Theresa Giammattei

Artist Statement

My work invites one to explore the quirkiness of the human condition. Much of the imagery is drawn from my childhood, freely roaming, catching bugs, and creating forts in the woods of upstate New York and the Berkshires. Often focusing on the thin line between hope and despair, my art questions how we break free of our genetic, social, environmental, technological, or self-created confines to find truth and stability. In my current work I ruminate on biophilia (love of nature) vs. biophobia (the fear of nature) and how they affect the way we reshape our environments. We use tools to alter and sterilize our surroundings. But we need to fix these tendencies, not only to bring back the wild, but also to re-expose ourselves, as well as the next generations, to the wonders and diversity of nature. We must look past our initial squeamishness and get closer to examine the beauty of the unfamiliar.

Biography: Theresa Giammattei is a painter and mixed media artist who began printmaking in 2023 and ceramics in 2025. She received a BFA in Painting from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. After college she lived and worked in Europe but returned to Boston to start a business career and family. Later, she moved to the West Coast and is now focusing her energy on creating art. She currently resides in Los Gatos, CA where she is a Board Member of the Northern California Women's Caucus for Art (NCWCA).

Instagram: @t.giammattei.art
Website: www.uncommonegress.com