Resa Blatman

Blaze

Oil, acrylic, colored pencil on mylar

"My projects consist of drawings, installations, and paintings, showcasing the undulations and movement of paint, and three-dimensional forms derived from nature. My observations of the climate crisis, and its effect on — and transformation of — our landscape and natural resources are reflected visually through drawings that feature dying coral reefs on dark backgrounds or abandoned “ghost nets” ethereally drifting through ocean waters.

The installations are cut, layered, painted, and constructed into swirling three-dimensional waterscapes or universes that include sparkle from tiny glass crystals and signify the hope that light can provide. The paintings call attention to cold-weather animals trying to survive in hot, swampy environments; birds, who are often stand-ins for humanity, are held captive by the sea with no solid place to land, and walls of ocean water swallowing the landscape.

All of these projects speak to the paradox of a slow, unfolding tragedy mixed with an underlying allure — it’s a vision of an Earthly dystopia combined with the beautiful because beauty and regeneration reside even in the darkest expressions of humanity and nature."

– Resa Blatman

About the artist

Resa Blatman

Resa Blatman is a Massachusetts-based visual artist who works with varying media including large-sized, wall-mounted art installations, mixed-media paintings, and drawings. Her primary studio practice consists of commissions and public art projects that speak to her reverence for nature. She currently has several works at the Peabody Essex Museum’s exhibition “Bats!” in Salem, Massachusetts, open through July 2024. Resa has permanent, public art installations at several locations, including Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Mass; the City of Hope Lennar Foundation Cancer Center, California; Denver Health, Colorado; Texas A&M University, Texas; Somerville Hospital, Somerville, Mass.

Her paintings are in collections at the Museum of Arts and Sciences, Macon, Georgia; Noble and Greenough School, Dedham, Mass; Dana Hall School, Wellesley, Mass; Twitter; Fidelity; Hilton Hotel; The WH Ming Hotel, Shanghai, China; and within the UAE and Europe. She exhibits her work at universities and art institutions throughout the U.S., and her work has been reviewed in publications including The Boston Globe, Ecoconsciousness, Boston Society of Architects, Art New England, SupersonicArt, Booooooom, among others. She received her MFA from Boston University and her BFA from the Massachusetts College of Art + Design. Resa is currently an artist-in-residence at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her work is represented by Childs Gallery, Boston.