Detail from Installation of nine pieces of art, 2024
Lisa MacNamara, 2025
Sewn Apart, 2024
Paper and mixed media
5’ x 3’
From Empheral Places
MacNamara's artistic journey began with early inspiration from Life and Look magazines, where journalistic photographs of people and their stories captivated her imagination. Initially studying biology, physical sciences, and psychology in college, she later transitioned to the decorative arts business, thriving in Denver, CO, and Prescott, AZ. As an internationally certified color consultant, she collaborated on high-end projects, creating hand-crafted finishes showcased in prestigious design centers, including New York City's A&D Building and Florida's DCOTA in Dania Beach.
Pursuing her passion for fine art, MacNamara earned dual majors in painting and sculpture at Arizona State University and continued her studies with Enzo Marino in Civitella, Italy. She recently earned her MFA in Interdisciplinary Studio Arts from Florida Atlantic University, supported by a full teaching assistantship grant.
MacNamara’s large-scale, mixed-media abstract works and sculptures explore the intricacies of skin and the physical self's inner cellular layers. Through innovative experiments with paper, glues, and other materials, she captures the imprints of energy channels, symbolizing life’s experiences and delving deeply into the mind-body relationship. Her work has been exhibited across the United States and Europe and is held in private collections internationally.
Grounded in her early fascination with journalistic photography, MacNamara’s work remains a testament to the compelling narratives embedded in individual human experiences.
Curriculum Vitae
Fine Visual Artist
EDUCATION
Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL
Master of Fine Arts (MFA), Interdisciplinary Studio Art, 2024
Phoenix Community College, Phoenix & Scottsdale, AZ
Studies in Creative Writing, Figure Drawing, and Metal Foundry, 2016–2017
Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting, 2015
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture, Summa Cum Laude, 2015
International Association of Color Consultants and Designers, San Diego, CA
Certification in Color Consulting: Interior and Exterior Cross-Disciplinary Design, 2008–2009
Yavapai College, Prescott, AZ
Associate of Arts, Fine Arts (Painting and Sculpture), 2006–2010
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2026 — Unfamiliar Language, Arts Warehouse, Delray Beach, FL
2026 — Underneath the Surface of Sight, Coral Springs Museum of Art, Coral Springs, FL
2024 — The Containing Layers, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Terminal 2, Fort Lauderdale, FL
2022 — Skin of Beings, Palm Beach Gardens City Hall, Palm Beach Gardens, FL
SELECTED JURIED EXHIBITIONS
2025 — Fiber Optics, Cultural Council for the Arts, Lake Worth, FL
2025 — Modulars, Arts Warehouse, Delray Beach, FL
2025 — Introductions, BRIC Center, Boca Raton, FL
2024 — Ephemeral Places, Schmidt Gallery, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL
2024 — She/Her/Hers, Cultural Council for the Palm Beaches, Lake Worth, FL2023 — Florida Artists Collection, Vero Beach Museum of Art, Vero Beach, FL
2023 — Collectors Exhibition, Cultural Council for the Palm Beaches, Lake Worth, FL
2022 — Postscripts 12, BRIC Center, Boca Raton, FL
2018 — Portrait 2018, Art on Park Gallery, Lake Park, FL
2017 — West Palm Beach Arts Festival, West Palm Beach, FL
2015 — Art Lab 2015, Academia Luciana, Civitella d’Agliano, Italy
2015 — Light Space and Time International Figurative Art Competition
2012–2015 — Stages (Public Art Installation), Sculpture Garden, Prescott Valley, AZ
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024 — Celebrate, Lighthouse Art Gallery, Tequesta, FL
2016 — XI Café Artistic Literary of Enzo Marino, Casoria, Italy
2016 — Tiny Griffon Gallery, Nuremberg, Germany
2015 — Help Hope Nepal Mural, Art Basel Spectrum, Miami, FL
2015 — Distilled in the Desert, Step Gallery, International Sculpture Conference, Phoenix, AZ
AWARDS, GRANTS & RESIDENCIES
2025 — Artist Residency, Arts Warehouse, Delray Beach, FL
2024 — Public Art Commission, Dis-assembled, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport
2024 — Esther Saylor Rothenberg Scholarship, Boca Raton, FL
2024 — Friedland Grant, Boca Raton, FL
2022 — Friedland Grant, Boca Raton, FL
2022 — WTIVA Award, Boca Raton, FL
2021 — Graduate Assistantship, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL
2015 — Artist Residency, Civitella, Italy2015 — Lady Figurative Award, Light Space and Time Online Art Gallery
2014 — Public Sculpture Commission, Stages, Prescott Valley, AZ
2013 — Special Talent Scholarship, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
2012 — New Scholar Award, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
2012 — Outstanding Academic and Art Achievement Award, Yavapai College, Prescott, AZ
2009 — Merit Art Scholarship, Yavapai College, Prescott, AZ
Selected Collections
Broward County Aviation Department, Ft Lauderdale, FL
Clay Works, Phoenix, AZ
Prescott Valley Sculpture Garden, Prescott Valley, AZ
Academia Luciana, Civitella d’Agliano, Italy
Private
Collections held across the United States, Italy, and Germany
PUBLICATIONS & MEDIA
2025 — Modern Luxury Palm Beach
2025 — Invisible Visible, Art Basel Miami, FL
2024 — Broward County Public Art News Flash, “Containing Layers,” June
2023 — Palm Beach Cultural Council, Curatorial Essay for She/Her/Hers
2020 — PBS Kids Vision, “A Day in the Life of an Artist.”
2020 — Jupiter Magazine, “Filling in the Blanks,” December
2018 — Palm Beach Daily News, Armory Art Fair Feature
2014 — Format100, April Issue, Tempe, AZ2008–2011 — Threshold, Yavapai College, Prescott, AZ
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL
Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, FL
Lighthouse Art Center, Tequesta, FL
Creative School for Education, West Palm Beach, FL
Desert Botanical Gardens, Phoenix, AZ
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
PBS (Public Broadcasting Service), Boynton Beach, FL
Gavlick Art Gallery, Palm Beach, FL
Art Accents, Denver, CO / Prescott & Phoenix, AZ
It Real, Denver, CO
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
• Surface Design Association (SDA)
• International Sculpture Center (ISC)
• Southeastern College Art Conference (SECAC)
• National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS)
SERVICE & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Center for Creative Education, West Palm Beach, FL
Teaching Artist, 2018–2022
Desert Botanical Gardens, Phoenix, AZ
Project Manager, Art Structures from Repurposed Materials, 2013–2016
Veterans Administration Medical Complex, Prescott, AZ
Color Consulting for Pathfinding, 2011