Born in Georgia and raised in Alabama, artist Kyle Steed eventually planted roots in Texas, where he’s making his Fort Worth debut with 10 murals at WestBend. Both large and small in scale, Kyle’s work tends to break the barrier of what designers can and will do. His murals have been displayed across the country in both outdoor and indoor venues, and his artwork has an unmistakably childlike, but beautiful, quality. Here he discusses what inspires him, and what he hopes people and places can gain from public art.
Q: How did you get your start?
A: Like everything else in life – trial and error. I am self-taught and have been on this evolving path for the last 10 years. It just so happens that today I am in a space of taking small drawings and recreating them on a much larger scale. Who knows where I’ll land in another 10 years?
Q: Where do you draw inspiration from?
A: All around me. We only have to open our eyes to see it staring back at us. The best way I can put it is that inspiration waits for no one. Only when we commit, surrender, and humble ourselves before a task greater than ourselves will we find inspiration. Or a simpler way of saying this is just to sit down and do the work.
Q: In what ways can public art impact a place?
A: We are impacted every day by our environment. Oftentimes we don’t even realize it. We are also being sold to all the time now without realizing it. My hope with making public art is to cause a moment of pause and original thoughts to occur in people. A moment where we glance up and take notice of the larger, more beautiful world around us.
Q: What is unique about public art in 2017 as compared to 5, 10 or 100 years ago?
A: The scale in share-ability is probably the most unique thing about art in this time and space. Never before have works of art been exposed on a massive global scale.
Q: What do you hope people experience or take away when they see your work?
A: A sense of stillness, calm, original thought, and openness to the world and people around them would be a few things I hope for when people see my work.
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