An Inspired Chat with Annieo Klaas of Birmingham

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Annieo Klaas. Check out our conversation below.

Annieo, really appreciate you sharing your stories and insights with us. The world would have so much more understanding and empathy if we all were a bit more open about our stories and how they have helped shaped our journey and worldview. Let’s jump in with a fun one: What is a normal day like for you right now?
I’m a nuclear pharmacist, so my days unfold mostly in the dark. Around midnight, I’m usually in my studio, rinsing my brushes and getting ready to leave as the rest of the city falls asleep.
At 12:30 a.m., I arrive at the lab, a place of controlled light and deep shadow. Machines hum quietly while I prepare doses that will travel out before morning. I unload the cyclotron, which has been running unseen for hours, generating radioactivity. Later, I draw each patient’s dose from a vial of clear liquid, working with mechanical arms inside a thick lead-lined chamber.
The night moves in cycles: measuring, waiting, dispensing. By late morning, sometime between nine and eleven, I head home as daylight spreads across the city. I go to sleep just as brightness takes over.
I wake again in the evening. Around six, I practice yoga with friends as the light softens, and later I return to my studio to paint. My days move between darkness and illumination, between what is seen and what is hidden. That constant shifting—from night to day, from shadow to light—shapes the way I think about painting.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m an oil painter attracted to the quiet drama of sunlight and shadow. Lately, I’ve been working on a series of paintings of windows distorted by sheer, light-saturated curtains. Patterns of sun, shadow, and foliage blur the boundary between interior and exterior, creating a space that vibrates just beyond the logical.
Like magical realism in literature, my work leans into the everyday, illuminating the magic resting in the shade of reality. My windows function as thresholds, inviting the viewer to linger in the temporal space of a sunbeam that would exist if time could be paused for a moment.
I grew up in Dakar, Senegal, and am currently based in Birmingham, Alabama. I hold a PharmD from Auburn University and a BFA from Cornish College of the Arts, and I work as a nuclear pharmacist for Siemens Healthineers. While these paths may seem unrelated, for me they operate as parallel practices. Working with radiation has heightened my sensitivity to light, shadow, and impermanence. It feels like engaging with a kind of everyday magic.
My work has been exhibited at institutions and galleries including the Mobile Museum of Art, LaGrange Art Museum, Alabama Contemporary Art Center, Field Projects (New York), Warnes Contemporary (New York), Sophiella Gallery, K Space Contemporary, and the Intersect Arts Center in St. Louis. It has also been featured in New American Paintings (South Issue 178) and Booooooom’s Tomorrow’s Talent (Issue 5).

Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
Once, when I was growing up in Senegal, I went to visit a friend who lived in a nearby village, and we had to take a bucket shower because there was no plumbing. I was feeling pretty proud of myself for managing to wash with just a few cups of water, until she said, “Annieo, you’re using too much water — one cup is enough.” I was embarrassed and humbled. That moment helped me to realize how accustomed I had become to the comforts of my own life, and how much more I could see if I made room for the perspectives of others.

If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
If I could say one kind thing to my younger self, it would be: “Trust your intuition.” Listen to that little voice, even when it feels like the only one speaking, because you know the way better than you think.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What truths are so foundational in your life that you rarely articulate them?
Some truths that are foundational to my life are: I will work for what I want, I can’t live fully without art, and the simplest things — like sunlight spilling across the floor — can change everything.

For instance, it’s wild how much my mood can change when the sun comes out. I might be feeling down, irritable, or sleepy, and suddenly the light hits, and I feel curious, energized, and ready to dive into the rest of my day. Moments like that remind me how alive perception can be, and how much the everyday holds the power to shape both thought and feeling.

Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: When do you feel most at peace?
I feel most at peace when I’m listening to music. You might expect me to say that I feel the most at peace when I’m painting, but that’s not always the case. Painting can be stressful, especially when a piece isn’t going the way I hoped. Music has an ability to lift me above my thoughts, slow them down, and keep them from overwhelming me. I always have it on when I’m working; my AirPods are probably the thing I take for granted the most, and honestly, my mood would be much worse without them.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Sarah Coleman

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