Something resonates deeply when viewing the work of Anthony Kyle Hall. He speaks to the collective uneasiness that many of us are feeling. ‘Artist as messenger’ balances these tensions between the public and individual/private in a way that can lead to growth and recognition.
“At the center of my work is documenting my personal narratives in response to current cultural and social climates. Through exploring the gap between existing and perceived spaces of existence, reality vs. channels of distorted information – the goal is to highlight substance in the human experience at large. Themes and subject matter dictate the visual aesthetics and materials used, and over time this is to be the vehicle for visual ideas to deepen and evolve.” –Anthony Kyle Hall
Hall is a self-taught artist currently based in San Francisco working primarily in painting. He see’s his visual expression as a way to have personal dialogues centered around contemporary issues with significant meaning. Through exploring abstract observations on contemporary life, sometimes placed within specific historical contexts and desired future spaces, Anthony pushes for idiosyncratic visual languages and symbolism to carve out themes and build comparative “worlds” for commentary. His influences are primarily rooted in contemporary music – from conceptual formulation in musical structures to processes in creating patterns of rhythm. The way a story can be told, or how instrumentation builds musical tension, has informed his creative processes since childhood. Current examples of this include ongoing studies into the instrumental production works of James “J Dilla” Yancey and the compositions/notations of John Coltrane. Hall has been showing work locally and internationally since 2014.
