ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — On Tuesday, Dec. 5, up-and-coming young artist Kyle Wallack will debut an exhibition at the Imagine Museum in St. Pete.

How he got to sign his name on the canvas with his early success is quite the remarkable story; some would say a rebirth.

What You Need To Know

  • At 23 years old, Kyle Wallack was diagnosed with cancer

  • During his recovery, he picked up a brush, easel and paint and started a new prolific passion

  • Wallack is now exhibiting his work at Imagine Museum

Art is what got Wallack feeling good after a scary diagnosis.

With every stroke of the paintbrush, Wallack gets closer to mastering his craft.

His origin story sounds miraculous.

“Absolutely no training,” said Wallack when asked about his previous art education. “Graduated with a marketing degree.”

Wallack has been painting for only five years, which leaves in doubt both options of the nature vs nurture question.

Here is what happened to Wallack. He was diagnosed with cancer of the parotid gland, or where you make saliva.

What followed was an intensive surgery, which required removing the cancer from his face.

Then came his recovery, at the time living in New York City.

One day he was out walking.

“You know, about 300 stitches to one side of my face and then another 300 internally,” he said. “When I was walking to my apartment, I found an easel.”

He started painting and feeling better.

“I think painting allowed me to see the positive in something that was not so positive as a 23-year-old kid,” he said.

Now, Wallack is surrounded by his work.

“It all began with these. I was messing around and I painted a square on the canvas and then it turned into a robot. The robots are…I was expressing myself where my trauma was in my head,” Wallack described one of his first paintings. “So, the wires coming out of the head and stuff like that.”

Before he had the surgery, Wallack dabbled in little to no art. Afterwards, everywhere he looked inspired him.

It was like a rewiring of his brain.

“Even just looking out of my window there was a tree that died and came back to life,” said Wallack. “I really related to the tree because I felt that that had happened to me, and it gave me a new passion and a new love that I think helped me get through those times.”

Wallack is now an innovator in the Refine Graffiti world.

“Refine graffiti is the clash of the fine art world, which has been very nice to me,” he said. “But my roots lie in the graffiti world.”

Wallack is not slowing down in mastering his art.

The art show and seminar run from 5 pm. to 8 pm. at the Imagine Museum in St. Pete at 1901 Central Ave.