The Sweet Escape 2021

Kayla Mahaffey’s “The Sweet Escape” feels like it was painted yesterday; its colors still zing. There’s a tension between the realism of the portrait and the cartoonish doodles surrounding the subject. Mahaffey lays down colors so richly, especially in the boy’s skin, it’s like she’s building up layers of flavor. You can almost feel the texture, the slight drag of the brush as she coaxes out the highlights. And then, bam, those flat, graphic yellow figures pop out, like daydreams spilling onto the canvas. Look at the way the red ribbon wraps around the boy; it’s a physical barrier, yet it also feels playful, almost like a dare. It reminds me a bit of Kerry James Marshall, how he layers history and pop culture into something totally new. Art's not just about what you see, but what you feel, what you bring to it. It's an open conversation, a sweet escape into the unknown.