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, radical 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.”  

C O N T A C T

contact@kristoffermcafee.com

Instagram- km_designhq

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