Bordering on abstract expressionism, Jo Messer’s paintings offer stimulating and amusing comments about sexual identity and the human body. The artist’s canvases are populated by naked female figures engaged in enigmatic activities—understood as either highly erotic pose, or the artist’s whimsical remarks on the classic genre of the nude. Messer’s unique style explores painting’s full potential while playing with the historical and conceptual underpinnings of the medium. Jo Messer received her BFA from the Cooper Union in 2014 and her MFA from Yale University in 2017.