Heather ryan kelley:
surface & Support

Aug 1 - 31, 2023

FIRST WEDNESDAY OPENING: Aug 2, FROM 6 - 9PM

ARTICULATE ARTIST TALK: SUNDAY, Aug 6, AT 4PM.

NORMAL GALLERY HOURS: TUE - SUN, 12PM - 6PM

FOLLOW US AT BRGALLERY FOR UPDATES AND IMAGES!

Heather Ryan Kelley was born in New Haven, Connecticut. She has a BFA in printmaking from Southern Methodist University and an MA in painting from Northwestern State University. Kelley retired in 2021 as professor of art from McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana, where she taught painting and book arts.

“The exhibition title references the short-lived French 20th c. art movement called Supports / Surfaces. The artists in the group focused upon the elements of painting that are generally invisible and taken for granted: the canvas fabric and wooden stretcher components. Their work favored imaginative construction (and deconstruction) processes over figurative imagery.
Taking this movement as a point of departure, I viewed the paintings as a sequence of events and choices -- beginning with surface, support, media, and successive layers of paint and assemblage. One action is taken in response to the previous one and may continue over a period of months or years. The process is intuitive and held surprises for me.” - Kelley

Kelley’s work is a part of the New York Public Library’s Berg Collection, Cornell University Library, SUNY at Buffalo’s Poetry Collection, James Joyce Centre, Dublin, Ireland, Notre Dame’s Hesburgh Library, Kansas University’s Spencer Library, and the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at UT, Austin.

This exhibition is presented alongside the latest works from Rob Lamb Carpenter, Paul Dean, & Amy James. All works from these artists are on view, free of charge, during regular gallery hours (12 - 6 p.m., Tue - Sun) from Aug 1 - 31, 2023.