Ink & Oil: Prints & Paintings by Barbara Kelley
January 30 through March 24, 2024
About the Exhibition
Paintings and prints using Ink or Oil are metaphors. They represent the shared experiences and memories of our journeys to new environments, through intellectual, psychological and physical development, growth and decline, death and the afterlife. Oftentimes, a vessel, like a canoe, is there for the journey.
Embedded in Barbara’s work is a visual language that is both evocative and straightforward, and creates a sense of meditative inner calm. Her images provide a safe haven to share experiences and memories.
OPENING RECEPTION: Saturday, February 10, 2024 • 5 to 8 pm
CLOSING RECEPTION: Sunday, March 17, 2024 • 2 to 5 pm
Receptions will feature live music and an opportunity to meet the artist.
Wine and refreshments will be served.
About the Artist
Barbara Kelley was born to a couple that survived WWII, moved to the territory of Alaska and built a log cabin. The firstborn slept in the top drawer of the dresser ~ a rather unique bassinet. In that small cabin, with one light, and water piped to the kitchen, it was an early winter when the ground and waterline froze. Her dad raised the wooden floor of the closet and dug a well for indoor water. The pioneer philosophy is an integral part of her creative process. New frontiers, experimentation and exploration are evident in her works.
Her works, recently selected to join the Pat Clark International Art Collection at the Ellsworth Foundation in Iowa Falls, joins a collection which includes works by Man Ray, Japanese artist Kojiro Akagi, and Danish artist Leif Peterson. Her works are also held in public collections of the Brooklyn Art Library, Kaiser Permanente, U.S. Department of State, Art in Embassies Program, Visual Artists’ Registry. Private collections of her works reside in Australia, Canada, Europe, and throughout the United States.
She now creates works at the Moon Catcher Studio, located in the heart of the wine country in Sonoma County, California and at her second studio overlooking the Pacific Ocean located about 2 hours north of San Francisco in the scenic community of The Sea Ranch.
Artist Statement
My works are influenced by sensory memories and although I may or may not have clarity of the composition when I begin creating a work, I know it will take me on an autobiographical journey. Memories of the sounds, echoic memories, and the visual, iconic memories, and the feel, touch or smell of surroundings are my creative guideposts. For me, even a brief experience imprints the sound of wind or wildlife, the temperature of the air and water, the feel of the dirt and plant life, and all things visual. I translate these memories into my prints and paintings.
I strive to create a visual language that is both evocative and straightforward and that provides a sense of meditative inner calm. The title I give to each work holds a key to understanding its story.