KIKI GAFFNEY

Artist Biography

Kiki Gaffney graduated from Loyola College in Baltimore, MD with a BA in Studio Arts and received an MFA in Painting from the University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA. Gaffney is primarily a painter and works in oils, and acrylic, often incorporating detailed graphite drawing as well. Gaffney is continually inspired by the visual patterns she notices in her everyday surroundings, whether organically formed in nature or manufactured by human activity. Gaffney’s work juxtaposes animate shapes with design elements; exploring the direct relationship between natural and created atmospheres, and order in her mark making. It is an active meditative process, with the ultimate purpose of highlighting the beauty of configuration and decoration to create a unique space within her work.

Gaffney has held solo exhibitions in Pennsylvania, Utah, Maine, and California. Her work has also been included in exhibitions at The Delaware Contemporary,  The Delaware Art Museum and the Southern Utah Museum of Art. Gaffney was an artist in residence at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018. She was also awarded residencies at the Denver Botanic Gardens and The Montello Foundation, both in 2023.  Her work is represented in public and private collections throughout the United States including Canon USA., Inc, Microsoft, the Denver Botanic Gardens and Sonoma State University.

Artist Statement

The subject matter for my drawings and paintings is based in nature. I am interested in exploring the complexity of the natural world through both representational and abstract systems that illustrate the intersection of external conditions with inner emotion, imagination and memory. It is a dialogue between the objects we can visually see and the things that are hidden – subtle systems of movement, energy and communication. I am drawn to the varying patterns in the natural world, forms that repeat or clone, sculptural in the way they interact with the surrounding environment and light, and particularly in their fluctuating states of growth and decay. The complex symbiotic relationships in nature are networks of collaboration, cooperation and interconnectedness, and while sometimes it may be perceived as chaotic, nature finds its own order. The natural world can be viewed as a metaphor for life in its vulnerability, resilience, transformation and impermanence. It is a space for pause and contemplation, which is the underlying theme of my work.

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