McKay Otto is a native Texan artist based in Wimberley, Texas, known for luminous, translucent paintings that change with the light around them. Working in layered sheer fabrics, specialized synthetic materials, and phosphorescent pigment,
McKay creates works that read as serene color fields by day and reveal hidden geometric forms and symbols in darkness — a quiet glow that collectors describe as living with two paintings in one.
Explore available works, or inquire about acquisitions and private viewings.
Click artwork to view full screen slide show
“The visually rich and meditative surfaces of these mixed-media works take the viewer to a space veiled in silence.”
H.C. ARNOLD, The Austin Chronicle
One of the few artists working on fully translucent canvases, McKay has been a full-time artist since 1985, building each piece slowly, layer by layer, in a forty-year practice rooted in patience, stillness, and spiritual perception.
His paintings, sculptures, and installations have been exhibited at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, the McNay Art Museum, and Blue Star Contemporary, and presented at major art fairs including SCOPE Basel and EXPO Chicago.
His work has been reviewed in Art in America and featured in the books Texas Abstract and Texas Artists Today, and is held in private and institutional collections nationwide.
“McKay intends to communicate ideas of impermanence, interconnectedness, and the unseen forces that shape our existence.”