Only Human 2019

Kayla Mahaffey’s painting, Only Human, is like a portal to a realm where childhood dreams meet grown-up realities. The warm hues of the figure’s skin contrast with the cool, cartoonish colors swirling around, like memories trying to break through. I can almost feel Kayla in her studio, layering the paint, figuring out how to balance the real with the surreal. I bet she was thinking about how we all wear masks, trying to figure out who we are, and what parts of ourselves to show the world. The drips of paint from the Astro Boy mask are a great touch. They remind me of Clyfford Still, but with a totally different vibe. Kayla is clearly in conversation with the history of painting. The screw floating above the head! It’s like she’s riffing on the idea of being human, being put together, but also maybe a little broken. It’s so cool how she’s mashed up all these different styles and ideas. Artists are always borrowing and building on each other's work. There is no one way to understand a painting. It is a space for imagining.