Steve Kirklys

Digital and acrylic and mixed media on screen and canvas and wood

Steve Kirklys is an artist of great patience, parsing his time in order to explore the significance of the world around him. Not in the historical or political sense, but in an attempt to make order out of the visual chaos in his immediate world. He examines the landscapes we take for granted, everyday common denominators we no longer see in the vast mix of daily life.

Kirklys finds his subjects by walking through neighborhoods in Los Angeles and Palm Springs, focused on the architecture and their graphic relation to the landscape around them. They begin to take on their own personalities, each becoming a distinct composition. Hedges, trash cans, fences, windows and power lines assume new aesthetic relationships. The result is a body of work that illustrates the architectural echoes surrounding us while at the same time demanding closer inspection.

A graduate of The Rhode Island School of Design, Kirklys worked as an animation director and sound designer (Pee-Wee’s Playhouse) before moving into directing music videos (Bon Jovi, Jill Sobule, Morphine). Currently working as a freelance graphic designer and creative director, Kirklys’ talents have now evolved to incorporate and illuminate the more immediate world around him.