Celia Reisman’s dense compositional paintings of architectural structures in unison with natural
forms provide a surprising use of color and space. She develops each painting over time, altering
and adjusting the relationships within to find the right harmony. Each painting is an homage to
the location that inspired the work. Using memory and invention, the kernel of the site becomes
the primary force to play with the geometry and proportions within each work. Magic Realism,
where reality intertwines with fantasy, becomes a motivating factor along with abstraction in
pursuit of an honest interpretation of the everyday world she sees.
Celia lives and works in Merion, Pennsylvania and Strafford, Vermont. She is represented in
Philadelphia by Gross McCleaf Gallery and Paul Thiebaud Gallery in San Francisco. She has a
BFA from Carnegie-Mellon University and an MFA from Yale University. She
was awarded a Hassam, Speicher, Betts, and Symons Purchase Prize through the American
Academy of Arts and Letters Invitational Exhibition and given a Survey Exhibition at the
Michener Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. She has been a Visiting Critic and taught at
numerous Art Departments in the Northeast.