KIERA STUART
My art practice explores relationship dynamics, vulnerability, and the connection and similarities between the body and nature. I create surreal figurative oil paintings as psychological maps to process complex emotions and help gain a deeper sense of self-awareness while creating safe spaces to heal.
I begin studio practice by sketching on paper with a pencil or with my body in front of a camera or researching contemporary dance photos with dancers engaging each other. This helps form visual ideas of human connection, whatever feels the most urgent to explore at the time. I then consider how these characters could connect or interact with nature. What environment they might live in, how they are connected or separated from the earth, in what ways can I reflect the similarities between organic patterns and anatomy.
Meditating on our connection to each other and nature helps combat my depression issues, it reminds me that I am not alone. This also reminds me that most people have similar internal conflicts, we have more in common than we usually remember. It's also a way to pray for a future where humans might live in harmony with each other and the planet.
I aspire to offer viewers a dreamscape—a space for introspection on fragility, beauty, and the interconnected nature of our existence. I hope this will help to embolden ideas of women's rights, social and environmental justice. Creating art is my way of healing and hoping for a better future.
Kiera Stuart is a contemporary artist focusing on surreal figurative oil paintings. She grew up learning about local native cultures that lived in harmony with the earth and modern environmental justice and sustainable living from her parents in rural Long Island, NY. Transitioning to NYC as a teenager, she studied anatomical drawing and fine art at the Fashion Institute of Technology and The Art Students League. She later received a Bachelor's degree in studio art from Hunter College in 2018 followed by an MFA in fine art from Brooklyn College in 2022.
Stuart has spent time in Mexico City, Guanajuato and the Yucatan peninsula studying Mayan and Aztec art and history. She also attended the Sachaqa Art Residency in Tarapoto Peru near the Amazon Rainforest where she learned indigenous methods of building, making pottery, paper and pigments. She also was selected for Soaring Gardens Residency in 2019 & 2020. She had her first solo Exhibit in 2022 at the Box Factory Gallery in Bushwick, NYC.
Currently based in Bushwick, Brooklyn; she maintains a studio practice while continuing to explore interests of pre-colonial cultures, sustainability, environmental and social justice while actively participating in the vibrant NYC art scene. Instagram: @kierastuart Website: kierastuart.com