Daniella Napolitano speaks at WOMEN TO WATCH 2027 MEET THE ARTISTS EVENT January 21, 2026 | Phoenix Art Museum
Three books titled "A Beginner's Guide to Phoenix" focusing on plants, birds, and mammals, with illustrations of a cactus, a bird, and a wolf on the covers.
A small booklet titled "A Beginner's Guide to Phoenix Birds" with illustrations of two different bird playing a game of card, featuring humorous names and descriptions.
A 3D wooden puzzle of an open book with illustrated pages, and a separate card showing a cactus illustration labeled "Emoji Cactus" with a note to see Arizona State Flower.
A foldable card game featuring illustrations of animals such as a wolf and a raccoon. One card is lying on a flat surface showing a wolf and raccoon with humorous text.
Open book with a page containing a message about plants of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area and a list of plant names. The message is signed by D.A.N. from Fall 2019.
A row of small booklets or pamphlets in various shades of blue, gray, and white arranged on a white floating shelf against a plain white wall, with shadows cast on the wall below.
A series of pages from a book displayed upright and overlapping each other, with the text visible on some pages, in a staggered arrangement over a white surface.
Gallery display of 16 rectangular prints with bird illustrations, arranged in a row on a white shelf against white wall.
Multiple layers of translucent blue papers or screens with a world map and a desk lamp on each, arranged in a cascading manner.
A folded, pastel-colored paper with text and illustrations, presenting a poetic or literary content.
A foldable paper seminar or project display on a white stand, on a wooden table, with two circular, semi-transparent colored overlays on either side, one light gray and one pink.
Circular zodiac chart with astrological symbols and names, with two transparent rulers crossing in the center.
A white booklet titled "40 WINKS" with a small eye symbol and the subtitle "a quaranzine" on the cover, standing upright on a gray surface with a plain gray background.
Open sketchbook with handwritten note about forty winks and a black and white drawing of a woman's face winking.
A black and white hand-drawn illustration of a cozy living room, featuring a bookshelf, a window with a view of trees and mountains, an armchair, a lamp, and a sliding glass door showing an airplane flying past mountains.
Open notebook with tips for working from home, including making a to-do list and taking a nap.
Drawing of two people sitting and looking at their smartphones, one person wearing glasses, and the other with long hair.
A three-pane accordion with hand-drawn illustrations of animals and plants, featuring birds, butterflies, lizards, a caterpillar, wolves, and wildflowers in black and white.
An opened 3D pop-up book with detailed black and white illustrations of raccoons and a smaller animal, possibly a fox, at the bottom, with a grey background.
A pop-up greeting card featuring an illustrated floral design with pink, green, and black colors, displaying layered gatefold sections with botanical patterns.