Artist Statement
As I am painting, I’m usually trying to do a bunch of things all at once. Sometimes I just want to get to the good part. Those little sparks of color, that bold shape, the top layer. It really feels like organizing chaos. Trying to let go and see what happens and also trying to stay in control all at the same time. This thought process is familiar in the other major part of my life…parenting four children. There are many parallels to be drawn.
Awkward, clumsy, endearing…but with confidence and making a statement. Paintings and kids…
In my work, I am primarily interested in landscape as a space and shapes as figures within that space. Using these elements as metaphors for life and emotion. Some of these abstract paintings have shifted to include vessels or containers. Trying to hold things together, or letting them be can be seen as a metaphor for often having to compartmentalize all aspects of life, including making art and feeling free enough to let go and get to work. Stepping back and looking at things from a different perspective, getting a feel for the big picture, while also trying to have some control. This work is also a recording of time and space. The actual marks create a recording of time and the work itself creates a specific space within time. All leading back to navigating life, parenting, and making art.
These paintings have a variety of bold and subtle shapes that take on personalities and emotions that appear in the work and have conversations with each other while taking up a dynamic space. I love the idea of a conversation between shape, space, and color. Sometimes they listen, sometimes I have to struggle through.
Kelly Russo
About Kelly Russo
Growing up in the Boston area, Kelly has been fortunate enough to have access to some of the greatest art in the world. Looking at art has always been something that she has loved to do.
Kelly attended Massachusetts College of Art & Design after high school and earned her Bachelor’s Degree of Fine Art. She often took advantage of their International trips and programs during and after her time there as well as traveling with her graduate cohort while getting her master’s in Art Education from MassArt. It is such a unique and special experience to go look at art with renowned art professors and artists as your guide. There is no better way to travel than have art and artists as a vehicle to get to know a place.
Being a mom of four school-age children, life is busy. Over the past two years, Kelly has made a renewed effort to get back into the studio and has created a large body of work. Connecting with fellow artists, and also moms, on the South Shore of Boston has also been a great way to reconnect with her art and start to build on this newfound art community and get back to work!
