Genther’s paintings are aesthetically driven. He likes the shapes and sizes of lizards and chipmunks. More specifically, he focuses on the curvature of their tails, the beady eyes, their agility, the stripe down a chipmunk’s body and the sundry colors and textures of lizards. Though his paintings are visually driven, the meaning they hold is not superficial. Genther has an idea of their personalities in his head and sees some of himself in these warm and cold-blooded creatures.
Genther associates lizards with a rationalism and survivalism and the chipmunk with empathy and guardianship. It took some artistic experimentation before he started making paintings that blended parts of his personality such as the warm and cold.
Kyle Genther teaches art at Central Valley High School and has an art minor from Whitworth University.