Photo by Danielle Mastrion
ARTIST STATEMENT:
My work is propelled by love, curiosity, and a desire to connect.
My personal practice is a visual exploration of the complexities of the human experience. Drawing on my interests in anthropology, biology and cosmology, my paintings often incorporate symbols and visual metaphors taken from nature to illustrate universally experienced phenomena such as love, death and growth. By drawing parallels between living beings, my work aims to amplify the common threads that connect us all, while still questioning the systems of oppression and fear that divide us.
In my public art practice, my work aims to create a transformational space where neighbors can connect, strangers can communicate and ideas can be expressed. I believe strongly in the catharsis of community-engaged art and enjoy collaborating through a participatory process with host communities, fellow artists, youth groups and seniors. The richness of each project lies in the connections that are made, the skills that are shared, and the dialogues that are generated during the creative process. The end result is a dynamic work of art that not only adds to the beauty of the public space, but reflects the identity and history of the surrounding community and provides a platform for local narratives.
BIO
Kristy McCarthy is a professional muralist, teaching artist, and community organizer based in East Harlem, NYC. Painting under the moniker “D.Gale,” she utilizes art as a powerful tool to build community, raise awareness about social and environmental justice issues, and heal collective trauma.
Kristy is an alumnus of the Laundromat Project’s Create Change Fellowship and has centered her practice around community engagement and participatory art-making. As a trauma-informed teaching artist, she has led various collaborative mural projects with youth, seniors, and adults living with mental illness, partnering with NGOs and institutions such as Groundswell, Creative Art Works, Thrive Collective, and the New York City Department of Health. In 2022, Kristy was lead muralist for the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s New York City Mural Arts Project, working to destigmatize mental health conditions through community-engaged art making, and she recently completed two murals in South Brooklyn Health Emergency room for the NYC Health and Hospital’s Arts in Medicine program.
Kristy’s work has been exhibited at ESP Gallery, the Young New Yorkers Silent Art Auction, Julia de Burgos Performance and Arts Center, and El Barrio Artspace. She has painted murals for various public art forums, such as The Centre-Fuge Public Art Project, Welling Court, The Audubon Mural Project, the First Street Garden, and Uptown Grand Central.
Internationally, she served as an ECA Arts Envoy for the US embassy in La Paz, Bolivia, and as an artist-educator for the US Dept of State’s hip hop diplomacy initiative Next Level Aerosol Edition in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. She has painted in mural conferences and art festivals all over the globe, including Akumal Art Festival in Mexico, Indómita Festival de Arte Urbano in Ecuador, and Amazonarte in Peru.
Her practice also extends to community organizing and cultural production. She is a founding member of HART: The Harlem Art Collective and has spearheaded over twenty socially engaged public art installations in her neighborhood of East Harlem, including their flagship project - the Guerrilla Gallery. She is co-producer of Fiesta de Colores, a socially engaged street art festival in coastal Ecuador that aims to empower marginalized communities and assist in post-earthquake reconstruction efforts.
Kristy is a recipient of the 2019 New York City Council Proclamation and a City Council Citation. She has been awarded various other awards and accolades, including a Diploma of Artistic Merit from the National Assembly of Ecuador, the People’s Choice Award from the Art Lives Here Festival, and a Certificate of Appreciation from the Ecuadorian Consulate. She is currently pursuing her Phd in Environmental Psychology at the CUNY Graduate Center.