Annie Straka

Annie Straka is a contemporary abstract painter based in Cincinnati, Ohio, whose work explores the emotional and structural possibilities of color.

Trained as a dancer, Straka brings an intuitive relationship with form and presence to her painting practice, work that is as much felt as it is seen. Her paintings move between the geometric and the organic, built through a layered process in which color leads and structure follows. The result is work that is visually alive: warm, saturated, and punctuated by surprise.

Her debut collection, Stems, explored embodiment and self-possession through abstracted female figures. Her current work marks a shift toward more geometric and structural compositions, with color functioning not as decoration but as the primary subject, a force that carries energy, tension, and unexpected delight.

Straka holds a PhD in Educational Studies from the University of Cincinnati, where she currently serves as Associate Dean. Her doctoral training included arts-based research methods, a foundation that informs her reflective approach to studio practice. Pieces from her debut collection are included in the upcoming Radiance 2026 juried exhibition at ADC Fine Art in Cincinnati, running June 12 through August 7, 2026.

Her work is held in private collections, and she paints from her home studio in Cincinnati.


Artist Statement

I have always been an artist, though I came to painting as the medium later in life. Painting is a practice that allows me to become more fully myself through what I create.

I began painting to tap into the less structured parts of my inner world and to express the complexities of my experience as a woman and a mother. I love to engage with materials in an intuitive flow, following the palettes and shapes that develop organically. This practice allows me to suspend all the roles and responsibilities that I hold in my life and feels like the truest form of joyful embodiment. It is my intention that those who engage with my art experience that same sense of freedom and joy.

The pieces in this collection all share an element of surprise in the unexpected pops of color and subtle details. These works are color centric and developed over time as I played with cohesive elements across the pieces. The compositions are layered and playful and reflect my experience of self-understanding and reinvention through my creative practice – finding the ways the work (and parts of myself) can be woven together in conversation, one colorful detail at a time.


https://www.anniestraka.com/