by Marlana Hufstetler
This fall, art enthusiasts throughout Tallahassee and surrounding areas are in for one of The Req Room’s most comprehensive gallery experiences of the year. On Friday, Sept.11, at 8 p.m., nationally recognized, Tallahassee muralist Kenny Maguire will present “Reverberations,” a gallery show experience exploring art, sound, and connection, for the very first time.
Born in 1969 in Youngstown, Ohio — once one of the country’s primary steel-producing cities before the shutdown of its mills in 1980 — Maguire admits money played a role in his start as an artist. “We grew up super poor. I was an illustrator because we couldn’t afford paint at the time,” he says.
Eventually, Maguire’s resourceful upbringing would prove advantageous, inspiring him to become a muralist at the young age of 9. Murals provided a way for him to bring art to his community in an accessible way. “You don’t need gallery membership or an admission ticket [to view murals],” he reasons. For the young artist, it was about making artwork available to the public in a way that wouldn’t cost viewers a dime.
Today, he admits his work isn’t limited to one medium. While he’s known for his murals, he’s also experienced with wood burning, carving, and sculpture. Even when it comes to his paintings, he doesn’t classify them as one style.
Maguire admits he doesn’t follow a particular style like cubism, Neo-impressionism, or any other for that matter on a regular basis. “I guess the most accurate one would be impressionism, although I have painted realism. I prefer to leave a little abstract expressionism in there—to leave some things ambiguous for the viewer to figure out on their own.”
When asked what else drives his diverse work, Maguire credits his love for science, particularly quantum physics. “I was really taken by the recent understanding by mainstream science that everything in the universe is connected on a molecular level. All the people, all the plants, all the planets, all the suns. Everything,” he says.
He was particularly taken by a study that was done on the physicality of sounds waves. “Sound waves are a solid and real as you and I,” he adds. “They affect our lives in ways that we completely take for granted.”
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