ARTIST STATEMENT
I make oil paintings that explore themes of isolation and anxiety. I confront the viewer with musings from my life which include topics that are shameful, embarrassing, or taboo to discuss. A lot of my work is centered around the idea of believing women’s stories. In a political climate where women’s choices on everything from abortions to nose jobs are questioned, I think there is nothing more importantly rebellious than to become a confident protagonist. My paintings also show imagery of architecture from my home city of Chicago. I use these buildings and cityscapes to explore how the infrastructure impacts daily life, most importantly the historic segregation of it’s people. In many of the images, the compositions are interrupted by a depiction of tiny fires- a symbol for both my own anxiety and the apprehension of city life.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Kailyn Perry was born and raised in Massachusetts and received a BFA in Art History and Painting from Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2013. She currently lives and works in Chicago, Illinois. She attended The London Summer Intensive, an artist residency at Slade School of Fine Art at University College London in 2018. Her work has been exhibited at many Chicago galleries- most recently Belong Gallery and Cleaner Gallery. Kailyn has also shown at the Camden Arts Centre in London, The Neon Heater in Findlay, Ohio, and at a pop up exhibition featuring the Chicago Imagists at 56 Downing St Brooklyn NY. Kailyn’s work has been reviewed in The Chicago Tribune, ArtNet, Artsy, Art News, and NewCity.
Kailyn currently teaches at Lillstreet Art Center and Chicago Public Schools
© Kailyn Perry