BIO 

Reisha Perlmutter (b. 1990, Naples, Florida) is a contemporary American painter whose

work examines the intersection of body, water, and environment through a lens of

embodiment and ecological reverence. Known for her large-scale paintings of figures

immersed in water, she draws from her own practice as a freediver and underwater

photographer to merge classical technique with contemporary vision.

Her paintings dissolve the boundary between body and landscape, exploring fluidity,

impermanence, and the tension between individuality and universality. At once intimate

and expansive, her work positions the body as both vessel and mirror, a site where

questions of femininity, conservation, and transcendence converge.

Perlmutter’s practice extends from underwater self-portraiture to cross-cultural

documentation, weaving personal experience with broader narratives of survival and

ancestral continuity. Her work has been widely recognized in both institutional and

cultural contexts: she has exhibited nationally and internationally, with shows at the

Naples Art Institute, Marin Museum of Contemporary Art, and Sotheby’s New York. Her

painting was selected as the cover art for Kerry Washington’s memoir Thicker Than

Water, and her work has been featured in major publications. She holds a BFA from the

School of the Art Institute of Chicago and an MFA from the New York Academy of Art.

She currently lives and works between Miami and Los Angeles.

Born Naples, FL 1990

Lives and works in New York

EDUCATION AND RESIDENCIES

2015 MFA, New York Academy of Art, New York City
2012 BFA, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
2010 Bates College, Lewiston, Maine

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2024 As Above, So Below, Pontone Gallery, New York City
2023 Incandescence, curated by DK Johnston, Arts Fund, New York City
2018 Undercurrents, Fort Works Art, Fort Worth, Texas
2017 Immerse, Roman Fine Art, East Hampton, New York
2016 Origin, Sea Salt, Naples, Florida
2012 Reisha Perlmutter, Wirtz Gallery, Miami, Florida

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2025 Shifting Focus: Female Painters & Sculptors, Pontone Gallery, London, UK. 2025 The Art of Resistance, Untitled Gallery, New York NY. 2025 Art Palm Beach + Contemporary, Pontone Gallery, Palm Beach, Florida. 2024 Art Palm Beach + Contemporary, Pontone Gallery, Palm Beach, Florida
2024 Art Wynwood, Pontone Gallery, Miami, Florida
2024 Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary, Pontone Gallery, Palm Beach, Florida
2024 Expo Chicago, Pontone Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
2024 25 Years of the Naples Art Institute Collection, Naples Art Institute, Naples, Florida
2024 Summer Exhibition Group Show, Pontone Gallery, Tribeca, New York City
2024 Take Home A Nude, New York Academy of Art, Sotheby’s, New York City
2024 Art Miami, Pontone Gallery, Miami, Florida
2023 Art Miami, Pontone Gallery, Miami, Florida
2023 Fractals and Figures, New York Culture Club, New York City
2023 Group Show, Naples Art Museum, Naples, Florida
2023 Easy Like Sunday Morning, curated by Mashonda Tifrere, High Line Nine, Chelsea, New York City
2023 Take Home A Nude, Sotheby’s, New York City
2022 Take Home A Nude, Sotheby’s, New York City
2021 Artists for Artists, Sotheby’s, New York City
2020 Educate, Christie’s, New York City
2020 Prelude to a Dream, Fort Works Art, Fort Worth, Texas
2020 Water, Arsenault Gallery, Naples, Florida
2020 Left Coast Exhibition, Marin Museum of Contemporary Art, Marin, California
2020 Artists for Artists, New York Academy of Art, New York City
2020 Benefit Auction, The Watermill Center, Southampton, New York
2020 Surface Tension, curated by DK Johnston, New York City
2019 On Paper, Booth Gallery, New York City
2019 Femme: The Power of the Female Form, JL Phillips Gallery, Toronto, Canada
2019 First Impressions, Booth Gallery, New York City
2019 IRL: Investigating Reality, The Untitled Space, New York City
2019 Market Art + Design, Roman Fine Art, Hamptons, New York
2019 Space, Booth Gallery, New York City
2019 Body Beautiful, The Untitled Space, New York City
2019 Take Home A Nude, Sotheby’s, New York City
2019 Bliss, New York Academy of Art at Miami Basel, Miami, Florida
2018 Body and Soul, Arsenault Gallery, Naples, Florida
2018 Art Market Summer Group Show, Roman Fine Art, East Hampton, New York
2018 Market Art and Design, Roman Fine Art, Bridgehampton, New York
2018 Painting the Figure Now, Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art, Wausau, Wisconsin
2018 Fantasia, Spoke Art, San Francisco, California
2018 Art Miami, New York Academy of Art, Miami, Florida
2017 Get with the Program, Roman Fine Art, East Hampton, New York
2017 Florida Contemporary, Artis Naples, Naples, Florida
2017 Art Relief for Direct Relief, Arlo, New York City
2017 Bombay, Allouche Gallery, New York City
2017 King Woman, Pen + Brush, New York City

SELECT PUBLICATIONS

2024
"Southwest Florida’s Waterways Inspire Masterpieces," Gulfshore Life.

2023

Thicker Than Water: A Memoir by Kerry Washington, cover art by Reisha Perlmutter, Little, Brown Spark.
"Kerry Washington’s ‘Thicker Than Water’ Memoir Reveals Family Secrets," The New York Times, September 24, 2023.
"Kerry Washington’s Memoir: 7 Revelations From ‘Thicker Than Water’," The Hollywood Reporter, September 24, 2023.
"Kerry Washington Could Never Have Written Her Memoir During ‘Scandal’," Vanity Fair, September 24, 2023.

2022
"Lady in Blue," Gulfshore Life, July 2022, pp. 84–95.

2017
"Talking With: Reisha Perlmutter on the Body, Femininity & Connections through Water," Hamptons Art Hub.
"This Artist Explores the Beauty & Complexities of the Female Body (NSFW)," Highsnobiety.
"Reisha Perlmutter: An Exclusive Interview with A.I.M.O.," Art is My Oxygen.
"Hyperrealistic Water Nudes Swim for Female Empowerment," Creators-Vice.
"Reisha Perlmutter’s Mesmerizing Paintings of Nude Women Underwater," i-D VICE.
"IMMERSE," The 360 Magazine.
"Reisha Perlmutter is Ready to Dazzle and Challenge You," Whitehot Magazine.

2016
"The Stories of Freedom, Light and Depth - Eunjung Seo and Reisha Perlmutter in an Interview," Widewalls.
"Interview Met Reisha Perlmutter," Kunstenaar Magazine.
"Evoking Conversations with Our Personal Memories and Exploring the Incredible Power and Strength of Women: Meet Painter Reisha Perlmutter," Art Jobs.
"Reisha Perlmutter Hyperreal Paintings," London Street-Art Design.
"Patrick Demarchelier, Eric Fischl, and More Make a Splash On the 4th," W Magazine.
"This Exhibition Celebrates Beach Life in the Hamptons," Town and Country Magazine.
"8 Must-See Art Events in the Hamptons This Summer," Artnet.
"AQUA by Reisha Perlmutter," Elusive Magazine.
"Top 10: 'Hyperreal' Edition," Artistaday.com.
“Aqua, Série de Peintures Hyper-Réalistes de l’Artiste Américaine Reisha Perlmutter," Journal du Design.
"Artist Reisha Perlmutter Displays Work in Naples," Gulfshore Life.

2013
"Portraiture of Naples Artist Reisha Perlmutter Opens Doors of Self-Awareness," Examiner.com.

AWARDS AND RESIDENCIES

2010–2012
School of the Art Institute of Chicago Merit Scholarship

2013–2015
New York Academy of Art Merit Scholarship

2011
Artist’s Residency, International School of Drawing and Painting, Montecastello di Vibio, Italy

2012
Painting Residency, Studio Escalier, Argenton Chateau, France
Drawing Residency, Studio Escalier, Paris, France