Artist Statement
My work begins in drawing, and concentrates in painting. After years drawing directly from nature there is a confidence in execution and approach in the invented drawings and paintings. The paintings find their form in function within a rigorous approach to picture making that is concerned with not just plasticity but a touch that’s connected to a found narrative. The narrative is discovered first through the automatic drawing process. Applying this technique allows imagery to emerge as forms become visible. As figures begin to form structure is asserted. The figures emerge as either solitary, lovers or in a family/community. Selected drawings become the subject for future paintings. Within the paintings I aim to create an inherent light with color sensations. The color is experienced psychologically. Color intensity is not determined by saturation but by the context of its surroundings. The pictorial relations form comparisons of warm to cool, light to dark, color to color, long to short. I aim to create an ideal harmony of unified or disjointed colors from the here and now in a partnership within the narrative. Bio
Colleen Kelsey has exhibited her work both nationally and internationally including the Carnegie Mellon Museum of Art, the Cincinnati Contemporary Art Center and the Dayton Society of Artists. She received an MFA in painting from American University and spent several summers studying painting at the Chautauqua School of Art and traveling Italy. Currently, she is an art teacher and lives with the artist Jeremy Long and their three children in Dayton, OH. Colleen has curated exhibitions through Kelsey Projects and has worked at the following fine art galleries: Donald Young Gallery, Chicago, Linda Warren Gallery, Chicago and Dayton Society of Artists, Dayton. To follow Colleen Kelsey's studio practice please visit her Instagram page. For more information on Colleen Kelsey's work or to be added to the mailing list send an email to ckelseystudio(at)gmail.com |
Dayton Society of Artists, January 2020
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