My paintings are rooted in imagined, interior landscapes—spaces shaped by memory, desire, and bodily experience. I often depict women navigating a shared, surreal world, exploring themes of queer love, origin, and family. I feel pulled towards the aftermath of rupture, the still moments of rest, natural surroundings that have regenerated—the conditions that allow for intimacy and connection.</p><p> </p><p>Lydia Baker (b. 1990, Virginia) is a visual artist based in Brooklyn, New York, working primarily in painting and drawing. She holds an MFA in Painting from the New York Academy of Art (2020) and a BFA in Communication Arts and Design from Virginia Commonwealth University (2013). While at the New York Academy of Art, Baker was awarded an Academy Merit Scholarship (2018-2019) and a Post-Graduate Chubb Fellowship (2020–2021), through which she participated in institutional exhibitions and fairs, including Art Basel Miami Beach and Art Miami. Baker has presented solo exhibitions throughout the United States and internationally, including <span style="font-style:italic">Symbiosis</span> at Gallery Sonder, Newport Beach, CA (2025); <span style="font-style:italic">Bright Spot</span> at La Loma Projects Annex, Los Angeles, CA (2025); <span style="font-style:italic">Sonnet</span> (2024) and <span style="font-style:italic">In Between</span> (2022) at Massey Klein Gallery, New York, NY; and a solo booth with Wilder Gallery at the London Art Fair (2023). Selected group exhibitions and fairs include Green Family Art Foundation (Dallas, TX & New York, NY, 2025-2026); The Bomb Factory Art Foundation, London, UK (2025); Hexum Gallery, Montpelier, VT (2025); Future Fair, Massey Klein Gallery, New York, NY (2023); Wilder Gallery, London, UK (2023); The Drawing Stall Fair, Brooklyn, NY (2023); Trotter & Sholer, New York, NY (2023); Fortnight Institute, New York, NY (2022); and Sugarlift Gallery, New York, NY (2021). Her work has been featured in print and online publications including <span style="font-style:italic">New American Paintings</span>, <span style="font-style:italic">Juxtapoz</span>, <span style="font-style:italic">Two Coats of Paint</span>, <span style="font-style:italic">Create Magazine</span>, <span style="font-style:italic">Platform Art,</span> <span style="font-style:italic">The Wick</span>, and <span style="font-style:italic">Artnet </span>among others. In 2024, Baker was featured as the cover artist for <span style="font-style:italic">West Branch</span> Magazine (Vol. 105). Baker is the recipient of numerous grants, fellowships and residencies, including the Joseph Robert Foundation Grant (2025); the Edith Grant from Foundation House (2024); the City Artist Corps Grant, New York Foundation for the Arts (2021); and an Art Heals Grant from R&F Handmade Paints (2020). She has been awarded residencies at Constance Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts (2021); High Line Nine x Sugarlift Gallery (2021); and Vermont Studio Center (2023), where she will return for a VSC Fellowship in 2026.