Largely self-taught, Georgia native Kimmy Cantrell feels his years in the business world earning a living play an integral role in his work. "I’ve met many interesting people of diverse backgrounds," he explains. "Despite our differences, there are common experiences and emotions that unite all of us. I enjoy looking beyond physical and social barriers to explore this oneness of humanity in my work." Kimmy’s attempts to capture universal expressions of human emotions have led to his creation of provocative masks and nude figures. His works contain elements of cubist and abstract expressionist styles. In his clay masks, Kimmy manipulates shape, color, dimension and texture to depict a sometimes disturbing, sometimes freewheeling, but always powerful range of emotions. Kimmy Cantrell often incorporates cracks, holes, nails and pieces of wire into his works to introduce a raw, unpolished element. He states: "The crude, asymmetrical appearance of my pieces represents the primitive quality of certain emotions. I also hope to show that there can be beauty in flaws. One does not have to achieve perfection to be beautiful." Through his work Kimmy has commented on many harsh realities, from racial prejudice to human suffering. In one work he exploits the lines and curves of the female form to convey a woman’s feelings of inadequacy after a mastectomy. In contrast, Kimmy also explores the more playful spectrum of human emotions with fun, whimsical pieces. He sums it up this way: "I want to move people with the passion expressed in my work."