Kay Muir

American

Biography- 1913-2008, Kay Muir's first exposure to a number of the great creative artists of the 20th century came at the age of nine when she and now world-renowned architect Eero Saarinen threw mud pies at each other in Detroit. During her college years at the University of Michigan where she received a B. S. degree in art and design, she designed sets and costumes for theatrical productions, helped to establish the Children's Theater of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and learned design concepts from noted choreographer Martha Graham. A memorable experience came shortly after college at the age of 22 as an employee of Halle Brothers department stores in Cleveland, when she was asked to "take charge" of Gertrude Stein and her companion Alice B. Toklias during a book signing.
After raising four children, she returned to her art studies at the Art Academy of Cincinnati where she worked with Paul Childlaw, Paul Moscat, Arthur Helwig, and learned about the interaction of colors with visiting artist Josef Albers, best known for his widely studied color theories. Albers taught at the Academy in l950 on his way from Black Mountain College to Yale University where he was to become head of the design department.
During the past forty years, her work has been shown in numerous group and one-woman shows, exhibitions, festivals, and included in permanent collections of the Cincinnati Art Museum, Dayton Art Institute, and in private collections in the U.S. and Canada. She has also devoted her time to teaching others find themselves through art. Muir served four terms as a trustee of The Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati.
In speaking of her work, Muir says, "Color in painting creates the atmosphere. Its relationships and its powers are a causative factor. I strive for a more lyrical sense than just the physical stimulation of visual interaction. In painting some of the mysteries and joyfulness of the dance of life unfolds. My paintings must surprise me, to show me a world I've never seen. Or to make something happen that has never happened before. I want my paintings to be somewhat elusive, and the rhythms to be invented as I go. The colors usually hint of naturalistic atmospheres "the sea, a carnival, a moon-drenched night, a pine forest, a sunny promenade, a dance.
"I am, then, influenced by nature, its spaces, and colors. In that sense, my paintings are earth-bound. This imposes a kind of simplicity. I, the painter, am the agent who manipulates the jewels of color, but the paint itself dictates what can be done. I often use optics or oscillation of color to make the eye dance over the canvas. I strive to build chaos, tension, speed, and progression in the dance of the painting."

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