Godfrey tells stories. He tells a lot of stories. Some are clear and straightforward. But others are couched in metaphor, myth and shadow. All have an element of playfulness, springing most likely from a personal or a hopeful encounter. It may be necessary to latch onto the peculiar visual language and the contemporary or historical syntax that envelops a Godfrey narrative, but it is also possible to read into his stories and to exaggerate and embellish them. Understanding the role and, indeed, duty of the Muse and of Desire are keys to being swayed by these stories. The title which Godfrey gives a work is also a clue to open a meaning of an occurring incident or episode. In the end, though, all of his stories will appear to have an aura of familiarity, albeit arcane. This is because these are portable stories and span time and cultures in very persuasive ways. They blur the line between an insistent selfishness and the parceling out of something more shareable.
Elwood Beach from Godfrey: Seven Myths, Scion Press, 2009
He has always been focused on making art that is best for him, not his public. Elwood Beach 2008
When we look at Godfrey's lovers, we see the body reclaimed for love. Jeffrey Carr, 2005
She is caught at the moment of ecstasy. Elizabeth Addison, 1986
Their poetic essence lingers on. Rudy Burckhardt, 1983
His work certainly celebrates the human condition, rather than bemoaning it. Bill Scott, 1998
In Godfrey's paintings there is a consciousness of a stylistic persentation and how it resonates with everything from Veronese to German Expressionism to German Neo-Expressionism. Stephen Westfall, 1990
The viewer is the voyeur, gazing in upon an intimate moment of time. Katherine Duncan, 1997
Yet each time it almost always forms a reference between the work and the viewer which awakens the viewer's memories, desires and hope. François Maher Presley, 1998
The artist is consistent, however, in his presentation of positive sentiment. Cass Erikson, 1994
These are autobiographies of desire. George Hildrew, 2004
The urgency and rawness of emotions depicted seem otherworldly, moved to a locale where it would be difficult to perceive of an ordinary existence. Ed Gunn, 2003
We tamer dog-spirits should heed and even answer the wild call of partially-domesticated wolves like Godfrey. James Thompson, 1990
Godfrey's perfect balance between evocation of myth, art historical reference, humor, naturalism and delineation of character drives the moral home. Audrey Uschenko, 1985