The work in this show includes a selection of recent paintings and ceramic pieces. The paintings are more personal than what I’ve done before. They deal with my mental health — living with bipolar disorder and ADHD — and the way certain thoughts or moods can feel bigger than me. A devil-like figure shows up throughout the work. It represents a part of myself I used to push outside of me, and now try to understand by painting it. When I first started making art, I called myself a “Super Funk Expressionist.” I didn’t know anything about art history — I just meant that I wanted to feel first, think later, and not be afraid to mess things up and keep going. Later on, I learned that my mentor and close friend Richard Silva, who studied under Joan Brown, was connected to the Bay Area Figurative movement. That kind of honest, emotional painting still influences me.

The ceramic masks and figures grew out of my time working with Stan Bitters as both an assistant and apprentice. Being in his studio changed how I see clay — it’s physical, direct, and about process. Stan’s background connects to Peter Voulkos and the energy of West Coast ceramics, which ties into that same California lineage of experimentation. Some of the pieces are raku-fired, others traditionally fired, but they all connect back to the same idea — different faces, different states, different versions of the self. Altogether, the work reflects where I am right now: still learning, still experimenting, and trying to make sense of what’s going on inside. - Goku McAfee