February 11 - March 12, 2022
Wisconsin artist, Claire Kellesvig, establishes a singular visual vocabulary with her hybrid paintings. While rooted in the traditions of paper cut-outs, Kellesvig's inventive interpretation of figure-ground relationships and the use of dreamy color sets her apart from others. The artist constructs emotionally charged compositions of individuals, places, and points in time with cut paper adhered to panel, sanded, and then painted. The resulting images seem indebted to the structure of the cut-outs, suspended slightly above the panel and finely set in bold, chimeric color.
Kellesvig's exhibition title, "Horses," is fondly named after the Patti Smith album. The titles and compositions of each painting take inspiration from the album tracks -- Gloria, Redondo Beach, Free Money-- which act as guides that Kellesvig transforms into two-dimensional creative dramas.