Practice

Flowers exist at the intersection of celebration and loss. In my work, they become material witnesses to memory, change, and care.

Working primarily in oil, I paint flowers saved from funerary rituals alongside those acquired through everyday acts of self-care. I return to them as they age, observing shifts in color, posture, and structure. Through dense, tactile applications of paint, the act of painting becomes a way of staying with what remains.

This practice is rooted in attention, repetition, and touch. Each painting functions as both an encounter and an archive, holding grief not as a moment to move past, but as a living, embodied presence.

Selected Institutional Work

Villanova University Commission


Jessica Puma was commissioned by Villanova University to create 14 paintings for its permanent collection. The work reflects her ongoing investigation into memory, care, and still life as a site of continuity. This commission represents an important institutional engagement within her practice.

Featured In

Jessica's work has been featured in the following places and publications