As part of Delbarton’s annual AP Art Exhibit, we continue our AP Artist Spotlight series highlighting the creativity and vision of our senior artists. This week, we feature Ted Grippo ’26, whose Sustained Investigation explores the relationship between growth and decay and the ways these forces depend on one another.

Ted's interest in art began at a young age, painting small canvases with whatever acrylics he could find. Still, when it came time to take Studio Art during his junior year, he initially questioned whether it was the right fit.

“I almost avoided Studio Art my junior year as I feared I would not be good enough, but while art always felt mysterious and unattainable, I was nonetheless drawn to it,” he said. “Once I committed, I found art to be a lasting outlet for reflection, expression, and curiosity.”

Alongside his interest in art, Ted has always been fascinated by biology and the cycles found throughout the natural world. This interest in continuity and transformation became the foundation for his Sustained Investigation, which asks: How can visual art capture the relationship and interdependence between growth and decay?

He began by depicting symbols of permanence, including tombstones and buildings, within environments where nature had begun to reclaim them. As his portfolio developed, Ted created stronger contrasts between organic and constructed matter, using selective color against grayscale, layered textures, and detailed brushwork to illustrate gradual change.

Inspired by Impressionist artists such as Claude Monet, Ted’s work ranges from close-up imagery and still lifes to cosmic compositions that consider growth and decay on a much larger scale.

“So far, my portfolio ranges from up-close imagery and still lifes to cosmic compositions that reference the scale of time itself, reinforcing the idea that decay is not an end but a condition for renewal,” he said.

Ultimately, Ted hopes his work encourages viewers to reconsider the relationship between these seemingly opposing forces.

“I hope viewers question whether growth and decay are truly opposites, or whether they exist as inseparable forces: each giving meaning to the other,” he said.

We thank Ted for sharing his artistic journey and perspective, and we look forward to the next AP Artist Spotlight as we wrap up this year's series.