The Stage, 18X24, Oil, 2025
Anna Stephen Tanner is an American-born oil painter and curator from Atlanta, GA, practicing in Toronto, ON. Drawn to themes of tension, her practice traces her upbringing amongst rigid Southern American values to her experience as a femme lesbian woman. She depicts the commodification of the female form, reclaiming agency through her queer gaze. Her references come from vintage magazines, early 2000s media, rural America, and imagery from old Hollywood.
She completed her BFA at OCADU majoring in Criticism and Curatorial Practices. Her recent Curatorial work includes, her BFA Thesis titled GRIT: Queer Stories from Rural America held at Remote Gallery, and Power Play; A Girl Behind A Gun held at Girl Fraud Gallery. Her work has been shown internationally at (SCENE) Metrospace in Michigan, US, and at Bevier Gallery at RIT in Rochester, New York and in Toronto at Stackt Market, Remote Gallery, Gallery1313, Ada Slaight Gallery and OCADU at Gradex111.