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Artist Profile: Mahlon Cathey

Mahlon Cathey

Lees Summit, MO

 

Bio:

Mahlon Cathey is a Lee’s Summit, Missouri-based abstract artist and founder of Third Person Studios. His art practice began unexpectedly through late-night painting sessions in his garage, where creating became a way to process memory, emotion, change, and experiences that were difficult to put into words. Working primarily in acrylic and mixed media, Cathey builds tactile surfaces using layered paint, joint compound, palette knives, hand-applied texture, and other materials. His work moves between structure and spontaneity, often suggesting weathered objects, fragments, landscapes, fossils, and forms that feel discovered rather than deliberately illustrated. His guiding phrase, “What I Couldn’t Say in Words,” reflects his belief that abstraction can hold personal meaning while still leaving room for viewers to bring their own memories and interpretations to the work.