Worcester Magazine Feature - Artists Spotlight

Though I often find it a challenge to distill my creative process into words, doing so coalesces my thoughts and brings insights that propel my art forward.

Hence, I was delighted to be contacted by Kristina Wilson, a Clark University professor, asking if I would participate in a project for her course, Art History 201: Art, the Public, and Worcester’s Cultural Institutions, which pairs students with regional artists from ArtsWorcester’s gallery program. After interviewing the artist, the student is set with the task of producing a short critical essay that positions the artist’s work within contemporary art history.

For this feature, I was interviewed (via Zoom) by Isabella Hillebrand. Despite both of us being a bit nervous at the outset, it was a delightful and engaging hour of conversation with plenty of thought-provoking questions.

From the start, I was most curious as to how my work would be reflected back through Isabella’s eyes. It is often said, and very true, that art only comes full circle when it is viewed by others. Invariably, the observer’s perspective expands the meaning of the work beyond what the artist intended.

I love much of what Isabella wrote, but the following is one of my favorite sections: “Nafey creates art that seems to feed onto itself, yielding hazy compositions of color, uncertain depth, and clouded space.”

Here, not only does Isabella describe the mysterious depth and visual ambiguity that I purposefully infuse into my work, but the phrase “art that seems to feed onto itself” (as bizarre of an image as that may conjure) indicates that the work takes on a life of its own – something that I strive for, and certainly, is one of the higher goals for any artist.

Read the full article on Worcester Magazine's website...