Lydia Maria Pfeffer mines a cross section of psychological strategies, cultural symbolism, rites, and rituals as she draws and paints worlds in which escapism is revelation and queerness is a healing journey. Anthropomorphism, gender play, and eroticism abound amidst a morphing cast of Pfeffer’s wondrous and self-realized characters inspired by the fables, folk tales, and mythologies of her youth. At the core of every painting is a basic desire for love and belonging—Pfeffer pulls her figures from the ether, creating safe spaces for them to tell their tales, process their traumas, and heal.
Born 1976 in Austria, Lydia Maria Pfeffer lives and works in New York, USA. She received her BFA from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York in 2013 and her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2016.