about the artist

David Paul Kay is an American contemporary artist whose multidisciplinary practice encompasses painting, drawing, geometric abstraction, and conceptual art. Working across a range of media and scales, his work examines the complexities of the human condition through a visual language informed by memory, identity, perception, and the relationship between structure and intuition. Moving between abstraction and figuration, Kay develops bodies of work that investigate the psychological, philosophical, and cultural dimensions of human experience.

Since establishing his professional career in New York in 2009, Kay has developed an international artistic practice distinguished by an extensive exhibition history, independent curatorial engagement, and collaborations across the fields of contemporary art, architecture, design, and culture. His early practice was shaped by an intensive exploration of drawing, producing thousands of works on paper that were exhibited throughout Europe. These formative investigations established a sustained interest in line, repetition, geometry, and the expressive possibilities of monochromatic composition, elements that continue to inform his evolving visual language.

Kay's work has been presented internationally through exhibitions and projects across Europe, the United States, and the Middle East. His professional trajectory includes gallery representation in Paris, exhibitions in France and other European art centers, and engagement with collectors and institutions across multiple international markets. His work is represented in private and institutional collections, reflecting an expanding presence within the international contemporary art landscape.

Beyond the gallery context, Kay has developed architectural design and public art projects, large-scale artistic interventions, and collaborations with internationally recognized brands and organizations. His projects and commissions have included Cadillac, Montblanc, and Equinox, among others. His large-scale work at PayPal's New York offices represents an extension of his practice into the architectural environment, where artistic composition engages directly with public and corporate spaces.

Alongside his studio practice, Kay has pursued an independent curatorial and cultural trajectory, contributing to international artistic exchange and the development of cross-cultural initiatives. His work has been shaped by an ongoing interest in the relationship between artistic disciplines, institutional contexts, and the broader cultural environment. He has also participated in international artist residencies, further extending his engagement with diverse artistic communities and perspectives.

Kay is the co-founder and program director of TheArk Artist Exchange, an international initiative connecting artists and cultural communities across New York and Nairobi.

Artist Statement: 

"My practice is grounded in a fascination with the underlying structures of the universe and the tension between complexity and simplicity. I am drawn to the possibility that seemingly infinite systems of thought, time, and space can be approached through an intuitive act of perception. This relationship between the immense and the elemental informs my approach to image-making.

Imagination serves as both a point of departure and a means of transcending conventional perceptions of time, space, and reality. Through the construction of intricate visual compositions, I explore how singular ideas can generate complex visual narratives, often moving between abstraction and figuration. My work is not bound to a fixed subject or medium; rather, each work emerges from an internal inquiry into what can be conceived, transformed, and ultimately made visible.

I approach artistic creation as an open-ended process in which the limits of possibility are continually reconsidered. The act of imagining is inseparable from the act of making. It is within this relationship that my practice finds its direction and purpose."

Artist residencies:

Ionion Center for the Arts and Culture Kefalonia, Greece

Visual Artists Group Lost Angeles, US

The Mandrake  London, UK

Nando Argüelles Proyectos Artes Sotogrande, Spain

Institute of Contemporary Art, Yerevan, Armenia

Currently represented by:

Gaspar Fine Art New York

Kipton Art Advisory Los Angeles

BO Gallery Dubai

Nando Argüelles Proyectos Artes Spain

• 2026- SONNETS ON PAPER Artist Residency, Istanbul
• 2026- NEW WAVE Site Specific Installation, Miami
• 2026- INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART Artist Residency, Yerevan, Armenia

• 2025- DIALOGUES ON THE KNOLL  Group exhibition, West Hollywood, CA
• 2025- ZEN SCULPTURE GARDEN  Priveé, Malibu, CA
• 2025- WE ARE NATURE  Artist Residency and Exhibition, Ionion Center for Arts, Greece 
• 2025- THE ASSEMBLY LINE  Group exhibition, Toledo Museum Week, OH 
• 2025- MONDRIAN HALLANDALE BEACH Art Installation, South Florida 
• 2025- ELEVISON MEDIA DUBAI Curated by Rebia Naim, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and London

• 2024- SIENNA CLUB HOUSE COLLABORATIVE PROJECT BO Gallery, Dubai
• 2024- GIVAUDAN x DAVID PAUL KAY Piece Collaboration New York
• 2024- A ROOM OF ONE'S OWN. THE LOCAL ASPECT OF PRIVACY BO Gallery, Dubai
• 2024- TAF TBILISI ART FAIR Gallerie Bruno Massa, Tbilisi, Georgia

• 2023- GIORGETTI PENTHOUSE Mural, New York
• 2023- PALM BEACH MODERN+CONTEMPORARY Art Fair, Palm Beach, FL
• 2023- GEOMETRIC ABSTRACTION Solo Exhibition, Fremin Gallery, New York

• 2022- CHRISTIE'S Live Auction, London
• 2022- THE MANDRAKE Artist Residency, London
• 2022 - IONIAN CENTER FOR THE ARTS AND CULTURE Grant, Kefalonia, Greece
• 2022 - BAILEY HOUSE ANNUAL ART AUCTION, New York
• 2022 - IMPACT: Artists in Support of Refugees from Ukraine, Artsy Auction
• 2022 - TALENTOS, VARIOS... - Museo de Algeciras, Andalusia, Spain
• 2022 - RÉSILIENCE : AU-DELÀ DES PEINES Art Trope Gallery, Arles, France
• 2022 - PERFECTLY FLAWED Group Exhibition, Ivy Brown Gallery, New York
• 2022 - KIPS BAY DESIGN HOUSE Mural, West Palm Beach, Florida
• 2022 - PRESIDENTIAL PALACE OF GEORGIA Public Permanent Collection, Tbilisi

• 2021 - FLOYD MAYWEATHER MURAL Hollywood
• 2021 - CAN YOU HEAR THE  SILENCE Ivy Brown Gallery, New York
• 2021 - MIROIRS : LE POUVOIR DE LA RÉFLEXION Art Trope Gallery, Paris
• 2021 - BAILEY HOUSE ANNUAL ART AUCTION, New York

• 2020 - HILLSBORO BEACH MURAL, South Florida
• 2020 - BEYOND BORDERS Group Exhibition Artzip, New York
• 2020 - ART AFTER PANDEMIC Group Exhibition Artifact Gallery, New York
• 2020 - AWAKE AND AWAKE Curated by Kipton Art Advisory, Los Angeles
• 2020 - BE FREE Group Exhibition Curated by HLK Art Group, New York
• 2020 - ELEVISION DUBAI Featured Artist of the Week, Curated by Rebia Naim, Dubai
• 2020 - ILLUMINATE Groups Exhibition at Maison 10, New York
• 2020 - VOSS WATER Campaign Collaboration, New York

• 2019 - WYNWOOD MONA LISA Exterior Mural, Wynwood Art District, Miami
• 2019 - KPAAF GUNEA Karen Pritzker Academy of Art and Fashion mural, Guinea
• 2019 - TWIN TOWERS Exterior Mural, Kazbegi, Georgia
• 2019 - UPTOWN GRAND CENTRAL Exterior Mural, New York
• 2019 - CONSCIOUS SHIFT Group Exhibition Curated by Kipton, Los Angeles
• 2019 - PROCESS Exhibition and Roundtable at VAG, Los Angeles
• 2019 - VISUAL ARTISTS GROUP Gallery Facade Mural, Los Angeles
• 2019 - FABRIKA Interior and Exterior murals, Philadelphia 
• 2019 - MONTBLANC x LAURUS Collaboration for NYFW, New York
• 2019 - ARTIST RESIDENCY at Nando Argüelles Proyectos Arte, Spain
• 2019 - EXT. \ INT. INT. \ EXT Group Exhibition Nando Argüelles Proyectos Arte, Spain
• 2019 - TRIBECA ART+CULTURE NIGHT Group Exhibition at White Space, New York
• 2019 - TRANSFORMATION Exterior Mural, Tbilisi
• 2019 - MAZE AT THE MANDRAKE Interior Mural, London
• 2019 - THE MANDRAKE Artist Residency, London
• 2019 - WINTER FIRE Group Exhibition, New York
• 2019 - INFINITY Sculpture collaboration with Jeremy Silva, New York

• 2018 - RESOLUTIONS Solo Exhibition, New York
• 2018 - MONTBLANC BOUTIQUE Exterior Mural, Barcelona
• 2018 - MONTBLANC BOND STREET Exterior Mural, London
• 2018 - MONTBLANC M(RED) - Mural Presentation, New York
• 2018 - MONTBLANC x DAVID PAUL KAY Global Campaign Collaboration, Hamburg
• 2018 - MORPH Group Exhibition at Primed Projects, New York
• ​2018 - BADESSI x KAY Group Exhibition at SPG Architects, New York
• ​2018 - DEMONS OF THE GARDEN Group Exhibition, New York
• 2018 - ABSTRACT FIGURATIVE Group Exhibition at Gallery 104, New York
• 2018 - CIRCLE OF TIME Solo Exhibition at Soho House, West Hollywood
• 2018 - PAYPAL NEW YORK Interior Mural at PayPal Headquarters, Manhattan
• 2018 - MONOCHROME Curated Group Exhibition at Prime Gallery, Jersey City
• 2018 - EQUINOX ORCHARD STREET OFFICES Interior Mural, New York
• 2018 - RENDERING LIKENESS Group Exhibition, New York

• 2017- EQUINOX ORCHARD STREET SHOWROOM Interior Mural, New York
• 2017- UNFRAMED OFF FIFTH Curated Group Exhibition, New York
• 2017 - EAST MEETS WEST Collaboration with Stone Zhu & Parsons, New York
• 2017 - MOTT NYC Exterior Mural, New York
• ​2017- INNOVATION DEN Interior Mural, Coeur d'Alene
• 2017- ARTBRIDGE Annual Auction, NYC
• 2017- KONTAKT N°3 Group Exhibition at Galerie Kontakthof, Paris
• 2017- GLAAD MEDIA AWARDS Annual Art Auction, New York
• 2017 - WHERE IS THE AFTERPARTY Group Exhibition, New York
• 2017 - SEVENxSEVEN Residency & Solo Show at Visual Artists Group, Los Angeles

• 2016 - ART IN TRANSIT Exterior Mural, Philadelphia
• 2016 - PERRY STREET SALON Group Exhibition, New York
• 2016 - ANIMAMUS ART SALON Curated Group Exhibition, New York
• 2016 - ROOFTOP POP UP Group Exhibition, New York
• 2016 - KONTAKTHOF GALLERY GOES BOUQUINISTE Group Exhibition, Paris
• 2016 - PUBLIC FACTORY Solo Exhibition at Soho Grand, New York 
• 2016 - CURATED SOLO EXHIBITION Ideal Glass Gallery, New York
• 2016 - EAST SIDE ORGY Exterior Mural at Ideal Glass Gallery, New York

• 2015 - CADILLAC x DAVID PAUL KAY Live Art Piece for Art Basel, Miami
• 2015 - 212 WILLIAMSBURG Exterior Mural, New York
• 2015 - STAGE 158 Exterior Mural, New York
• 2015 - 100 GATES PROJECT Exterior Mural, New York
• 2015 - UP&OUT Dance Film Collaboration, New York
• 2015 - EMERGING ARTISTS AWARDS Group Exhibition, Dubai  
• 2015 - CONCEPTION ART Group Exhibition, New York 
• 2015 - ABSTRACT GROUP EXHIBITION Dacia Gallery, New York

• 2014 - SOLO EXHIBITION The Madison Fire Island, New York 
• 2014 - POETS IN LUST Art Film by Block6Films, New York

• 2013 - GLAAD ANNUAL ART AUCTION Metropolitan Pavilion, New York
• 2013 - G LOUNGE & GALLERY Interior Mural Installation, New York
• 2013 - TWO ARTIST POP UP EXHIBITION West End Gallery, New York 
• 2013 - SPRING GROUP SHOW Greenpoint Gallery, New York

• 2012 - FIRST INAUGURAL SHOW 286 Spring Gallery, New York 

• 2010 - NEXT MAGAZINE AWARD Leslie Lohman Museum,  New York