kyle steed

“MY CURRENT WORK holds the sombre and self-righteous vocabulary of assemblage at gunpoint, forcing it to serve the graphic, transient vernacular of contemporary visual culture. I’m interested in the contradictions: barely three-dimensional models of fleeting images we all seem to recognize – like old animated cartoons – but which we inexplicably feel we must now take seriously.” - statement from artists website

James is one of those people who you look at and just know there is something creative about them. I first met James back in 2002 at a church in Dallas. It was an unexpected friendship that turned out to be very inspiring. I can remember working with James at his historic loft in Deep Ellum with NPR’s All Things Considered playing on the radio. (I think that’s where I found my love of NPR.) Looking back now I am so grateful for the time James took to help mentor me and invest his time in my art. That type of selflessness is something I hope to one day be able to share with another young artist.

Even though it’s been more than 5 years since I’ve spent time with James those memories from the few months we spent time together are still treasured. Last I heard he is happily married and continues to work diligently in the collage and assemblage community. He just finished up a two month exhibition at the Conduit Gallery in Dallas during the months of June and July. If you are unfamiliar with James’ artwork please visit his website, jamesmichaelstarr.com, and fall in love with art all over again.