BRIAN KELLY

Brian Kelly's work takes the viewer on a journey into the unseen and the unknown. His work draws on influences from environments in Louisiana, Utah, New Mexico, Montana and Colorado. These representational narratives talk about specific experiences and places that are both social, personal and political in nature. Kelly adopts and personifies animal forms as specific characters within these narrative events to speak metaphorically about personal and social issues.

Since 1999, Kelly has been head of the printmaking program in the Department of Visual Arts at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. From that time Kelly has also coordinated Marais Press and served as department head for the Department of Visual Arts from 2004-2009 and 2010-2016. Kelly holds the rank of Full Professor and is also the UL Coca-Cola/BORSF Endowed Professor. Additionally, Kelly was recognized as a University of Louisiana at Lafayette Distinguished Professor in 2010, with the Eminent Scholar Award for Leadership and Service in 2017, and the Eminent Scholar Dr. Ray Authement Excellence in Teaching Award in 2019.

He has published and been reviewed in over 27 publications, received numerous artistic and research grants in addition to curating and organizing numerous exhibitions through- out the state of Louisiana and Canada. Kelly’s prints have been included in over 500 solo, 2, 3 and 4 – person exhibitions, as well as juried and invitational international, national and regional exhibitions, throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Scotland, Ireland, Japan, Poland, among others.

Kelly’s prints have been included in exhibitions at: The Mennonite Gallery Winnipeg–Canada, The Burnaby Gallery Vancouver–Canada, The Red Gate Gallery Beijing–China, The Kyoto Art Museum Kyoto–Japan, Total Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul–Korea, Kyoto City Museum, Kyoto–Japan, Yurin-kan Arts Center, Kiryu City–Japan, The Ontario College of Art and Design, Toronto–Canada, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Nova Scotia–Canada, Wexford Arts Centre, Wexford–Ireland, Fine Arts Academy, Poznan–Poland, New Orle- ans Museum of Art, Newbury Arts Center, Cork–Ireland, Impressions Gallery Northbridge–Western Australia, Crowecombe Church House Taunton Somerset–UK, Siggraph 2000, New Orleans–Louisiana, The Workhouse Museum Waterside, Derry–Northern Ireland, The Sirius Arts Centre CO. Cork.–Ireland, as well as at numerous universities and galleries throughout the United States.