Jay McCafferty was born, raised and resides in San Pedro, California. He earned his BA at California State University at Los Angeles and his M.F.A at University of California, Irvine. He won the LACMA New Talent Award and received a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship grant. He serves as the head of the fine arts department at Los Angeles Harbor College where he has encouraged a generation of local artists. He works out of his San Pedro and Santa Barbara studios.  

Jay’s recent work primarily centers on solar paintings. He uses a magnifying glass to channel the rays of the sun, burning paper while reacting to various stimuli, such as rust and pigment. Jay focuses on being in the moment and letting the art unfold and develop one spot at a time, sometimes leading to sublime results. 

 Jay’s work has been exhibited around the world and is in numerous collections including the Museum of Modern Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Getty Museum.

Selected Collections

Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California

Museum of Modern Art, New York, New York

Getty Museum, Los Angeles, California

Selected Exhibitions

OC Collects, Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, California, 2012

Once Emerging, Now Emerging: Now and Then, A Pacific Standard Time exhibition, Cirrus Gallery, Los Angeles, 2011

Best Kept Secret: UCI and the Development of Contemporary Art in Southern California 1964-1971,  A Pacific Standard Time exhibition, Cirrus Gallery, Los Angeles, 2011

California Video, Getty Museum, Los Angeles, California, 2008