Anastasia Bay (b. 1988, Paris, France) creates paintings that draw upon mythological and art historical sources, blending ancient figurative traditions with contemporary culture. Her works articulate a universally resonant visual language that is striking and cross-culturally rich. Through her unique perspective, Bay transforms this shared visual history into an artistic idiom that feels both immediate and timeless, often set against opaque, minimalistic backgrounds.
Maestra Lacrymae, her most ambitious exhibition project to date, was conceived as an opera—complete with music, costumes, and a libretto—that combined various artistic modes to present a unified vision. Central to the project were five key characters: Golem, Artemis, Dibutades, Penelope, and the Harlequin, archetypal characters to whom she returns frequently in her painting and sculpture.
A graduate of the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris (2012), Bay’s recent exhibitions include The Stumbler's Parade, Venus Over Manhattan, New York; Maestra Lacrymae, Sorry We're Closed, Brussels; The Awakening of the Cariatids, Galerie Derouillon, Paris; Allez Allez, Centre Wallonie Bruxelles, Paris; LEAF, Fondation Boghossian, Villa Empain, Brussels; One Hundred Ghost Stories, Sorry We’re Closed, Brussels; and Zillions Forefathers, The White House Gallery, Lovenjoel. Bay’s work can be found in the permanent collection of numerous public institutions, including the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris; Fondation Lafayette Anticipations / Guillaume Houzé, Paris; ICA Miami; X Museum, Beijing; and Zuzeum Museum (Riga, Latvia).
The Brussels-born artist joins Document to elaborate on the making of her series's 12 paintings, and the driving influences and artistic philosophies behind them