Frances Matassa

Frances Matassa (b. 1994, Seattle) is a figurative painter based in New York City. Her work delves into themes of dissociation, grounding, and transformation, exploring the tension between emotional disconnection and the journey back to presence. Through large-scale paintings, Matassa’s dreamlike compositions depict figures navigating transitional landscapes, where the boundaries of reality blur into the surreal. In her current series, Matassa’s figures emerge from dissociation, reconnecting with the tactile and visceral world in rich, sensory environments. Using a vivid and often unnatural palette, she amplifies emotional resonance while creating unease and disorientation. Recurring motifs like glowing moths and symbolic insects mirror the figures’ inner worlds, embodying transformation, decay, and the persistence of memory. Matassa holds a BFA from Hunter College and had her second solo show, When The Moon Turns Green, in January through March at VillageOne Art (NY, 2025). Her first solo show, Embodiment, was also at VillageOne Art (NY, 2023). She has had work exhibited in group shows including Art is Gay (NY, 2024), remnants (NY, 2023), Unsettled (NY, 2023), [Em]body (NY, 2022), and Garden Salon (NY, 2022), as well as the Volta Art Fair (NY, 2023) and several private collections.