“This notion of being able to see beyond the surface directly truncates the preconceived necessity of pictorial space and frees it to exist within the context of its own physical embodiment.” McKay Otto was born in Wharton, Texas near Houston and raised with an appreciation for the arts, McKay has many fond childhood memories of playing the piano, drawing on white flour sacks in his father's Market, and visiting art museums with his parents on Sundays. It was this upbringing and support from his family and friends that allowed McKay to embrace his calling and pursue his art. In consideration of the dimensional relationships that exist between drawing, painting and sculpture, this work is concerned with freeing two-dimensionality in painting. The specially formulated transparent nylon "canvas" provides the opportunity to work within and transform the traditional support of painting. As the rigidity of the planar support becomes dissolved, the circumstance arises to create works that are inwardly divisible and outwardly expanding. The implementation of the grid serves as a drawn formal structure that both stabilizes the surface of the art object while simultaneously creating passages for the viewer to literally see beyond. This notion of being able to see beyond the surface directly truncates the preconceived necessity of pictorial space and frees it to exist within the context of its own physical embodiment. Otto lives and works in his studio near Wimberley, Texas. His works deal with the themes of light, simplicity and silence in drawing and painting. He has exhibited his work extensively in Texas metropolitan areas of Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio as well as in NYC, Chicago, Denver, New Orleans, and Aspen. He has a BBA from The University of Texas, Austin, and he has studied art and art history at the MFA Houston Glassell School and received an informal art education through interaction with such luminaries as Agnes Martin.