PAULA BORSETTI
Paula Borsetti is an abstract painter who works primarily in acrylic, creating deeply layered pieces that explore both internal and external landscapes. Her work seeks to capture the moments in between—those personal yet universal stories that resonate beyond the canvas.
Borsetti’s journey as an artist began in high school, painting en plein air and developing an early love for the landscape and the act of painting itself. This passion carried through her formal education and into a lifelong dedication to both creating and teaching art. As an art educator, she has nurtured not only the creativity of others but also her own, maintaining a full-time studio practice where experimentation and discovery remain central.
Working in series allows Borsetti to trace a continuous line of thought, often developing multiple pieces simultaneously. Each series grows organically, evolving until it naturally gives way to the next.
Her PALS series is a deeply personal body of work inspired by the life and recent passing of a close friend’s son, Bobby, who lost a courageous 9½-year battle with ALS after being diagnosed at the age of 25. “I am intrigued by words,” Borsetti says. “For this series, I’ve layered words describing Bobby’s experience into the paintings, letting them guide me. Through paint, I am processing strength, hope, perseverance, and life.” These paintings carry a quiet resilience, honoring Bobby’s journey while offering light through layers of color and meaning.
In her most recent work, Borsetti delves into the creative blocks that hold us back, exploring paths toward healing, nurturing, and transcendence. Love, loss, joy, and grief are recurring themes, expressed through a tactile process that includes moving, scraping, sanding, building, layering, and drawing—her own visual vocabulary for capturing this moment in time.
A vivid dream helped spark this current exploration. “I dreamt of carrying a great ball of grief,” she recalls. “It had weight and movement. I held it close to my womb. Energy emanated from it—grief in evolution.” As she painted, moments of joy began to emerge. Spiraling forms led her toward light, toward transformation. Her compositions begin with words and marks, led by emotion to completion. Transparent washes of color, layered with opaque forms and delicate line work, veil sorrow, wrap it in love, and release sparks of joy. The interplay of busy and quiet passages, symbolic shapes, and distinct color palettes invite the viewer to return again and again, discovering new layers of meaning each time.
