We are designed to forget. Claudia Palmira attempts to create beauty through the unexpected assemblage of elements and color that can inspire hope through the transcendence of individual parts and their juxtaposition. She often begins with a word or phrase; through emotion this transforms into abstract shapes she calls calligraphic abstraction. Adding, taking away, embellishing, redefining – these are part of her creative process. She works with paper, paint, adhesive – or, on the screen, with virtual painting, opacities and filters. She does not want to simply create a beautiful image, but intends that image to contain a feeling that transformation has occurred. Roughness and imperfections are essential to her expression of found beauty, the imperative to discover the soul of what surrounds her. The finished piece is a reminder of beauty, words and concept transformed into color and vibration.
The layers of visual history embodied in ancient urban landscapes speak to her of an ongoing transfiguration. A native New Yorker, she has lived and worked in Rome since 2006. She is the creator of the series Iconics/Poetics.
Recent exhibitions
2026 – Tiny Biennale, Temple University Gallery, Rome
2026 – Inner Calligraphics, solo show, Gallery DFB, Rome
2025 – Rome Art Week, Open Studio, Rome
2025 – Rosa Rosè, featured artist, Via Borgognona / St Regis Hotel, Rome
2025 – Group show, Union League Club, New York
2025 – Rome. I Live for Beauty, solo show, Circolo degli Esteri, Rome
2024 – Rome: Ruminations, solo show, U.S. Embassy Tri-Mission Gallery, Rome
As exhibition designer for Laudato Sie. Natura e scienza (Rome, 2024; Museo del Tesoro, Assisi, 2025), a Vatican-supported show, she developed the complete visual identity, branding and design system.
In 2021 she founded Clù, silk scarves based on her original artworks, available at The Met Opera Shop and other select retailers. Described as "the designer's designer" by House Beautiful, she leads her namesake studio, founded in 1996, creating projects for clients including Bulgari Hotels, the Vatican and the United Nations. She is Chief Design Officer at Beacon Int'l and directed Italian Journal magazine from 2006 to 2013.
On stage and screen, she appeared in Tommaso (dir. Abel Ferrara) alongside Willem Dafoe, and in 2026 played Georgina in Business Ideas (Rome Savoyards, Teatro La Salette). She holds a B.A. in Art and Art History from Mount Holyoke College. Her studio is in Rome's Prati neighborhood.