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Michael John Kelly



Michael John Kelly collapses digital and analog strategies by combining printed digital imagery and paint. His gestural abstractions incorporate elements from abstract expressionism, graffiti, cartoons, and science fiction movies. He often posts his paintings on social media platforms such as Tumblr and Instagram, only to later utilize those images in subsequent works. “When I decided to carry a phone that is a camera that is a computer in my pocket, my painting practice was never going to be the same. My digital sketchbook was connected to the world. It could process and filter imagery in both chaotic and intentional ways far more powerfully than I ever could before. My sketchbooks no longer needed translating into my work. Through reproductions and video I could integrate it directly,” explains the artist.





His works have been exhibited by Torrance Art Museum, Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles, and 68 Projects in Berlin, among others.


Born 1975
Hometown Provo, Utah
Lives and Works Los Angeles, CA
Education
MFA, Painting and Drawing, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, 2013
BFA, Painting and Drawing, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, 2004
Representing Galleries

Gavlak, Los Angeles, CA

68 Projects, Berlin, Germany

SHOWS

Galerie Kornfeld

Berlin
Jun 27 2019 - Aug 31 2019

Michael John Kelly & Rachel Eulena Williams
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