Keltie Ferris / Exclamation Point
March 19 - April 23
We’re very pleased to present the first solo exhibition of work by New York based artist Keltie Ferris
(b1977) in Germany. The exhibition will bring together a new set of paintings and a number of Ferris' 'body
prints' – the artist’s ongoing series of unique works on paper.
„I’ve accepted the limits of painting, its conventions, but I still see a glimmer of possibility for painting within
this. Painting has been used to express such a range of emotional tenors – across a spectrum of sincerity
and irony. Maybe I’m trying to find an expressivity that feels honest and appropriate for right now, not corny
or jokey.“ from: Keltie Ferris in conversation with Isabelle Graw, 2015
Keltie Ferris' paintings greet the viewer as living and breathing entities, pulsing and throbbing beyond the
limits of the canvas and humming with energy. She synthesizes allusions to divergent schools of painting,
from pop to abstract expressionism to graffiti, into a riotous fusion unmistakably her own – which is deeply
engaged in an investigation about the ‘being’ of painting.
Idiosyncratic patterns and electric colors jostle for attention, while in other works, subtler, radiant pastels
meander across the canvas to evoke further dimensions. Textures of syncopated brushstrokes and airbrushed
oil paint bring to mind aerial views of futuristic cities, acid-inspired quilts, or glitch-laced JPEGs.
Keltie Ferris synthesizes allusions to divergent schools of painting, from pop to abstract expressionism to
graffiti, into a riotous, authentic fusion unmistakably her own. Following this ‘veracity’ her body prints –
Ferris’ recent method of working with natural oils and pigments, using her whole body as a brush – explore
painting as a personal index.
Keltie Ferris (b.1977) lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. She received her MFA in 2006 from Yale
School of Art and her BFA in 2004 from Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. Recent solo exhibitions
include Keltie Ferris, Mitchell-Innes&Nash, NY; Doomsday Boogie at the Santa Monica Museum of Art, and
Body Prints at Chapter NY, New York. Her works have been included in group exhibitions at institutions
such as Contemporary Arts Museum of Houston, Texas; Brooklyn Museum, New York and Indianapolis
Museum of Contemporary Art, Indianapolis. She was recently awarded the Rosenthal Family Foundation
Award in Painting by the Academy of Arts and Letters. Currently her work is on view as well at the
University Art Museum at the University of Albany, NY