"[The paintings] dispense with figurative elements altogether, hitting the eye instead as dazzling constructions of abstract color and shape, as well as focused experiments in technique." -The Boston Globe

Since receiving her BFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and Tufts (1998) and her MFA from Yale (2002), Kristin Baker has gained international recognition for her distinctive painting process. Instead of brushes on canvas, she uses squeegees and scrapers to slide acrylic paint across large PVC or acrylic sheets. Individual marks are created by masking sections with tape, filling with paint, and peeling clean or ripped edges away, over and over. This collaged layering of streaked color evokes the acceleration of matter across a surface, light through space, and action over time in ways that blur conventional definitions of painting. For the MFA, Baker extends her interests in transparency, form, and speed: she is creating four new large-scale works that reflect the cascading light, bold lines, and dynamic curves of the I.M. Pei-designed Linde Family Wing, where they will be exhibited in the Community Arts and SMFA Gallery.

This will be Baker's first solo museum exhibition in the US, and it is the first MFA project made possible by the Museum Council Artist in Residency Program Fund, which supports highly visible presentations and engagements with contemporary art.

This exhibition is supported by the Museum Council Artist in Residency Program Fund.

Read the Boston Globe review of the exhibition