Lisa Petker Mintz "Castle in the Sky"

New York-based Lisa Petker Mintz creates layered, tactile paintings that explore transformation, impermanence, and sensory memory. Working with acrylic, impasto, and fabric, she builds textured surfaces that evoke fleeting moments and emotional shifts. Her process-driven approach embraces gesture, resistance, and revision. Mintz has exhibited widely along the East Coast, with recent solo shows at The Painting Center in New York and an upcoming exhibition at Hood College Gallery in Maryland. Her work is held in private collections across the United States.

"I am a painter rooted in energy, emotion, and exploration. My work is process-driven and layered, combining intuition with intention. I begin with a plan, but allow the painting to evolve through gestures, accidents, and unexpected marks. The result is work that is vibrant, tactile, and alive with movement. Color, pattern, rhythm, and structure have always been central to my practice. I’m fascinated by the way shapes interact, how textures shift across the surface, and how nature’s forms—leaves, petals, tangled roots—can be abstracted into something entirely new. I draw from both the natural and the designed world: from textiles and grids to landscapes and decaying walls. Just as I build up layers, I also take them away—scraping, sanding, and obscuring. What remains are remnants: traces of what came before. This act of removal becomes as vital as application. My process reflects cycles of life—creation and destruction, beauty and erosion, presence and absence. These opposing forces are not in conflict, but in dialogue. The paintings hold both joy and gravity. This current body of work marks a turning point. After decades of painting, I’m allowing myself full freedom—to risk more, to dig deeper, and to embrace imperfection. It is a return to what I love most: the alchemy of paint, the push and pull of the surface, and the quiet magic that emerges when I let the work lead me." - Lisa Petker Mintz