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Selected Works

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Amaryllis Window 36” x 36” Oil On Canvas

Amaryllis Window 

36” x 36”

Oil On Canvas

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Beaver Meadow - Road 18” x 24” Oil On Linen

Beaver Meadow - Road

18” x 24”

Oil On Linen

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Building Blocks  20" x 16"  Oil On Canvas

Building Blocks (SOLD)

20" x 16"

Oil On Canvas

 

 

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Celia Reisman, Corner Confetti, oil on canvas, 26 x 34 inches

Corner Confetti

26" x 34"

Oil On Canvas
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Cricket Color 22” x 28” Oil On Canvas

Cricket Color

22” x 28”

Oil On Canvas

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Diagonal Narberth  24" x 30"  Oil On Canvas

Diagonal Narberth

24" x 30"

Oil On Canvas

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Diagonal Narberth Color Study  12" x 19"  Gouache And Graphite On Paper

Diagonal Narberth Color Study

12" x 19"

Gouache And Graphite On Paper

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Celia Reisman, Gray Day, oil on canvas, 11 x 14 inches

Gray Day

11" x 14"

Oil On Canvas 

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Green - Barn 8” x 10” Oil On Linen Panel

Green - Barn

10" x 8"

Oil On Linen Panel

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Green - Corn 8” x 10” Oil On Silk Panel

Green - Corn

8” x 10”

Oil On Silk Panel

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Green - Farm 8” x 10” Oil On Linen Panel

Green - Farm

8” x 10”

Oil On Linen Panel

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Green - Four Trees 8” x 10” Oil On Silk Panel

Green - Four Trees

8” x 10”

Oil On Silk Panel

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Green - Gardens 11” x 14” Oil On Silk Panel

Green - Gardens

11” x 14”

Oil On Silk Panel

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Green Window - Northampton 14” x 11” Oil On Canvas

Green Window - Northampton

14” x 11”

Oil On Canvas

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Celia Reisman, Halfway Hartford, oil on canvas, 24 x 32 inches

Halfway Hartford

24" x 32"

Oil On Canvas 

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Norwich Night (SOLD) 16” x 20” Oil On Linen

Norwich Night (SOLD)

16” x 20”

Oil On Linen

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Pine Street Lebanon 28” x 42” Oil On Canvas

Pine Street Lebanon 

28” x 42”

Oil On Canvas

 

 
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Celia Reisman, S Roy Street, oil on canvas, 11 x 14 inches

S Roy Street

11" x 14"

Oil On Canvas 

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Celia Reisman, S Tree, oil on canvas, 20 x 16 inches

S Tree

20" x 16"

Oil On Canvas

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Celia Reisman, Surprise Night, oil on canvas, 20 x 20 inches

Surprise Night

20" x 20"

Oil On Canvas

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Celia Reisman, Umbrella, oil on canvas, 20 x 16 inches

Umbrella

20" x 16"

Oil On Canvas 

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Uphill I  9” x 12”  Oil On Canvas

Uphill I

9” x 12”

Oil On Canvas

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Celia Reisman, Winter Water Street, oil on canvas, 36 x 48 inches

Water Street Winter (HOLD)

36" x 48"

Oil On Canvas  

 

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Yard Stuff Revised  24" x 22"  Oil On Canvas

Yard Stuff Revised

24" x 22"

Oil On Canvas

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Yellow Portland 24” x 30” Oil On Canvas

Yellow Portland 

24” x 30”

Oil On Canvas

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Amaryllis Window 36” x 36” Oil On Canvas

Amaryllis Window 

36” x 36”

Oil On Canvas

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Beaver Meadow - Road 18” x 24” Oil On Linen

Beaver Meadow - Road

18” x 24”

Oil On Linen

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Building Blocks  20" x 16"  Oil On Canvas

Building Blocks (SOLD)

20" x 16"

Oil On Canvas

 

 

Celia Reisman, Corner Confetti, oil on canvas, 26 x 34 inches

Corner Confetti

26" x 34"

Oil On Canvas
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Cricket Color 22” x 28” Oil On Canvas

Cricket Color

22” x 28”

Oil On Canvas

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Diagonal Narberth  24" x 30"  Oil On Canvas

Diagonal Narberth

24" x 30"

Oil On Canvas

Diagonal Narberth Color Study  12" x 19"  Gouache And Graphite On Paper

Diagonal Narberth Color Study

12" x 19"

Gouache And Graphite On Paper

Celia Reisman, Gray Day, oil on canvas, 11 x 14 inches

Gray Day

11" x 14"

Oil On Canvas 

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Green - Barn 8” x 10” Oil On Linen Panel

Green - Barn

10" x 8"

Oil On Linen Panel

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Green - Corn 8” x 10” Oil On Silk Panel

Green - Corn

8” x 10”

Oil On Silk Panel

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Green - Farm 8” x 10” Oil On Linen Panel

Green - Farm

8” x 10”

Oil On Linen Panel

Green - Four Trees 8” x 10” Oil On Silk Panel

Green - Four Trees

8” x 10”

Oil On Silk Panel

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Green - Gardens 11” x 14” Oil On Silk Panel

Green - Gardens

11” x 14”

Oil On Silk Panel

Green Window - Northampton 14” x 11” Oil On Canvas

Green Window - Northampton

14” x 11”

Oil On Canvas

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Celia Reisman, Halfway Hartford, oil on canvas, 24 x 32 inches

Halfway Hartford

24" x 32"

Oil On Canvas 

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Norwich Night (SOLD) 16” x 20” Oil On Linen

Norwich Night (SOLD)

16” x 20”

Oil On Linen

Pine Street Lebanon 28” x 42” Oil On Canvas

Pine Street Lebanon 

28” x 42”

Oil On Canvas

 

 
Celia Reisman, S Roy Street, oil on canvas, 11 x 14 inches

S Roy Street

11" x 14"

Oil On Canvas 

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Celia Reisman, S Tree, oil on canvas, 20 x 16 inches

S Tree

20" x 16"

Oil On Canvas

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Celia Reisman, Surprise Night, oil on canvas, 20 x 20 inches

Surprise Night

20" x 20"

Oil On Canvas

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Celia Reisman, Umbrella, oil on canvas, 20 x 16 inches

Umbrella

20" x 16"

Oil On Canvas 

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Uphill I  9” x 12”  Oil On Canvas

Uphill I

9” x 12”

Oil On Canvas

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Celia Reisman, Winter Water Street, oil on canvas, 36 x 48 inches

Water Street Winter (HOLD)

36" x 48"

Oil On Canvas  

 

Yard Stuff Revised  24" x 22"  Oil On Canvas

Yard Stuff Revised

24" x 22"

Oil On Canvas

Yellow Portland 24” x 30” Oil On Canvas

Yellow Portland 

24” x 30”

Oil On Canvas

"The neighborhoods where we live become the starting point to invent a make-believe vision of everyday locations, the overlooked and ordinary places we inhabit...

The architecture, primarily of the early 20th century, provides open ended territory; moments when I can be specific and yet have the freedom to transcend a particular place and time. My aim is not to replicate the exact location, but to communicate the feeling of visual excitement when I first 'see' something intriguing."

-Celia Reisman

 

 

Celia Reisman - Artists - Gross McCleaf Gallery

Cul-de-Sac, 24" x 30", Oil On Linen

The neighborhoods where we live become the starting point to invent a make believe vision of everyday locations, the overlooked and ordinary places we inhabit.  It is a subject that reflects my personal life. I grew up in the suburbs of Cleveland Heights, Ohio and live in the older suburbs of Philadelphia. The architecture, primarily of the early 20th century, provides open ended territory; moments when I can be specific and yet have the freedom to transcend a particular place and time.  My aim is not to replicate the exact location, but to communicate the feeling of visual excitement when I first "see" something intriguing.

My paintings are complex, dense and filled with many points of view and spatial juxtapositions. In my work there is tension between opposites, the geometry of a house against the grace of a tree.  This motif provides a challenge as I manipulate and orchestrate different components to resolve and unify a painting.  I want to create a visual drama that surprises and forces the viewer to reconsider their experiences and expectations. 
 

I construct my paintings from drawings made from direct observation while in my car.  The large scale paintings modify and shift but still honor the initial site that inspired me.  My concern with balance, proportion and an order imposed upon the subject, pays homage to early American modernists who abstracted the landscape.  My paintings unfold slowly so the viewer encounters all the relationships in multiple ways, providing endless readings.  Through the color, light and space shifts, I am able to compose my own idiosyncratic world.

I learned to look in a different way than most people.  I grew up the daughter of deaf and hard of hearing parents in a household where communication was mostly visual and not verbal.  My father would point things out that he wanted my siblings and I to see.  I learned to notice, see, look carefully and pay close attention to the outside world.

Celia Reisman - Artists - Gross McCleaf Gallery

Surprise Night, 20" x 20", Oil On Canvas

Developed from observational drawing and small preparatory works, Celia Reisman's paintings are an exploration of color and geometry that depict scenes from suburban neighborhoods. The emphasis on geometric shapes in her work harkens back to early American Modernism, where artists such as Marsden Hartley and Milton Avery simplified, balanced and ordered the landscape. Firmly planted within the border between representation and abstraction, the recognizable houses and landscape features maintain a clear sense of place, while simultaneously existing as artistic constructs of basic shapes and forms. The intriguing result is the familiar but mysterious juxtaposition of the boxes, triangles and organic shapes of suburbia.

 

Reisman often investigates the visual complexity that happens at the border between suburban properties; for example, at the perimeter of a yard, where the space is defined by a fence or a back alley. When two or more properties come together, shapes, color, and objects form a visually surprising, incongruent combination of tension and calm, perhaps reflecting the uneasy peace of collective neighborhood living. The title of this exhibition is in part a reference to the book Borderland: Origins of the American Suburb 1820 -1939 by John R. Stilgoe who documented the development of the suburbs of cities like Chicago, Boston, and New York from the mid-19th century to the onset of World War II.

 

Celia Reisman - Artists - Gross McCleaf Gallery

Halfway Hartford, 24" x 32", Oil On Canvas

Reisman grew up in Cleveland Heights, Ohio and lives and works in Philadelphia. She received her BFA from Carnegie Mellon University and her MFA from Yale University. She has been represented by Gross McCleaf Gallery in Philadelphia for more than thirty years. The artist has had solo exhibits in New York City, San Francisco, and Rochester, VT, as well as being featured in a fifteen-year survey exhibit at the James A. Michener Museum in Doylestown, PA. She received a Purchase Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters Invitational Exhibition in New York City. Reisman has taught at numerous prestigious art institutions throughout the Mid-Atlantic Region.

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