Roots Run Deep 2019

Kayla Mahaffey's “Roots Run Deep” is a recent painting that mixes figuration with surreal botanical elements. It feels like Mahaffey’s giving us a glimpse into a world where the real and the imagined blend seamlessly, don't you think? The palette is vibrant, but what strikes me most is the mix of textures and the way she applies paint. There’s a real push-and-pull happening. In the main figure's face, the rendering is so smooth and dimensional, but the surrounding flowers are flatter, more graphic. I love the way she uses line, how it defines shapes, and adds this playful energy. Look at the little lightning bolt in the thought bubble, for instance. It’s like she's mapped out a whole symbolic system, but it remains tantalizingly out of reach. Mahaffey reminds me a little of Ellen Gallagher, in the way she combines abstraction and figuration with personal and cultural references, making you think about identity and representation in new ways. The painting invites us to linger in the space between clarity and ambiguity, and I am totally here for that.