Riley Garrett

Riley Garrett graduated from the University of Arkansas in 2018, with a double major in Urban Planning & Political Science. Despite its vibrant display, the origin of his work Interplay (2017) is melancholic in nature, created as a reaction to losing his aunt to lung cancer. The work’s enormity is a homage to the vast social network and the far-reaching impact his aunt built during her fight with her illness. Hues of red, blue and white disperse across the canvass surrounded by brooding black formations. In this way, Riley uses color to represent his aunt's character and condition in her final moments. The formations resemble cell structures, representing the biological cell structures integral to human existence but “often overlooked.” Riley’s work has a keen interest in the metaphysical, death and life, and the social habits of human beings. In his own words, Riley’s goal for Interplay was to “remind us that even in our darkest hours, beauty can be seen through the muddled complexity of death.”Riley hopes his use degrees to someday retrofit cities so that they will cater to anyone regardless of mobility, race, class, gender, and everything else that still subdivides our world.

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