SPRINGFIELD — Ever since he picked up a Number 2 pencil, Springfield artist Kahli Hernandez has been able to draw attention to his work.
Now, he works primarily with acrylic markers, aerosol paints and oil markers to create colorful, street-style, cartoon-inspired artwork. He calls them his “bread butter.”
“I work really quickly,” he said Saturday during a reception for his work at Springfield Technical Community College’s Amy H. Carberry Fine Arts Gallery. “I need to get my idea on the page and I can’t wait for it to dry.”
Hernandez worked with STCC students to create a one-of-kind art exhibition called “The World Famous Artoonist’s Art Heist.”
Artoonist? That’s not a typo. It’s his calling card. Artoonist, not cartoonist. But anyone who visits the gallery to see his work before the exhibit ends on April 4 will understand.
So how did that happen? He was thinking of creating a stage name for his work.
“I like drawing cartoons and cartoon characters,” he said. “So I think cartoonist? I said. ‘No. I don’t like that idea. It’s kind of corny.’ So thought. ‘Well, let’s drop the ‘C’.“
His work is bright and vibrant. “I like to punch people in the eye with color,” he said.
The Art Heist is an interactive experience that combines an escape room with street-style art.
“This is a show that is very interactive,” said Sondra Peron, gallery coordinator and a professor of arts and humanities at STCC. “This is a show where you can actually touch and move art around to try to figure out the clue to the next stage and the next stage. The goal is to be able to solve the puzzle.”
For more information and gallery hours, go to stcc.io/carberry.
