NADA Miami 2023

Alyssa Klauer is a painter whose works meditate on “queer time,” the notion that queer individuals often experience a delayed or second adolescence when encountering time-bending experiences such as coming out later in life. Her practice captures a desire to repossess the memories of a hetero-temporal childhood, the precarity of a foreshortened future, and the beauty of queer rebirth.

“February Morning II (Valentine)” integrates forms drawn from papercut Valentine’s Day cards from the Victorian era. Klauer’s rendition is populated by the profiles and phantom-like facial features of various figures, arranged in a nearly symmetrical configuration. The artist imaginatively suspends her characters in a state of anticipation, as they await a note from their admirer on a green, spring-like Valentine’s Day morning. As in many of her other paintings, the work is defined by layers of saturated, yet transparent, paint that lend a ghostly luminosity. Using a multitude of techniques that include splattering, dying, and stenciling, Klauer weaves together seemingly incongruent images to build an intense, psychological space. The artist will additionally hand embellish the edition with metallic and iridescent paint, as well as color pencils, so make each print unique.