Kayla Bauer is an artist working with photography, objects, and installation. She has earned her MFA in Studio Art from the University of Wisconsin Madison. Prior to graduate school she worked as an Associate Lecturer, Photography Lab Technician, and an Assistant Curator at her undergraduate alma mater, the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. She is currently a member of the Society of Photographic Educators.
In her work, Kayla explores nostalgia, kitsch, cute, and reflective memory through photographs, text, and installations.
Her current research explores place through photography and the object. Most recently she has allowed herself to document and wander the streets of San Francisco. At the same time she has been collecting artifacts ranging from postcards to midcentury souvenirs and contemporary objects. This research formed the basis for her MFA thesis exhibition I Left My Heart… which was awarded the 2022 Russell and Paula Panczenco MFA Prize to exhibit her thesis work in the Chazen Museum of Art in Madison Wisconsin.