Kelly Pelka
Building Within (2019)
drop cloth, house paint, tacks
60 x 60 in. | $1,500
I’m a multidisciplinary artist originally from Chicago and currently living in Portland, Oregon.
Themes in my studio practice include connections, ancestry, displacement, borders, memories, acceptance, assimilation, ritual, and tradition. Storytelling, with a deep connection to history, along with context of space and environment, are prominent. I reach into the past and move the ideas forward by creating a variable “timeline” with my work, which allows for flexibility in arrangement and manipulation of the pieces for site-specific installation.
The dominant material I’m presenting for submission is the use of drop cloths. This specific material has deep-rooted connections to my childhood. The question of importance of the material is presented to the viewer to look beyond aesthetics and realize a deeper meaning.
To Cover. To protect. To prevent. To shield.
© Kelly Pelka