David Paul Kay

American Contemporary Art by David Paul Kay - Empire State of Mind

2025

David Paul Kay is an American contemporary artist born in 1982 who lives and works in New York City, USA. With a focus on vibrant lines and intricate compositions, Kay creates captivating narratives on blank surfaces. His obsession with detail, versatility of scale, and perspective have led him to create hundreds of drawings, paintings, murals, and sculptures. Originally from the former Soviet Republic of Georgia, Kay moved to the United States in 2008. As a self-taught artist, he has always experimented with different techniques, but his career took off when he arrived in New York City in 2009 and developed his signature monochromatic style. Kay has explored various thematic series in his work. His "Matter" series examines the fabric of the universe, while "Psychoanalysis" uses thought experiments as a unique form of storytelling. "Icons" pays homage to universally recognized figures, and "Underdogs" delves into emotional and cerebral states. The artist has also conceptualized series such as "Seven x Seven," which explores the theory of segmenting life into transformations every seven years, and "The Circle of Time," a collection of twelve interconnected pieces that form a clockwork loop centered around the number 12, examining our understanding and relationship with time. Kay's work has been exhibited and collected in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. He has participated in artist residencies in Los Angeles, London, globally in Spain and Greece. Additionally, he has collaborated with major brands like Montblanc, PayPal, Cadillac, and Equinox on global campaigns and private commissions. His work has been featured in prestigious publications including Forbes, Architectural Digest, Vogue Italia, and Wallpaper. As a co-founder of "theark," an artist residency program in Nairobi, Kenya, Kay is actively involved in bringing together African and Non-African members of the creative community. His artwork has even been auctioned live at Christie's London, further solidifying his impact on the global art scene.