ARTIST STATEMENT

Working across different mediums, applications and iconography, Kristoffer’s research-based practice is concerned with power dynamics: race, class, and history as well as perceived value: desire, passion and materiality. In conversation with social constructs commonly marked by an engagement and devotion with craft and the aura of the object, bridging an interest in high-finish and visual abundance with forms drawn from populism and aesthetics characterized by bold hue, dimensionality, and sharp lines. Exploring these relationships to reveal the asymmetries of contemporary life, marked by universal inequality, human polarization, and intentional distortion to history. Utilizing common symbols to encapsulate the human experience in the form of design draws the viewer in with familiar objectivity. While in unison referencing present day empires, race relation, and caste systems within the works of art to present a connection for further dialog. His works are intended to be socially engaging and solely processed through the lens of the viewer: meeting them exactly where they are in that moment in time and not persuading them with preconceived notions of right and wrong. This tension between surface and depth spans his practice with metaphorical connections that are not just meant for adornment and awe but critical analysis as well. In this way, there is a productive tension between form and subject matter that merges in a way that allows content to be reintroduced in an ultramodern format. The sensory, hedonistic appreciation of the designed object is tempered by a material exploration of what made the object possible: extraction, racial capitalism, imperialism, and market globalism to name a few. The works render the familiar aspects of modern day life with narratives of social reform in the shape of facing the past while acknowledging the present and possible future. This tension is designed to galvanize emotional and subconscious responses from the viewer with the work only finding completion through the lens of the observer.   

BiOGRAPHY

Kristoffer W. McAfee was born into a lower-middle class family in San Diego, California to a young mother and father who met in Chicago, IL. At a young age, his parents separated and he was moved to Chicago with his mother to live with relatives. Growing up, he lived in many areas of the city, as well as housing projects in Gary, Indiana. However, he was primarily raised in the historic neighborhood of Hyde Park, known for its diversity & cultural wealth on the south side of the city. Attending public education throughout middle and high school with a high degree of interest and participation in the graffiti arts and public murals. Traveling from coast to coast showcasing the skills he acquired from other graffiti writers around him, almost all his senior and more experienced. Attending college directly after high school with a focus on pre-medicine with med school following, he learned this was not his calling nor passion. After dropping out of college and a few years in Paris, France, he reinvigorated and cultivated his passion for art. Kristoffer came back to the States and decided to attend art school to further his career within the arts on a professional level. He attended The School of Art institute of Chicago, after a meeting with administration with a portfolio full of nothing but graffiti art work. While working full time and going to school part time, he eventually graduated with a Bachelors of Fine Art degree from SAIC. Immediately thereafter he began applying to grad school for a masters degree in fine arts. The following year he was accepted into the Yale Graduate Art program and is on schedule to graduate with a Master in Fine Art and Design. 

C O N T A C T

contact@kristoffermcafee.com

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