Childhood Fascination Inspires Art Exhibition
“Evolving Curiosity” is the exhibition at the Lee Dam Center for Fine Art, Marysville. The exhibition features paintings by Kyle Selley, a Kansas City-based artist; the exhibit opens March 13 and runs through March 31. The art center is open Thursdays from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m.; Saturdays from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.; and Sundays from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m.
The public is invited to meet the artist at a free reception Thursday, March 31, from 5 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. Refreshments will be served.
The exhibit is sponsored by the Marshall County Arts Cooperative.
The artwork on display has been created through unconventional materials and processes. Visually, the art resembles a contemporary painting. The artist, however, does not use the same process as most contemporary painters. Selley uses residue from fireworks for his creations. His canvas is a sponge that soaks up the colors and movements of fireworks.
Selley’s relationship with fireworks started when he was a child and would make annual trips to Oakley, Kan. every Fourth of July.
“Fireworks are legal in Oakley and felt like they were part of the culture,” he said. “My older cousins and uncles found creative ways to use fireworks and they inspired me to do the same.”
Selley would buy fireworks and bring them back from Oakley to continue to experiment with them year-round.
“They always felt exciting because they were slightly dangerous and I loved coming up with new and unusual experiments involving fireworks,” he said.
This led Selley to study why people are drawn to spectacles of light, specifically fireworks and cosmic phenomenon.
“Whether it is a shimmering, shooting star or luminous fireworks displays, these rare bursts of light ignite a part of the human spirit which innately captivates and temporarily mesmerizes,” he explained.
Selley titled the exhibition “Evolving Curiosity” because he views his art practice as a continuation of the firework experiments that he investigated as a child.
“My curiosity has been evolving since childhood and continues to evolve in adulthood,” he said. “Once I combined my passion for visual art with my passion for experimenting with fireworks, my interest in them grew exponentially.”
Selley continues to discover new ways to use fireworks.
“Every art piece that I create furthers my curiosity,” he said. “One idea has always led to the next and I have never had to search very far when it comes to finding inspiration for the next firework experiment.”
All of the paintings on exhibit are for sale.
For more information, please may contact the arts cooperative at 785-859-4260.
