Christine Palamidessi

Christine Palamidessi studied with traditional cartapesta artisans in Lecce, Italy, where the technique has long been used to make religious statuary. She creates mythical and familial characters-- Pegasus, Nike, Japanese Dogu, European Venuses, sisters and mothers--who often re-appear across her work in various forms.

Her own distinct paper-wrapping technique creates rhythmic surface patterns on sculptures that are most often headless, reflecting her belief that memory lives in the body, not in the head.

Palamidessi works across sculpture and painting. In her paintings, she scratches tiny running figures into the surface of large-scale canvases — a visual counterpart to the sculptures, tracing where the spirit goes once it has left the body.

At times she flattens a cartapesta form into a surface for printmaking, stitches it with linen and silk, or anoints it with crystals and gold leaf.

“My art explores the mysterious journey we take through dream states, memory, running highs, prayer, and meditation-- and how we process stories of ancestors, culture, myths and love
”

BA. University of Pittsburgh
MA Boston University

Studiy with Italian artisans ( painting, mask-making, dry-point, & cartapesta) in Rome, Venice and Lecce, Italy.

Solo and group exhibitions 2025-2026 in Boston, New York, Connecticut, Lecce, Italy.

More Information on my webpage