BIO
Lynn Sisler (b.1969, Rockford, IL, USA) earned a BFA in painting with a minor in Art History from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL and an MFA from Maine College of Art and Design in Portland, ME. The artist is represented by the Elizabeth Moss Gallery in Portland and Falmouth, ME and had her first two-person show in this commercial gallery in 2024. Sisler has also shown work at The Zuckerman Museum, Kennesaw, GA; Springfield College, Springfield, MA; Institute of Contemporary Art, Portland, ME; 13 Forest Gallery, Arlington, MA; and Bromfield Gallery, Boston, MA; among others. Sisler received the prestigious Hildreth Family MFA Scholar Award and the Hale Residency at the Artist Association of Nantucket. Lynn Sisler currently lives and works in western Massachusetts.
Represented by Elizabeth Moss Gallery, Falmouth and Portland, ME
STATEMENT
I make oil paintings using colored ground on a square panel by drawing the composition with a white pencil and then painting the resulting shapes. Compositionally, my process begins with a focus on an animal--such as rabbits, birds, deer, horses, and others--surrounded by flowers reminiscent of camouflage or wallpaper. Flowers decorate the animals and the animals eulogize the flowers in a symbiotic relationship. Where shapes overlap, intersections are emphasized. My artistic style is often described as whimsical and surreal, and the palette ranges from intensely colorful to subdued.
Growing up surrounded with a multitude of stuffed animals, model horses, and my beloved cat, Stormy, I spent hours reading about the natural world in my cozy oversized green chair. I drew cat and horse cartoon characters and crafted stories, all from the refuge of my childhood bedroom. My experiences with animals and nature offered friendship, connection, and belonging. As a child, I felt true to myself. I felt safe.
My artistic practice serves as an expression for processing the profound aspects of existence—love, loss, connection, and memory. My father’s decline and eventual passing forced me to confront mortality, and in doing so, I found myself searching for ties to ancestry, beauty, and a sense of both protection and being protected. I began to revisit the emotional feelings and artifacts of my girlhood, foraging the past to find comfort and emotional shelter. I discovered how a set of self-imposed “rules” or processes allows the work to investigate further how this ritualized way of working can create a talisman. Repetition manifests a pattern, a spell, an intention. Through the act of making paintings, I craft my own folktale-esque visual narratives with the creatures of my childhood, signifying vulnerability, the feminine, and eliciting a safe place. I see myself in them. The paintings themselves have become my protectors.
They are my talismans.
CV
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2021 Maine College of Art and Design, M.F.A. Interdisciplinary Studies, Portland, ME
2005 Walden University, MS-ed in Reading and Literacy, Minneapolis, MN
1991 Northern Illinois University, B.F.A. in Painting. Minor, Art History, DeKalb, IL
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2025 Rituals and Talismans. Grubbs Gallery, Willison Northampton, Easthampton, MA
2024 Beautiful Remnants (with Sarah Steedman). Elizabeth Moss Gallery, Falmouth, ME
2017 Ocean Life-Force; An Artist’s Exploration of Halcyon Days. Elusie Gallery, Easthampton, MA
Migration Stories, revisited. Art Stop, New England Public Radio, Springfield, MA
2016 Migration Stories and Other Curious Lore. ECA+ Gallery, Easthampton, MA
2013 The Book of Saints. The Cube Gallery, Atlanta, GA
2011 Portraits. Farm to Loft Pop-Up Gallery Decatur, GA
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2024 A Different Perspective. Arundel Farm Gallery, Arundel, ME
Dog Days of Summer: Animal Companions in Art. Arundel Farm Gallery, Arundel, ME
Collect. Maine College of Art and Design. ICA Gallery, Portland, ME
2023 Littles. Elizabeth Moss Gallery, Falmouth, ME
Sourced: Origins of Inspiration. Springfield College Fine Arts Gallery, Springfield, MA
As Luck Would Have It. 13 Forest Gallery, Arlington, MA
Collect. Maine College of Art and Design. ICA Gallery, Portland, ME
2022 Part-time Faculty Show. Zuckerman Museum, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA
Winter Works, Bromfield Gallery, Boston, MA
2021 MFA Thesis Exhibition. ICA Gallery, Maine College of Art, Portland, ME
Urgent Unity, Unprecedented Healing, You and Me Gallery, Greenfield, MA
2020 Post-Pause. Online, Easthampton, MA
Project Project: Be Seen Initiative. Congress Square Park, Portland, ME
Love Your Beautiful Neighbor. Elusie Gallery, Easthampton, MA
2019 Northampton Arts Council Biennial. Forbes Library, Northampton, MA
2018 If Water Could Speak. Hope and Feathers Gallery, Amherst, MA
2017 Changing Shape. MAEA Member’s Exhibition. Student Union Gallery, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
While Art is Still Legal; Art in the Age of Trump. Elusie Gallery, Easthampton, MA
2016 IS 183 Art School of the Berkshires Faculty Show. Williamstown, MA
2015 7th Annual Small Works Show. ECA+ Gallery, Easthampton, MA
Open Studios. One Cottage Street Studios, Easthampton, MA
Grand Opening. Greenfield Gallery, Greenfield, MA
A Celebration of Birds. MAC 650 Gallery, Middletown, CT
Passages. Verum Ultimum Gallery, Portland, OR
Telephone. Satellite Collective, Online Exhibition, Brooklyn, NY
2013 Animals. Light, Space, and Time Online Gallery
2012 Recent Paintings; Kelly Enzor and Lynn Sisler. Atlanta, GA1996 Local Artists. Atlanta Contemporary Arts Center, Atlanta, GA
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2021 Above and Beyond Grant, Maine College of Art, Portland, ME
2020 Hildreth Family MFA Endowed Scholar, Maine College of Art, Portland, ME
Wild Roof Journal, Issue 2, Online Publication
Cover Art; Coyote Song. Silkworm 13: The Annual Review of the Florence Poet’s Society. Florence, MA
2019-20 Albert K. Murray Fine Art Educational Fund. Six-time recipient. Adamsville, OH
2013 Animals Art Exhibition, Special Merit Award. www.lightspacetime.com
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2024 Bold Journey Interview
2023 Daily Hampshire Gazette. Tiny Art 4 All Gallery Project pops up along Rail Trail in Florence.
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2024 Hale Master of Fine Art; Artist in Residence. Artist Association of Nantucket, Massachusetts
Throwing on the Wheel, Stonington Community Center, Stonington, Connecticut
2023 La Meridiana; The Shape of the Earth ceramic workshop with Eddie Curtis, Tuscany, Italy
2021 Artist Association of Nantucket; Artist in Residence, Nantucket Island, Massachusetts
2018 Rhode Island School of Design, Children’s Book Illustration, Providence, RI
2011 Cook in France; Artist in Residence, St. Amand de Coly, France
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2023 Squirrel Shrine. Tiny Art 4 All Gallery, Northampton, MA
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2024 Cambridge Artist Association, Online Courses, Cambridge, MA
Continuing Studies, Maine College of Art, Portland, ME
2022-24 Adjunct Faculty Visual Arts, Springfield College, Springfield, MA
2021-24 Adjunct Faculty Graduate Level online platform, Art of Education University, Osage, IA
2021-22 Adjunct Faculty Visual Arts, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA
2020 Teaching Assistant, Online platform. Maine College of Art, Portland, ME
2016-20 Art Teacher, Mosier Elementary School, South Hadley, MA
2016 Art Instructor, IS 183 Art School of the Berkshires, Stockbridge, MA
2014-15 Summer Camp Art Director and Instructor, Venetian Swim Club, Decatur, GA
2005-13 Academic Elementary School Teacher, City Schools of Decatur, Decatur, GA
2002-05 Academic Elementary School Teacher, Gwinnett County Schools, Lilburn, GA
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Artist-in-Business certificate. Arts Extension Service through the Arts Entrepreneurship Initiative, Greenfield Community College, Greenfield, MA
College Art Association (CAA), New York, NY
Easthampton City Arts (ECA+), Easthampton, MA
Foundations in Art: Theory and Education (FATE), Columbus, OH
Massachusetts Art Education Association (MAEA), Boston, MA
National Art Education Association (NAEA), Alexandria, VA
Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), Los Angeles, CA