CURRENT EXHIBITION
New Works By Michael McCaffrey
4/26/24-5/24/24
Michael received a B.F.A. from the University of Kansas in 2006 before receiving an M.F.A. in painting from Indiana University. In the winter of 2016, Michael was awarded a two-week residency at the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts. Michael exhibits both regionally and nationally. He has exhibited at Prince Street Gallery and First Street Gallery in New York, NY, Manifest Gallery in Cincinnati, OH, The Leedy-Voulkos Arts Center in Kansas City, MO and the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, MS. Michael's work was published in Manifest Gallery's International Painting Annual 5 and 9, and in 2015 and again in 2023 he received an international grant from the Elizabeth Greenshields foundation. In 2023 he spent 6 weeks living and painting in Ballycastle, Ireland on a Fellowship from the Ballinglen Arts Foundation. From 2014-2017, Michael functioned as the Artist-in-Residence in Hashinger Hall at the University of Kansas. Currently, he is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of Visual Art at the University of Kansas where he teaches, Painting, Drawing and Life Drawing.
Six years ago, after my mother's death, I returned to my hometown of Lawrence, KS. Since that time, I have explored themes of Family, Place, History, and Death. I work with oil on canvas, I cut paper to create collages and I draw. Most of my work begins with a series of observations of a specific space, such as my father’s kitchen, or his dining room table. In these works, I desire to tell the truth about my family’s history through personal perception. I find that to convey the truth of my family’s narrative, it is necessary to create visual lies that alter reality. My Father is fond of saying “the truth is the truth changes”. I heed this advice and I allow the work to migrate into a meditative, invented, and psychic place. In an act mirrored by my working process, I shift from "reality/observation" to "truth/perception".
I struggle with this balancing act between observation and artifice. I oscillate between accurate visual representation and invented abstract forms. Shapes come together; recognizable forms materialize, then fall apart or become distorted. As this process unfolds, I hope to create a layered accumulation of paint and memories, a woven tapestry that captures a deeper and holistic view of my family’s past and present. In these works, I hope to observe some personal truth about my memory, my family, and my place in it.