Kyle Staver creates narrative paintings as a means of connecting to the world. The artist starts each composition with a pencil drawing, working progressively through ink wash and watercolor as she develops the expressive needs of the scene—from the interplay of shadow to the agreement of the colors. Staver’s paintings frequently tweak popular myths, exploring the space between where viewers expect the story to go and what is actually present.

Kyle Staver was born and raised in Minnesota. The artist received an MFA from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut in 1987.

In 2015, Staver was awarded the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship and the American Academy of Arts and Letters Purchase Prize. The artist is a member of the National Academy of Design.

Solo exhibitions of Staver’s work include: Paper Trails at Steven Harvey Fine Art Projects in New York City (2021); a show at Galerie RX in Paris, France (2019); and a show at Zürcher Gallery in New York City.

Other exhibitions of Staver’s work have taken place at: the Armory Show, with Zürcher Gallery, in New York City; The American Academy of Arts and Letters in New York City; The National Arts Club in New York City; The McEvoy Foundation in San Francisco, California; and Portland Community College in Portland, Oregon.