Kaylee Bender, a self-taught artist raised on the East Coast, has always embraced art as an integral part of her life. With each piece, she delves deeper into her relationship with creation, viewing art as a powerful tool for expression and a catalyst for change. For Kaylee, uninhibited artistic expression is a form of pure liberation, a way to become unified with the world. In addition to her work in portraiture and surrealism, Kaylee looks forward to creating more community-focused and mentorship-based projects as she continues to evolve as an artist.
During a recent interview conducted by intern Christine Stadnik, Kaylee dove into her most recent solo show "The Love Below." The exhibition, held at The People’s Building through February 28, showcases Kaylee’s connection with the community and incorporates themes of self-love and liberation. This interview provides insight into Kaylee's creative process and her current projects and offers a glimpse into what the future holds for this talented artist.
Find Kaylee’s artwork at upcoming exhibitions, including “OMG! You’re So Pretty” opening March 1 at the Benchmark Theater, and “Babe Walls’ Women's History Month Art Show” at Ryan Joseph Gallery opening March 9. The artist is also organizing a student-led mural at Montview High School. Donate to the project here.
Kaylee, Yazz Atmore, and Cya Davis are launching the Kinship Arts Movement, a public art initiative that promotes healthy disruption in the form of rest, creation, and public art without censoring artists. The program creates a safe space for people to foster new relationships and connect to art and education resources without the barrier of race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic experience. Kaylee is also the founder of Colfax Cares, a mutual aid and public art initiative.
Visit her website or Instagram to stay up to date with Kaylee’s projects.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Christine Stadnik
Can you tell us about the inspiration and process behind your solo show pieces?
Kaylee Bender
My idea of it, really the name, came before the process and the premise, the stories. When I was thinking of “The Love Below,” I was thinking of the love that lives below the surface. I struggle with severe depression and anxiety. For the past year and a half, it has been hard for me to see the ability to love myself, which can cloud my ability to love others. It is that domino effect of losing affinity for the things around me, starting with myself. That was honestly really hard for me to sit with.
I had a long time to work on this show, but I did not start consciously working on things for the collection until January 23. Before this, I did not have whatever needed to come out. It wasn’t there yet. I'm honestly very impressed and thankful that I honored myself and my process in knowing that it wasn't something that could be forced. It was something that had to reveal itself. And I finally felt okay, I felt like I have the capacity to physically be at the studio working but also process it all and sit with painting.
The first piece I started working on was Leroy Two. It's my second portrait I've made of a local neighbor named Leroy. He's one of the freshest people I know, the way he styles himself and presents himself in the world is breathtaking. Part of the conversation that we had was centered around music and his life experience. I was hearing so much triumph from a man who has been through it. He was there in the 60s. He was in the South. He grew up in Columbus, Ohio, and Atlanta, Georgia as a Black man. The amount of barriers he had just living his life versus the way that we do now…How he's still carrying that with him in the way of strength, and to me, I see it in the way he dresses. You see it in his face. You see it in his vibrant purple suit that says this is who I am. This is how I show up in the world.
It was that conversation back in November that laid the groundwork of what it looks like to know that love is always present. With that inspiration, I started working on his portrait. Following it, the portraits I made in that period of time carried this narrative of strength and ancestral influence. One of the second portraits I painted in that week was of my friend Theresa, who my friends have described as the moon because of the way she shows up in your life. When she does, you are left with such wisdom and enlightenment or you're left with something to hold; her energy is so unique. She's full of light. Last year, I was in such a dark place that it was hard for me to process and I wanted this piece to be a celebration of someone who is constantly carrying light through their own darkness. As her mom is Filipina, she's been going through her own ancestral identity journey and sharing that with me. It has been such an inspiration in continuing to explore, “Where did I come from? Who am I?” This too has become a motivator for me to keep going, because I am in a position where my ancestors were not allowed to be. I keep this in mind as I create my art and through daily practices, which is another part of “The Love Below.”
This whole process for the show has been reminding myself that I do not need to feel the intense guilt and shame that has been following me for so long. I am allowed and encouraged to feel the love for myself of everything around me when I can, when it comes to the surface.
Christine Stadnik
Can you share any memorable moments or experiences you've had during the creation of the artworks for this exhibition?
Kaylee Bender
Yes, I think specifically with the painting of my friend Theresa, called An Ode To My Friend. I recognized that I needed some sort of play or else I was not going to be able to make something that felt right. That piece was honestly the quickest piece. I dumped paint all over the canvas and was swishing it around and making shapes and splattering stuff. I thought it was funny because in all the workshops I do, especially with younger kids, I encourage them to do what I did, which was play. But in my own practice, I often forget. The Theresa piece was playful, which reminded me of her. Painting her was love, light, and levity while carrying the heavy realities of ancestral light. I am reminded of art, play, and community as liberation.
Christine Stadnik
What advice would you give to aspiring artists, or those in a creative rut?
Kaylee Bender
The first thing that comes to mind is that wherever you are is okay. It is necessary. Pause; pause and rest are necessary. Creative ruts are unavoidable. We get to choose how we interact with moments of stasis and stillness. We get to choose where the motion comes from. Especially for full-time artists, I think there's a lot of solitude in that. I have one friend who swears by having creative input and output every day in the smallest things. I think it's really easy to have creative input, like Instagram. I get a lot of input and then some days I don't have it; there's no making something. It just all sits in here. So create even if it's thirty seconds, two minutes doing something. Have a small creative output every day.
Christine Stadnik
Is there anything more you want to share about your exhibition, you as an artist, or what's next?
Kaylee Bender
I am working towards bigger installation-based artwork, and there were a couple of pieces in “The Love Below” that were smaller proofs of concept. This showed me that I could do it, even at a smaller scale. On my own creative journey, I look forward to creating some more immersion-based artwork.
