Biography
Carrie Ann Baade (b. 1974, Louisiana) is an American painter whose work deeply engages with art history. By quoting, reinterpreting, and reclaiming masterpieces, she constructs surreal, biographical narratives that bridge the past and present. Through intricate visual storytelling, Baade explores themes of transformation, mortality, sexuality, and the darker facets of human nature, weaving together personal and classical symbolism.
Raised on the Front Range of Colorado, Baade earned her BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, studied at the Florence Academy of Art in Italy, and completed her MFA at the University of Delaware. Since 2007, she has been a Professor of Art at Florida State University.
Since 2005, Baade has presented over 30 solo exhibitions and participated in more than 250 group exhibitions worldwide. Her work has been featured at major art fairs, including the LA and SF Art Fairs and Art Capital in Paris, as well as in museums across Europe, Asia, Australia, and the United States.
Recognized for her artistic contributions, Baade has received numerous accolades, including the Halo Fellowship Award, the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs Individual Artist Fellowship, and the Delaware Division of the Arts Established Artist Award in Painting. Her work has been featured in Forbes and in leading art publications such as Juxtapoz, Hi-Fructose, and American Art Collector. Exhibiting alongside visionary artists like H.R. Giger and Robert Williams, she continues to push the boundaries of narrative painting, challenging artistic conventions and inspiring both her students and the broader contemporary art world.
Her monograph, Scissors and Tears (2022, La Luz de Jesus Press), provides an in-depth look at her creative process and two decades of allegorical art.
CARRIE ANN BAADE
Born in Louisiana, 1974
Lives and works in Havana, Florida
Education
2003 MFA, University of Delaware, Newark, DE
1997 BFA, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL 1995-6 Florence Academy of Art, Florence, Italy
Professional Experience
2007–Present Professor of Art, College of Fine Arts, Florida State University
Awards and Honors
2025 Halo Fellowship Award
2022 Nominated, Joan Mitchell Fellowship
2021 First Prize, Juror: Elizabet Elliot, Pensacola Museum of Art
2021 Purchase Award, Winners XX, Biggs Museum of American Art
2018 Artist Opportunity Award, Florida Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs
2018 Guest of Honor, Chimeria International Festival of Arts, Sedan, France
2017 Artist Guest of Honor, MileHi Con, Denver, CO
2013 Guest Artist, Dragon Con, Atlanta, GA
2012 Nominated, Painters Grant Program, Joan Mitchell Foundation
2009 Individual Artist Fellowship, Florida Division of Cultural Affairs
2007 Nominated, United States Artists Award
2005 Fellowship for Established Artist in Painting, Delaware Division of the Arts
2004 Honorable Mention, Emerging Artist in Painting, Delaware Division of the Arts
2001–2003 Calloway Magness Fellowship, University of Delaware
Solo Exhibitions
2025 Birthplace, Le Mieux Galleries, New Orleans, LA; Venvi Gallery, Tallahassee, FL
2024 Mirror Worlds, Chris Harris Gallery, DeLand, FL: Museum of Art – DeLand 2024 Never Odd or Even, Arts on Douglas, New Smyrna, FL
2023 The Surreal Imaginings of Carrie Ann Baade: 20th Retrospective, TCC Fine Art, Tallahassee, FL
2022 Sawing a Woman in Half, La Luz de Jesus, Los Angeles, CA
2022 Into the Mirror, Pensacola Museum of Art, Pensacola, FL
2022 Enchanted, Noor Ibrahim Museum of Ceramic & Art, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
2021 Twilight Sleep, Venvi Gallery, Tallahassee, FL
2019 Angels and Carnivorous Flowers, Mesa Contemporary Museum of Art, Mesa, AZ
2019 Wondering and Wanderings, Carrollton Arts Center, Carrollton, GA
2018 The Apocalyptic Orgasm, La Luz de Jesus, Los Angeles, CA
2018 A Foreshadowing of Events, Gadsden Art Museum, Quincy, FL
2018 Gospel of Sophia, Jung Center, Houston, TX
2016 Piece and Pieces, Averitt Center for the Arts, Statesboro, GA
2015 Burza w Szklance Wody, Galeria "Stara" Biura Wystaw Artystycznych, Lublin, Poland
2012 Since Midnight, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC
2012 Solar Midnight, Museum of Contemporary Art, Jacksonville, FL
2010 Tales of Passion and Woe, Rosenfeld Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2009 Intemperance, Billy Shire Fine Art, Culver City, CA
2007 Virtues and Vices, Delaware Center for Contemporary Art, Wilmington, DE
2007 Involuntary Thoughts, Ningbo Museum of Art, Ningbo, China
2006 Involuntary Thoughts, Rosenfeld Gallery, Philadelphia, PA 2005 Wanted Night Gardener, Mezzanine Gallery, Wilmington, DE The Secret Lives of Portraits, Washington College Gallery, Chestertown, MD
Group Exhibitions
2025
Comparaisons: "Visionary Realists," Grand Palais, Paris, France: Art Capital. Emergence, Bunzl Gallery, Bascom Art Center, Highlands, NC Outside In: The Billy Shire Archive, The Torrance Museum of Art, Torrance, CA
2024
Tarot in the Castle, Naia Museum of Art, Rochefort-en-Terre, France
Magical Dreams VII, Galeria Sopra, Wrocław, Poland – Bator Art Gallery
Four the Figure, John Natsoulas Art Center, Davis, CA, USA
The Tree and the Tarot, Le Galerie 18bis, Paris, France
Salon de l'Oracle et du Tarot, Salle de l'Étang Bleu, Paimpont en Brocéliande, France
The Tree and the Tarot, Le Galerie 18bis, Paris, France
Magical Dreams VII, Rzeszowski Dom Sztuki, Rzeszów, Poland
Dreams and Divinities Tarot, Atelier Gustave, Paris, France San Francisco Art Fair: 12th Edition [Art Fair]. Natsoulas Gallery Fort Mason's Festival Pavilion, San Francisco, CA LA ART SHOW [Art Fair]. Natsoulas Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2023
In.Visible, Bascom Center for the Visual Arts, Highlands, NC
Lost Chapters, University Museum, Sacred Heart University, New Haven, CT
Spiritual Visions, The Fontbonne University Fine Arts Gallery, St. Louis, MO
Magical Dreams VII: The Largest Exhibition of Magical Realism in Europe,
Goldenmark Gallery, Poznań, Poland; Carmen Tarcha Gallery 5, Warsaw, Poland;
Dom Galerie, Wiener Neustadt, Austria; Bator Art Gallery, Szczyrk, Poland
Unreal: 14th Annual Art of Painting in the 21st Century, John Natsoulas Art Center, Davis, CA
2022
Ancestral Transmission [Group], 621 Gallery, Tallahassee, FL – Art Nunz Collective
A New Renaissance [Group], LeMoyne Center for the Visual Arts, Tallahassee, FL – COCA
Boundary Strider [Group Museum Exhibition], Wollongong Art Gallery, New South Wales, Australia – Regional and Public Galleries of NSW
IS THIS TOO MUCH? [Group], LeMieux Gallery, New Orleans, LA
14th Annual Surreal Salon [Group], Baton Rouge Gallery, Baton Rouge, LA – Louisiana State University
Magical Dreams VI [Traveling Group Exhibition],
Hopfenmuseum, Wolnzach, Germany;
Centrum Promocji Kultury Praga Południe, Warsaw, Poland;
Centrum Kultury Browar B, Włocławek, Poland – Bator Gallery
2021
Lore: Mythic, Magic, Macabre, Modern Eden Gallery, San Francisco, CA
7th Annual Small Works Show, Bienart Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
Portrait Show IX, Modern Eden Gallery, San Francisco, CA
ArtFields, Lake City, SC
Representational Fantastic, Kirkland Art Center, Kirkland, WA – Society of Imagination
67th Annual Members Show, Pensacola Museum of Art, FL
2020
RBL GRL | Revolution Doesn’t Ask Permission, Thomas Center, Gainesville, FL
Magical Dreams V, Centrum Promocji Kultury Warszawa Praga Południe, Warsaw, Poland
B20: Wiregrass Biennial, Dothan, AL
Entintada Estampada, Casa De la Cultura, De Quart de Poblet, Valencia, Spain: UPV Universitat Politècnica de València.
Award Winners XX, Biggs Museum of American Art, DE
Emergence, Laxenburg Castle, Vienna, Austria
Magical Dreams V [Traveling Group Exhibition],
Centrum Promocji Kultury Warszawa Praga Południe, Warsaw, Poland;
Centrum Kultury Browar B, Włocławek, Poland;
Deutsches Hopfenmuseum, Wolnzach, Germany
2019
Felures & Lumières, Atelier Gustave, Paris, France – Dreams and Divinities
Magical Dreams V, Bator Art Gallery, Szczyrk, Poland
Sugar Coated Strange, Pop Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Educators as Artists, Albany State Museum, Albany, GA
Self-Portrait, Modern Eden Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2018
12th International Festival of Arts and Sciences Visionaries – Chimeria [Guest of Honor], Castle of Sedan, Sedan, France
Apparitions, Kirkland Art Center, Kirkland, WA
Spellbound, Kirkland Art Center, Seattle, WA
On Adornment, Pen + Brush, New York, NY
Le Cerf Sacré, Castle of Comper-en-Brocéliande, Concoret, France – Centre de l’Imaginaire Arthurien
Wheel of re-Creation, Axis Gallery, Seattle, WA
Pittura Narrativo, Gallery of Western Colorado State University, Gunnison, CO
Revolve, True Love Gallery, Seattle, WA
Magical Dreams IV [International Traveling Exhibition] Centrum Promocji Kultury Warszawa Praga Południe, Warsaw, Poland;
Althes Rathaus, Viechtach, Germany;
Galleries Südliches Friesland, Zetel, Germany;
Centrum Kultury Browar B, Włocławek, Poland;
Galeria Miejska, Wrocław, Poland;
Deutsches Hopfenmuseum, Wolnzach, Germany
2017
Mile Hi-Con, Hyatt Ballroom, Denver, CO
Angels, Totems, and Revelations [Three-Person Exhibition], Krab Jab, Seattle, WA
Spiritualité and Art Sacré, Galerie 18bis, Paris, France
Magical Dreams IV, Dom Galerie, Wiener Neustadt, Austria – Bator Gallery
Magical Dreams IV, Bator Art Gallery, Szczyrk, Poland
Cute and Creepy 3, Dedo Maranville Gallery of Fine Art, Valdosta State University, Valdosta, GA
Folk Fiction, Clara Eagle Gallery, Murray State University, Murray, KY
Modern Symbolists, Krab Jab Studio, Seattle, WA
Cult of Meow, Gristle Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
AltRealities, SRP Gallery, Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum, Mesa, AZ
Immortal Facade, Luminous Flux Gallery, Loveland, CO
Visionary Alchemy, One Space, New York, NY – Society for Art of Imagination
2016
5th Annual Beinart Collective, Copro Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Inaugural Exhibition, Beinart Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
Peace Across Europe, Flox Gallery, Dresden, Germany
Portraits of Friends. Modern Eden, San Francisco, CA Tremendum Fascinans, True Love Gallery, Seattle, WA
Portraits of Friends, Modern Eden Gallery, San Francisco, CA
The Art for Peace, Flox Gallery, Dresden, Germany
The Art for Peace, Atelier Gustave, Paris, France
2015
Back and Forth: A Dialog in Paint, The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL
Garden of Fernal Delights, BASH, San Francisco, CA
Dreams & Divinities, Amon Ra Gallery, Monterrey, Mexico. Inaugural Exhibit, Mary Martin Fine Art, Naples, FL
Cute and Creepy, Longview Museum of Art, Longview, TX
Back and Forth: A Dialog in Paint, The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL – Florida State University
Giger Tribute: Ripitoni in Arte Festival, Saliceti Palace, Ripattoni, Italy – Dedalus Studi
Ouroboros, Lemieux Gallery, New Orleans, LA
Garden of Fernal Delights, BASH, San Francisco, CA – Dreams and Divinities
Phantastische Venus, City Hall, Viechtach, Germany – City of Viechtach
H.R. Giger Tribute Teramo, Lucio Ruggieri Gallery, Teramo, Italy – Dedalus Studi
Dreams and Divinities, Luminarte Gallery, Dallas, TX
2014
Dreams and Divinities, Museum La Enseñanza, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Mexico FEMME SHOW: 7th Annual Women's Invitational Exhibition, Pop Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
¡Orale! Kings and Queens of Cool: Lowbrow Insurgence: The Rise of Post-Pop Art, Mandelman-Ribak Gallery, Harwood Museum of Art, Taos, NM Phantastische Venus, City Hall, Viechtach, Germany
Where you Stay At?, Ten Gallery, New Orleans, LA: Prospect 3.
Hidden Kingdoms, Dream Factory, Frankfurt, Germany.
International Festival of Arts and Sciences Visionaries, Chimeria, 2014, Sedan, France. Visions, NCCA Gallery, Intramuros, Manila, Philippines – National Commission for Culture and the Arts
10th International Festival of Arts and Sciences Visionaries – Chimeria, Castle of Sedan, Sedan, France
Endangered Visions, Art Fair Manila, Manila, Philippines
Olympus, Modern Eden Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Panoptic, Alexi Era Gallery, St. Louis, MO
2013
Dreams and Divinities, Instituto América de Santa Fe, Granada, Spain
Dreams and Divinities, Churriana Cultural Center, Maracena Town Hall, Granada, Spain
Dreams and Divinities, Centro Cultural San Marcos, Toledo, Spain Messin' With the Masters, Dobson Main Gallery, Mesa Arts Center, Tempe, AZ Back of Beyond [Three-Person Exhibition], City Hall, Tallahassee, FL
Four Dreamers [Four-Person Exhibition], Espace d'Art Monpezat, Paris, France – Société des Poètes Français
Generations, Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts, Tallahassee, FL
Miniatures, Abend Gallery, Denver, CO
Beautiful Strange, Clement Gallery, Troy, NY
4th Annual beinArt Collective Exhibition, Copro Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Red Dot Art Fair, Donna Gordon Gallery, Miami, FL
2012
Visionaries: Past, Present, and Future, Queensborough Community College Art Gallery, Bayside, NY Awakened, AFA Gallery, New York City, NY
SCOPE [Art Fair], Mindy Solomon Gallery, Basel, Switzerland Moon Goddess, Modern Eden Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Fractal Nation [Art Festival], Fractal Nation Village, Black Rock City – Tribe 13 Art Collective
Taboo, Last Rites Gallery, New York, NY
Detailed Information, Mindy Solomon Gallery, St. Petersburg, FL
Man, Myth, or Monster, LeMieux Galleries, New Orleans, LA
From What I Remember / From What I Forget, Principal Gallery, Alexandria, VA GOTHIC, Curated by Amy V. Grimm, Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Ana, CA (catalog)
2011
Verge Art Brooklyn (art fair), Brooklyn, New York
25th Anniversary, La Luz de Jesus, Los Angeles, CA (book)
Dystopia, curated by Jon Beinart, Copro Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
INLE, curated by Greg Simkins, 1988 Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Suggestivism, curated by Greg Escalante and Nathan Spoor, Grand Central Art Center, Santa Monica, CA (book)
Believe it or Not, curated by Catherine Bergmann, Dunedin Art Center, Dunedin, FL
2010
Draw, curated by Eric Foss. Museo de la Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
The Idol Hours, London Miles Gallery, London, UK
Award Winners X, curated by Ryan Grover, Biggs Museum of American Art
In Canon, Curated by Margaret Winslow, Delaware Center for Contemporary Art, Wilmington, DE
Low Brow Tarot Show, curated by Aunia Kahn, La Luz Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Lead Poisoning, curated by Jason D’Aquino, Last Rites Gallery, New York, NY
Hunt and Gather, Think Space, Los Angeles, CA
Another Road Side Attraction, ISE Cultural Foundation, New York City, NY
Lead Poisoning, Last Rites Gallery, New York, NY
Metamorphosis, Copro Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Femme Show, Pop Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2009
Beyond Eden Art Fair at Barnsdale, Los Angeles, CA
In Your Dreams, curated by Edward Sullivan of NYU, Pen and Brush Society, New York, NY
Super School, curated by Lola, Copro Nason, Santa Monica, CA
Fata Morgana, curated by Pam Grossman, Debora Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Sugar Coated Strange, Pop Gallery, Santa Fe, NMThird Annual Dark Art Exhibition, Sidney and Berne Davis Art Center, Fort Myers, FL
Midnight Oils, Mills Pond House Gallery, St. James, NY
Little Deaths, Shadow Space Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2008
Aqua Art Fair, Billy Shire, Miami, FL
Subversion, Pop Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
13th Hour, Last Rites, New York, NY
Art Encounter 2008, Juror: Brian Dursum, The von Liebig Art Center, Naples, FL
Deep Pop: a survey of Pop Surrealism, curated by Andrew Michael Ford, Iona College, New Rochelle, NYUnsung and Undead, 621 Gallery, Tallahassee, FL
Flight of Fancy, Crybaby Gallery, Asbury Park, NJ
Draw, Stolen Space, London, UK – Fuse
Four Riders, Pale Horse Gallery, St. Petersburg, FL
2007
Bridge Art Fair: Chicago, London, and Miami, Billy Shire Fine Art, Los Angeles, CA
“Talking Board Show,” Copro Nason Galley, Santa Monica, CA
Objective Reality, Harold Golen Gallery, Miami, FL
New Talent, Billy Shire Fine Art, Culver City, CA
ISM: Untitled Love Project Phases 2/3, Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, CA
Draw, curated by Eric Foss, traveling exhibit: New York, Austin, London, and Tokyo
Kitschen Sync, La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Dark Hearts and Broken Vows, Strychnin Gallery, New York, NY
2006
Fresh Meat, Roq La Rue, Seattle, WA
Undertow, curated by Alix Sloan, Metalstone Gallery, New York, NY
Animals in Art, Curated by Susan Isaacs, Delaware Center for Contemporary Art, Wilmington, DE
Delaware Women's Conference Exhibition, Biggs Museum, Dover, DE
DDA Award Winners, Biggs Museum of American Art, Dover, DE
2004
US Artists: American Fine Art Show, 33rd Street Armory, Philadelphia, PA
New Talent Show, Rosenfeld Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Art Fairs
2025 Art Capital: Comparaisons - "Visionary Realists," Grand Palais, Paris, France 2024 San Francisco Art Fair: 12th Edition, San Francisco, CA (with John Natsoulas Gallery)
2024 LA Art Show, Los Angeles, CA (with John Natsoulas Gallery)
2013 Red Dot Art Fair, Miami, FL (Donna Gordon Gallery) 2012 SCOPE, Basel, Switzerland (Mindy Solomon Gallery)
2011 Verge Art Fair, Brooklyn, NY
2009 Beyond Eden Art Fair, Barnsdale Art Park, Los Angeles, CA (Billy Shire Fine Art)
2008 Aqua Art Fair Miami, Miami, FL (Billy Shire Fine Art)
2007 Bridge Art Fair- Chicago, London, and Miami (Billy Shire Fine Art)
2004 US Artists: American Fine Art Show, Philadelphia, PA (Rosenfeld Gallery)
Interactive Performance Art
2019 “Three Fates,” Goddess Lounge, Rail Road Square Art Park Events, Tallahassee, FL
2017 “Past, Present, Future,” Goddess Lounge, Rail Road Square Art Park Events, Tallahassee, FL
2015 “Dark Pope,” Art Nunz, Aquarium Gallery, New Orleans, LA
2013 “Ritual in Black and White,” Art Nunz, 621 Gallery, Tallahassee, FL
2011 “Tarot Passport,” Pyramid Players, Rail Road Square Art Park Events, Tallahassee, FL
Exhibitions Curated
2016 Cute and Creepy, Valdosta College, Valdosta, GA
2013 Cute and Creepy, Longview Art Museum, Longview, TX
2011 Cute and Creepy, Florida State Museum, Tallahassee, FL
30th Anniversary Exhibition, 621 Gallery, Tallahassee, FL
Recent Invited Lectures
Deland Art Museum, Deland, Florida
Bascom Art Center, Highlands, North Carolina
New York Academy of Art, New York, New York
Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, Connecticut
Fontbonne University, St. Louis, Missouri
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge Gallery, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana
Laguna College of Art and Design, Laguna Beach, California
Pensacola Museum of Art, Pensacola, Florida
Kolaj Institute, New Orleans, Louisiana
Delaware Contemporary, Wilmington, Delaware
University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware
Warren Wilson College, Swannanoa, North Carolina
Adam State University, Alamosa, Colorado
Arts on Douglas, New Smyrna, Florida
The Haven, Portland, Oregon
Tallahassee Community College, Tallahassee, Florida
John Natsoulas Art Center, Davis, California
Permanent Collections
University of Delaware
Radcliff University
Biggs Museum of American Art
Billy Shire
Contact: [email protected]
Artist Statement
As the steward and axman, I return to haunting moments in art history to pick through the “boneyard” of painting with reverence. I am a scavenger salvaging lost aesthetics seeking to reclaim, not merely as a quotation. Composing with a woman’s voice, the oil painting is the basis for dialog with the art’s past through complex imagery that unburdens the restrictions of a feminist psyche. These are paintings made of paintings, fractured and altered to bare my psychological revelations and exhumed life lessons.
Mining imagery from Renaissance and Baroque paintings, these fragments provide a foundation to construct layered narratives that resemble fantastical parables. The compositions combine personal and classical symbology with luminescent color, communicating themes of mortality, sexuality, personal transformation, and the darker side of human nature. Rejecting the rational vision of life, this artwork values the magic of the subconscious and the strange beauty in the unexpected, the uncanny, the disregarded, and the unconventional.
Working in egg tempera and oil, the methods employed are based on old master processes. I typically depict the world realistically and then subvert and distort it so that I may construct a strong sense of narrative and meaning. Each composition becomes a dense meta-narrative, made cognizant by unraveling and reweaving religious and mythological iconography.
Carrie Ann Baade’s work has been described by Curator of Contemporary Art Margaret Winslow as “autobiographical parables combining fragments of Renaissance and Baroque religious paintings, resulting in surreal landscapes inhabited by exotic flora, fauna, and figures.” The context and the compositional building blocks of her work are fragments of historical masterpieces, which Baade reinterprets using her original feminist and autobiographical perspective.
Ref: Wikipedia