Salado Artist Kay Griffith’s Work Gains International Acclaim
By AMY ROGNLIE | Photography by JUSTIN BORJA and contributed
Tucked away in her studio at the Griffith Fine Art Gallery, under the shade of a massive live oak, Salado’s own Kay Griffith is quietly painting masterpieces.
An internationally-acclaimed artist and native Texan, Kay is one of the top abstract expressionists in the world as evidenced by her long list of accolades. Besides the honor of being named by an international jury as one of the top 15 contemporary artists in 2016, Kay’s artwork has been shown in London, Paris, Florence, Ottawa, Tokyo, and New York to name a few of her recent shows. Her work is also represented full time at C. Parker Gallery in Greenwich, Conn. and she has collectors in Australia, Brazil, Canada, England and Italy as well as in the United States.
Despite Kay’s success, visitors to her gallery are charmed by her gracious, unassuming manner. “My greatest compliment is when someone buys one of my paintings and takes it home to live with,” she says, gesturing to a colorful canvas. “An abstract is not like a painting where you see the same stripe or tree every time you look at the picture. My work is art to be lived with and experienced.”
Abstract expressionism, a contemporary art movement, is defined in Kay’s explanation of what she does.
“My abstracts are about experience. Each painting reflects my experience, most often of the convergence of color, rhythms, and light. I celebrate the colors of the earth and its natural rhythms. Occasionally I paint a person’s emotional reality, sometimes my own emotional reality, and sometimes the reality of simple fantasy play. Always my perceptual experience interfaces with the paint as I am applying it onto the canvas.”
Color and movement are the lenses through which Kay views the world. “Color always captivated me,” she says. “I was born with the ability to see values and intensities of color without knowing the proper nomenclature.” She gestures to the view out of her gallery window. “When I look out there, I see the color of the sky; the movement of the leaves on the oak tree. That’s what I see first. Color and rhythm.”
Kay captures color and movement on canvas with oil paints, carefully creating each unique design using palette knives rather than brushes. She chooses not to name her paintings, preferring to let viewers create their own interpretations. “My abstracts stir emotions and often engender conversation that spotlight individual differences in imagination, thought, and analysis. I respect every individual’s unique identity and encourage them to experience my abstracts, to think for themselves, feel what they feel, and set their imagination free.”
Though Kay creates only abstract paintings, she represents several other area wildlife artists and landscape painters at her gallery partly because, she says with a smile, “Every Texan needs at least one good bluebonnet painting.”
As a board member for Salado’s Cultural Arts District, Kay works to promote Salado as a center of excellence in the arts. “The best thing I can do for Salado is to be highly successful,” says Kay. “Salado is beautiful and many people don’t know that the State of Texas officially designated it as an Art and Cultural District a few years ago. That’s a big deal. Salado has taken a lot of hits lately, but we’re going to make it. After all, we are Texans. We have a long history of dealing with adversity.”
And Kay is up for the challenge. “My quest is to follow my paintings wherever they lead for as long as I live,” she says.
View more of Kay Griffith’s artwork at kaygriffithart.com and griffithfineartgallery.com or visit Griffith Fine Art Gallery at 229 Main Street, Salado
Contact Kay: griffithfineartgallery@gmail.com | 254-947-3177
Instagram: @kaygriffithart or @griffithfineartgallery
