Forgotten Graces

Do you ever feel the warmth of the sun through a window, see fireflies in a friend’s backyard, or catch a whiff of something so distinguishable that you’re taken back to a precise moment in your life? That’s what Kevin West’s exhibition Forgotten Graces is all about—the power of a moment.

But while transporting to these moments is so easy, almost instantaneous as an observation sparks a memory, depicting a moment’s power perfectly can be tricky. West’s artistic process encompasses this dichotomy. Once the memory has come to mind, he challenges himself as he sketches and paints to “stop control[ling] the narrative.” By using colors that deepen the story, he “allow[s] memory and emotion to guide the work,” recreating a moment with honesty and fluidity.

One central Forgotten Grace for West took place on a Sunday morning when he was very young and continued every Sunday morning of his childhood, right before church. The smell of shoe shine oil as he walks through the airport teleports him back in time, and he sees his grandfather shining his shoes. This one smell surrounds him in the fullness of that memory.

In Forgotten Graces, West depicts moments that represent the little gifts that go unnoticed as we’re living them, those we lump into the mundanity and routine of life. Moments that, when thought of later, exclaim to us how much they shaped us through the deep love and tenderness we feel while remembering them. We recognize these moments have lingered and “stay[ed] with us for life.”

West offers us the idea that what once was ordinary can bring us the blessings of comfort and familiarity. As viewers walk through the gallery and examine his show, he hopes they remember their own Forgotten Graces and recognize just how profound they truly are.