Kyle R.W. Cargill-Garretson
Artist Bio
Kyle is an artist, independent zine publisher, drag performer, and dollmaker based in Clarksville, TN. He will graduate from Austin Peay State University’s BFA Studio Art program in December of 2026. His art has been shown and sold in local charity auctions, like the 2023 SOS foundation’s Night Of the Arts event in Clarksville, and the 2024 Sanctuary Inc. Chair Project in Hopkinsville, KY. He has been awarded with two residencies in Austin Peay’s Living Gallery, in 2023 and 2026, as well as Austin Peay’s Summer 2026 Research grant. His work has been shown in the 2026 group exhibitions, Precious and Fragile Things and A Summer of Purpose, both in the Barbara Beech Gallery at Austin Peay. His writing has been featured in Austin Peay’s literary magazine Red Mud Review, local music magazine ‘Ville: A Rock and Roll Magazine, and in his monthly zine Cut+Paste Magazine.
Artist Statement
Photo By Bowie Munoz
I am a multidisciplinary artist focusing on video, sculpture, illustration, and collage. My work often uses the human form to explore gendered expectations, class inequality, alienation, and irrational thinking, especially in relation to their opposing forces– personal identity, liberation, cooperation, and persisting joy. I use bright colors, gestural working style, grotesque imagery, and countercultural sensibilities as a way to convey these ideas, to create a complex emotional response which will stick with the viewer. My work is heavily informed by my lived experience of being a Transgender and Native American person, as well as my background in the performing arts world.
