About the Artist
ARTIST STATEMENT
My professional interest as an artist is to present the world as it is today, disrupted. Like the Hudson River School which painted the landscape to highlight beauty and communicate its present state, I desire to paint a world that highlights the current conditions. In doing so, I challenge the viewer to decide what is important, escapism or reality.
My work explores the complex relationship between nature and human intervention, focusing on how business, policy, and social issues disrupt landscapes. Drawing on my background as an Eagle Scout, I present scenes of natural beauty intertwined with elements of destruction, such as power lines and urban remnants, reflecting both the awe and unease that these contrasts evoke.
My artwork is a direct response to my lived experience. Having experienced the loss of my mother and father, I have seen the need to escape. I know I am not alone in this feeling. Yet, I continue to move forward. My process is influenced by my escapes. I gather references and research from the outdoors; I want to understand the environments I create and then communicate that experience. I also want to make work that responds to current events and politics in a way that critiques and entertains.
In addition to the visual elements of my work, I enjoy working on paper because of its resilience and ability to record damage through its creases. I have also recently started to explore how digital and physical work can intertwine to create an image that lives between the tangible and the digital. I have been referring to this as digital mixed media. This is why landscapes are a recurring theme in my work, offering solace and comfort. This connection guides my artistic practice, blending natural beauty with visible signs of human impact to capture the tension between serenity and destruction.
My research interests have evolved over the two years since I graduated with a BFA in Art and a BS in Business Management. I remain committed to presenting a disrupted landscape shaped by human design. I wish to explore the balance between nature and human intervention, revealing how these forces coexist, disrupt, and reshape one another. My work seeks to bridge the tension between escape and entrapment, drawing from personal experiences and collective observations in our search for peace within a fractured landscape.
Central to my work are three elements: power, seduction, and technology. These forces ripple through both nature and society. Technology both integrates and alienates us, while the seductive pull of certain vices offers brief escapes that often lead to disconnection. These controversial escapes manifest through my imagery and material choices, reminding viewers of the fragile boundaries between relief and dependence. I use these components to encourage deeper inquiry, challenging viewers to recognize their own landscapes and the socio-political forces shaping them. I have experienced this firsthand and want to present it on a broader scale
BIOGRAPHY
Kyle Silligman is an artist based out of Vernalis, CA, and has been a lifelong resident of the Central Valley. He is a graduate of California State University Stanislaus receiving a BFA with a mixed media emphasis and a BS in Business Management with a concentration in Strategy/Entrapanurship.
As an artist, Kyle currently explores the adventurous escape that landscapes provide and the emotions that accompany the viewer. His process includes physically visiting the environments he paints and understanding the mechanics of "Why" we paint nature in addition to the "How". He also is interested in the combination of business, politics, and modern tragedy in the landscape. Garbage in a beautiful location is still garbage, yet the beauty behind is more enticing at times.
When out of the studio, Kyle is heavily involved in the Boy Scouts of America, volunteering at various levels. He has recently been involved as an event artist for multiple scout events across the country. His involvement in Scouting, since the age of five, has provided him with the unique opportunity to see many of the untouched landscapes that California has to offer.
He has displayed work in shows at the L.H. Horton Jr. Gallery in Stockton, CA, Carnegie Arts Center in Turlock, CA., and Stanislaus State University. His work is in various private collections and is being shown across the internet.
