Artists: A - G: Kiki Gaffney

My work is about balance, a balance that derives from the experience of my daily life. It is what I am most familiar with, yet also the thing I am repeatedly trying to understand. My paintings are a translation of opposing forces – a sense of looseness, lightheartedness and trust with obsession, structure and attention to detail. The result is the creation of joyful spaces poised with hard edges, geometric shapes and lines; a contemplative mix of beauty and minimalism, in which the angst behind the making is undetectable.

Controlled, precise drawings – botanicals, old wallpaper samples or patterns – are focal points that have a relationship with the surface in their subtleties. This detailed imagery, coexisting with organic or geometric movements on the same plane creates room to breathe, and allows the eye to move from a single area to another equally private space.

The focus of each piece varies, however it revolves around the concept of personal mapping – incorporating everyday issues and occurrences that have taken on some significance into my paintings. The contradictions that result from the drawings and the painted backgrounds are sometimes reminiscent of graffiti on an old wall – a natural deterioration impacted by an intentional hand.

Kiki Gaffney graduated at Loyola College, Baltimore (BA) and at the University of the Arts, Philadelphia (MFA). Gaffney exhibited in both one person and group exhibitions in the East and West Coasts and several Art Fairs.