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Mikey Kelly is a contemporary artist living and working in Napa, CA. His work has been shown nationally and is included in public and corporate collections. Notable exhibition venues include the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, Jewish Contemporary Museum SF, Cranbrook Art Museum, and Crocker Art Museum Sacramento, among others. In addition to paintings, he also has a substantial body of work on paper, and has completed several murals and welded metal sculpture commissions.
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SLATE Art: Are there any books - art or otherwise - that have impacted your work?
Mikey Kelly: I know this probably sounds like a cliche but a book that has had a profound impact on my work is Josef Albers Interaction of Color. I was lucky enough during my eduction to spend time with an original 1963 silkscreen edition. The color theory that I learned through this book is something that has become ingrained in me and something I lean on when I paint. The resulting knowledge and confidence that I have in my choice and use of color has allowed me to base choices on feel and intuition.
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SA: Was there an artwork or series that was especially challenging for you?
MK: My process is constantly evolving as well as my materials so I am always having to learn new skills, modify techniques and refine systems with each new series of paintings. I enjoy these challenges and feel that this allows the work to take on a fresh look. For example the latest work uses daubers that have a propensity for dripping if squeezed too hard. There is a fine line between squeezing hard enough to get the right amount of paint out of the dauber and making a mess.
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Jen Pack’s work has been exhibited widely throughout the United States. In 2020 she was honored with an exhibition at the New Mexico Museum of Art, who also acquired a piece from the show for their permanent collection. Pack was born in Oregon and spent most of her life on the West Coast, but now resides in New Mexico. She received a BFA from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, and an MLIS from San Jose State University.
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SLATE Art: What artists have informed your own art practice the most?
Jen Pack: I’ve long admired the work of some of the giants, such as Agnes Martin, Joseph Albers, James Turrell, Judy Chicago. I like the object-ness in Eva Hesse’s work and the scale of soft sculptures by Do Ho Suh and Janet Echelman. The exploration of cultural identity and loss through materiality in Do Ho Suh’s work and other artists such as Yinka Shonibare, particularly with fabric, is meaningful to me. I came across the work of Faig Ahmed – such an incredible push on the boundaries of traditional weaving practices! More recently I’ve become interested in the spiritual explorations in the works of Agnes Pelton, Guo Fengyi, Delfina Munoz de Toro, Hilma af Klint, and even Carl Jung’s drawings.
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SA: Was there an artwork or series that was particularly challenging for you?
JP: Any time I explore and incorporate a new form is especially challenging until I can develop my craft around the new form. A few years ago, I was able to make the leap to building frames that are elevated, tapered, irregularly-shaped, multi-frame, complex structures. Each one is a challenge but the process is more fluid after spending several years developing this skill set. My current challenge is moving them off of the wall to becoming free-standing structures. I’m allowing it to progress slowly because I’ve discovered that a slow approach opens development of new forms in interesting ways.
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You can now schedule a a private viewing at SLATE contemporary online!
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