10 Questions with Sam Kelly

Sam Kelly was born in 1987 in Dayton, Ohio. He earned a BFA in Painting from Wright State University and an MFA in Painting from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. He attended the Chautauqua Institution School of Art and participated in a Drawing Marathon with the New York Studio School. He has exhibited his work nationally and internationally including the CICA Museum, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea; THE ROOM Contemporary Art Space, Venice, Italy; Surface Gallery, Nottingham, United Kingdom; Blue Mountain Gallery, New York, New York; Bowery Gallery, New York, New York; Prince Street Gallery, New York, New York; Bromfield Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts; and 3 Square Art Gallery, Fort Collins, Colorado. His work has also been featured in numerous magazines including Blue Bee Magazine, Envision Arts Magazine, Murze, and Warm Milk. During the summer of 2020, Sam was a Four Pillars artist-in-residence and Guest Critic at the Mount Gretna School of Art. He currently teaches as an Adjunct Faculty member at Indiana University East, University of Dayton, and University of Maryland Global Campus and is an Instructor at the Wright State Art Academy.

www.samkellyart.com | @samkelly202

ARTIST STATEMENT

The drawings that Sam creates express a raw and energetic approach. He repeatedly works and reworks the image. The surfaces are dense and textural. Often using a somber color palette, his work takes on a mysterious and darkened mood. The imagery in Sam’s work is not pre-determined, but rather discovered through his laborious process.

INTERVIEW

Could you tell us a little more about your background, and how did you begin making art?
I did not begin making art until my sophomore year of college. I was trained in a very traditional manner during undergraduate school. Students were required to work from observation. The teachers I had were very knowledgeable and supportive. They pushed the students hard and always expected more. In undergraduate school, I was introduced to artists like Piero della Francesca, Giotto, Chardin, Cézanne, Corot, and Giacometti. After graduating, I studied at the Chautauqua School of Art during their summer program. I was amazed at all the diverse and talented artists teaching and studying there. Before then, I had never seen anyone paint abstractly. Students were doing so many new and exciting things, like painting on a large scale and working with collage. Learning from this experience, I began working more intuitively and incorporated various materials into my own work. A few years later, I then went on to graduate school. It was during this time that I began exploring various processes and new materials. I slowly began to understand myself more, and I was able to figure out who I am as an artist.

What do you wish you knew about contemporary art before you got started?
Before I started to paint and draw, I was fairly familiar with the history of art. I was fortunate that while growing up, my parents had us visit several major museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the National Gallery of Art. As a result, I began to have a moderate awareness of the work of various historical artists. However, I was completely ignorant of contemporary art. Since the majority of contemporary art is exhibited in galleries rather than in museums, my education on the subject was very minimal. Looking back, I wish I knew more about gallery exhibitions and how galleries operate. I believe this would have led to a deeper knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of contemporary artists.

Describe yourself in 3 words, who is Sam Kelly?
Hardworking, curious, passionate.

What is the most challenging part of your work? And where do you find inspiration?

I think the entire creative process is challenging. Making a work of art is one of the most difficult things one can do. Problems arise all the time. At one moment, there could be a problem with color, and at the next moment, the problem is with composition. It’s usually an ongoing cycle. I find inspiration from looking at the work of past and contemporary artists. If you are an artist and don’t spend much time looking at art, you are creatively starving yourself.

Your paintings are textured, raw surfaces that you keep reworking. How do you know a painting is finished? 

First off, I don’t feel that anything is ever really finished. I usually stop working on something once it feels right, where everything just works together as a whole. This feeling could happen two hours or two months after I begin working on a new piece. When I do feel like I am close to being done, I will spend a good amount of time reflecting on the work. If I keep returning to the studio and feel no inclination to change anything, then I usually consider it finished.

How much does the gestural approach to your art influence the final result? 

I want to keep the gestural approach from start to finish. It’s a very important aspect of my work. For me, it helps keep the image alive and active.

To me, your creative process feels almost like a ritual, a battle with the canvas. Tell us more about this process; what aspect of your work do you pay particular attention to?

That is a very good description of my process. Each piece that I work on is a new journey and experience. I never know how the final image will look, nor how it will be made. In fact, I don’t want to know. As I see it, there are two things one must do when creating. One must be bold and inject their personality and aesthetic into their work, while at the same time, one must be humble and listen to the work. If you look hard, the painting or drawing will tell you what’s working and what’s not working.

What are you working on now, and what are your plans for the future? Anything exciting you can tell us about?

Since I am doing so much online teaching now, I have found myself spending more and more time in my office. Because of this, I brought a table into my office so that I can paint and draw. However, because my office is fairly small, everything that I am working on in my office has been on a smaller scale. Nevertheless, in the future, I do have a few exciting exhibitions that I will be involved in. In November of 2021, I will have two solo shows. One is in South Korea at the CICA Museum, and the other is at the Edison Art Gallery at Edison State Community College in Piqua, Ohio. I am also excited to announce that I will be teaching some online classes this fall with the Seattle Artist League and the Washington Studio School.

Do you find that the shift to digital exhibitions and art fairs has helped you promote your work?

Yes, definitely. Since the pandemic started, the shift to virtual exhibitions has helped my work reach a broader audience.

What do you wish to accomplish this year, both in terms of career goals and personal life?

For the past several years, I have been actively pursuing a full-time teaching position at the college level. I have had many interviews but unfortunately have come up short. This year I am hoping to achieve this goal. I love teaching and watching the students grow. It’s a career that is very rewarding. In my personal life, I do hope to be able to catch up on my reading. Since I have been so busy lately, I have been unable to read as much as I would like to. I have many great books ready to go, I just need to find the time.