Untitled - Robert Kelly

Some years ago, I came across a painting by Robert Kelly
while visiting one of his art dealers. I instantly became
fascinated with his work – the light green pastel colour
dividing the painting into two halves – with its exquisite
collage of antique papers with a biblical palm tree. This
painting gave me an instant impulse of wanting to be part of
his art career, to exhibit his work, its elegant quality – the
past, with its collages to a contemporaneous present, with
the monochrome details of the paintings; two worlds unite.
Alcuni anni fa, mentre ero in visita presso un mercante d’arte,
mi sono imbattuto in un quadro di Robert Kelly. Fu amore a
prima vista: il verde pastello tenue che divideva il quadro in
due parti, il raffinato collage di carte antiche, con una palma
dal richiamo biblico. Questo quadro suscitò istantaneamente
in me il desiderio di partecipare alla carriera artistica di RK,
di far conoscere il suo lavoro in tutta la sua eleganza, il passato
che si lega coi suoi collage ad un mondo contemporaneo
fatto di dettagli monocromatici; l’unione di due mondi.
In 2005, I gave Robert his first solo exhibition in Italy. From
there on,a fantastic professional relationship and unique
friendship has developed. During my numerous visits to New
York we have had many discussions about the direction of his
new work – his use of collaged manifests - applying of the front
of the manifests facing the canvas for the viewer to evidence
the “retro”, the emerging Tropos Series, with their geometric
compositions establishing a connection with the phrases that
emerge from the verso of the manifests. An amazing series
of works was created which has evolved further in a bold
manner - always with his great precision and refinement.
Nel 2005 organizzai la prima personale italiana di Robert.
Da allora è nata tra di noi una fantastica relazione
professionale ed un’amicizia unica. Nel corso delle mie
numerose visite a New York, abbiamo spesso parlato
della direzione assunta dal suo nuovo lavoro - i collage di
manifesti, con l’immagine rivolta alla tela per sottolinearne
il “retro”, l’avvento delle Serie Tropos, le cui composizioni
geometriche stabiliscono un legame con le frasi che
emergono dal verso dei manifesti. RK aveva dato vita ad
una straordinaria serie di opere in audace evoluzione, ma
sempre contraddistinte da grande precisione e raffinatezza.
We have also experienced some great times – visiting art
fairs, continuously discussing the contemporary art trends,
enjoying ourselves immensely by meeting art dealers and
collectors, museum directors, great dinners, skiing in Cortina
D’Ampezzo - as my private instructor due to his fantastic
skiing abilties and style, together with his great love, Shirine.
Abbiamo trascorso assieme anche ore esaltanti – visitando
le fiere d’arte, dibattendo continuamente le tendenze
dell’arte contemporanea, divertendoci immensamente
nell’incontro con mercanti e collezionisti d’arte, direttori di
musei, partecipando a cene fantastiche o sciando a Cortina
D’Ampezzo, dove, insieme al grande amore della sua vita,
Shirine, si è preso cura di me, diventando il mio istruttore
privato di sci, sport in cui eccelle per abilità e stile.
I want to give my sincere gratitude to Robert for this second
great exhibition in Italy and for allowing me to represent him
in Italy and Europe, which has given me the opportunity to
enhance important Private and Public European collections
with his works of art. I also want to give my special thanks
to Spazio Bianco Relais San Maurizio - Cristina Franzoni
and Pier Domenico Gallo, for allowing me to do this great
exhibition Project with their support.
Roberto Annicchiarico
AR / Contemporary Art
Desidero esprimere a Robert la mia sincera gratitudine per
la sua seconda grande mostra italiana e per avermi concesso
il privilegio di rappresentarlo in Italia e in Europa, il che
mi ha dato l’opportunità di arricchire importanti collezioni
europee pubbliche e private con le sue opere d’arte. Un
grazie particolare anche allo Spazio Bianco Relais San
Maurizio, a Cristina Franzoni e Pier Domenico Gallo, per
avermi aiutato con il loro sostegno a realizzare questo
grande progetto espositivo.
Roberto Annicchiarico
AR / Contemporary Art
/
PAPER
TRAILS
Edward Leffingwell
September, 2010
Luminous, highly charged and in the present, Robert Kelly’s
work inscribes a history of culture upon canvas like notes
from a diary, a palimpsest,a paper trail. In many of these
new works, Kelly addresses this historic present through
the nuances disclosed in the fragments of text found in
the inventory of vintage posters and sheets of archival
newsprint he uses as essential components in his lustrous
surfaces. Acknowledging the subtleties of change attributed
to the passage of time as the inks burn through from recto
to verso, he uses the flipside of these found papers for the
fleeting memory of their previous narratives. The vintage
posters are printed with lithographic rather than synthetic
inks allowing for a richer bleed, and with skims of acrylic
as an adhesive, he constructs his surfaces, wet on wet.
Tooling the paper flat, he places one element next to those
that follow with a mason’s precision as he expels excess air,
water and acrylic for a marriage of material.
As a matter of principle concern in this career-long discourse
on the conversation of materials and their use, the work
remains remarkable for its simplicity and restraint. The
discovery of his layered components becomes increasingly
rational and accessible through the creation of a formal and
distinctive abstract language--a clear voice--with specific
elements so imbued that they come to seem inevitable, as
though they themselves possessed an emphatic ability to
manifest sui generis. His influences include the De Stijl
movement, Malevich and Mondrian and the modernist
pursuits from the Bauhaus to Joaquin Torres-Garcia, to
which roster he adds Guston, Diebenkorn, Schwitters,
Blinky Palermo and Brazilian Neo-Concretists Lydia Clark
and Helio Oiticica. Kelly’s shared affinities with these artists
suggest more the pleasure he derives from such a broad
spectrum of concerns than any specific formal meaning
derived in particular from any one determinate lineage.
Acknowledging the near lapidary nature of a hard-won
process, the work is, in a sense, a conflation of collage
and painting. Rectilinear color fields of oil pigments are
subsequently laid down with a trowel-like brush leaving
a fine, rhythmic pattern formed in drags across the
overlapping sides or ridges of the paper cuts, covering
the surface and revealing an overall grid. The remaining
uncovered compositions of vintage papers reveal diverse
elements that read upright, reversed, Italian, a text of clear
Helvetica, essentially unreadable, with drag marks of ash
and charcoal introducing a kind of pentimenti.
Kelly compares his work method to the practice of a
stonemason building a wall, setting the components in
place as they rise with an astuteness and precision found
in the process of composing formal puzzles. Addressing the
full expanse of a canvas covered entirely with paper, he
masterfully builds up his surface with the pared down tools
of line, form and color. Given their remarkable elegance,
sheen and tactile qualities, the paintings invite drop-dead
awe. Such exquisite qualities are found in two recent
large-scale works in oil and mixed media on canvas that
incorporate vintage poster materials from a mid 20th century
films abutted with cut sheets of archival newsprint and
titled as the “Nocturnes” of Fellini’s 8 1/2 and Visconti’s
The Damned. A third incorporates the collage of a venerable
label of Cognac in Nocturne Grande XXI. These recent works
celebrate the architectural capacity of the post to lift and
the lintel to bear. As Kelly covers the canvas with paper
overlays that grip around the edges, he creates a kind of
armature graced with a sculptural materiality and serenity
of form, a visual simplicity suggesting a flattening as in the
work of Masaccio, Piero della Francesca and Lorenzetti.
Relatively intimate in scale, his sage-green Tropos in oil and
mixed media on panel precede his homage to Italian cinema.
Here, the text is clear and inviting, a super-bold sans serif,
reversed, and the gradient green fields intersected with
black forms suggesting pedestals. Kelly regards such burns
on the backsides of this intimate collection of paper as
pivotal abstract elements of the larger work, the information
of the poster remaining broadly referential, relatively dense
and sufficiently luminous to serve as symbolic figure to
ground signifiers, as well as compositional counterweights.
A study into process and composition occurs in the Babel
Series where the phantom faces and emerging text exchange
dialogue with black rectangular forms resembling the
reductive figures of Joel Shapiro’s similarly dynamic work.
In his Mimesis Series, fields figured with the square, arc
and circle speak from an architecture out of Malevich’s
Supremetist imperatives based on geometric forms; their
formal qualities so expansive and so composed as to flex.
In a pairing of motifs, or doubling of forms that emphasize
both their singularity and coupling into a sculptural bond,
Kelly creates a powerful sweep of reversing pigments across
his tile-like constructed surfaces. Their lustrous finish is a
critically significant element Kelly has likened to the patina
of bone, polished ivory, burnished alabaster or limestone.
A series of lively, at times rhythmic and variously scaled
paintings in the manner of a musical score, Kelly’s Thickets
emphasize a direct engagement with the painterly mark.
He assembles these vertical brushstrokes in a block like
manner creating a intricate patchwork along lateral edges
that are balanced by the dynamic ascension of the overall
composition. Here lies Kelly’s signature interest in literally
building rather than painting a painting; the composition
of painted elements and material overlays constitute an
aleatory play of concision and refinement. With the odd dot,
splash and spatter of pigment shimmering on the surface,
such iterations are left behind as elements of the unfolding
narrative within the paper’s trail, receding and lapping
forward like water over sand.
A master of difficult things, Kelly is a patient and focused
artist. With an informed regard for the material qualities of
the making of art, fueled by his experiences as an inveterate
traveler, he searches for a harmonious balance where history
and personal exploration continually yield new pathways
of process and image. His work has become so sufficiently
self-composed that it may seem to draw itself, to exist as an
object with an irrefutable presence.
/
PAPER
TRAILS
Edward Leffingwell
Settembre 2010
Luminoso, intenso e immerso nel presente, il lavoro di
Robert Kelly inscrive sulla tela una storia di cultura, come
appunti di un diario, un palinsesto, un sentiero di carta. In
molti di questi nuovi lavori Kelly affronta il presente storico
attraverso le sfumature scoperte nei frammenti di testo
trovati in un archivio di poster vintage e di fogli di carta da
giornale, che egli usa come componenti base delle sue superfici
brillanti. Consapevole delle finezze del cambiamento operate
dal passare del tempo come gli inchiostri passano dal recto
al verso, egli utilizza il rovescio dei suoi reperti di carta a
fugace memoria delle loro narrazioni precedenti. I manifesti
vintage sono stampati con inchiostri litografici, anziché
sintetici, che permettono un maggiore sfogo, e con pellicole
di acrilico come adesivo egli costruisce le sue superfici,
bagnato su bagnato. Lavorando la carta in orizzontale, egli
sistema un elemento accanto all’altro con la precisione di un
muratore, eliminando l’aria, l’acqua e l’acrilico in eccesso,
per un matrimonio di materiale.
Come questione di principio, che anima la trattazione lunga
tutta una carriera sull’interazione tra i materiali e il loro
utilizzo, il lavoro rimane notevole per la sua semplicità e
moderazione. La scoperta delle sue componenti stratificate
diventa sempre più razionale e accessibile attraverso la
creazione di un linguaggio astratto formale e distintivo – una
voce chiara – con specifici elementi tanto pregni da arrivare
a sembrare inevitabili, come se essi stessi possedessero una
capacità enfatica di manifestare la propria atipicità. Tra le
sue influenze ricordiamo il movimento De Stijl, Malevich e
Mondrian e le ricerche moderniste, dalla Bauhaus a Joaquin
Torres-Garcia, e ancora Guston, Diebenkorn, Schwitters,
Blinky Palermo e i Neo-Concretisti brasiliani Lydia Clark ed
Elio Oiticica. Le affinità condivise da Kelly con questi artisti
suggeriscono più il piacere che egli trae da un così ampio
spettro di interessi, che uno specifico significato formale
derivato in modo particolare dall’una o dall’altra di queste
influenze.
Riconoscendo le natura quasi lapidaria di un processo
conquistato a fatica, il lavoro è, in un certo senso, una
fusione di collage e pittura. Campi rettilinei di colore a olio
sono stesi in successione con un pennello tipo cazzuola che
crea un sottile motivo ritmico, realizzato tirando il colore sui
lati sovrapposti o le grinze dei ritagli di carta, ricoprendo
la superficie e rivelando al contempo una griglia globale.
Le restanti composizioni di carte vintage non ricoperte dal
colore rivelano diversi elementi che si leggono al diritto, al
contrario, in italiano, un testo in chiaro carattere Helvetica
sostanzialmente illeggibile, con strisciate di cenere e
carboncino che svelano quasi dei pentimenti (tracce visibili
di pitture precedenti).
Kelly paragona il proprio metodo di lavoro alla pratica di un
muratore che erige un muro, sistemando i vari componenti
man mano che salgono, con l’astuzia e la precisione acquisite
nel processo di comporre puzzle formali. Dedicandosi
alla totale estensione di una tela interamente coperta di
carta, egli ne incrementa con maestria la superficie con gli
strumenti di riduzione progressiva di linea, forma e colore.
Data la loro rimarchevole eleganza, lucentezza e qualità
tattili, i dipinti invitano a uno stupore meravigliato. Tali
squisite qualità si ritrovano in due recenti lavori di grandi
dimensioni, realizzati ad olio e tecnica mista su tela, che
incorporano materiali di manifesti vintage di film della
metà del XX secolo, a ritagli di carta di giornale d’archivio
e intitolati “Nocturnes” (8 1⁄2 di Fellini) e (La caduta degli
dei di Visconti). Un terzo lavoro incorpora il collage di una
onorata marca di Cognac, in Nocturne Grande XXI. Questi
recenti lavori celebrano la capacità architettonica del palo
di alzare e dell’architrave di reggere. Quando Kelly copre
la tela con strati di carta che afferrano i bordi, egli crea
una sorta di armatura ingentilita da materialità scultorea
e serenità di forma, una semplicità visiva che suggerisce
un appianamento come nell’opera di Masaccio, Piero della
Francesca e Lorenzetti.
Relativamente intimo per dimensioni, il suo Tropos verde
salvia, realizzato ad olio e tecnica mista su pannello, precede
il suo omaggio al cinema italiano. Qui il testo è chiaro e
invitante, un carattere San Serif in grassetto, invertito,
e i campi verdi inclinati intersecati da forme nere che
suggeriscono dei piedistalli. Kelly considera le bruciature
sul retro di questa intima collezione di carta come elementi
astratti centrali del più ampio lavoro, in cui l’informazione
del manifesto resta generalmente referenziale, relativamente
densa e sufficientemente luminosa da servire come figura
simbolica a significanti di base, come contrappesi della
composizione. Uno studio sul processo e la composizione si
trova nelle Babel Series, dove le facce fantomatiche e il testo
affiorante dialogano con forme nere rettangolari simili alla
figure riduttive del lavoro similarmente dinamico di Joel
Shapiro.
Nelle sue Mimesis Series aree raffigurate con il quadrato,
l’arco e il cerchio parlano di un’architettura uscita dagli
imperativi suprematisti di Malevich basati su figure
geometriche; le loro qualità formali tanto in espansione
e tanto composte che si flettono. In un abbinamento di
motivi o raddoppio di forme che enfatizzano sia la propria
singolarità, sia l’accoppiata in un legame scultoreo, Kelly
crea un potente flusso di pigmenti che muovono in senso
inverso attraverso le sue superfici lamellari. La loro
brillante finitura è un elemento criticamente significativo
che Kelly ha paragonato alla patina di osso, avorio lucidato,
alabastro brunito, calcare.
Una serie di vivaci, a volte ritmici e variamente dimensionati
dipinti alla maniera di una partitura musicale, i Thickets di
Kelly enfatizzano un diretto coinvolgimento con il segno
pittorico. Egli assembla queste pennellate verticali in un
blocco, in modo da creare un intricato patchwork lungo i
bordi laterali che sono bilanciati dall’ascensione dinamica
della composizione complessiva. Qui si colloca l’interesse
distintivo di Kelly per la costruzione -letteralmente piuttosto che la pittura, di un quadro; la composizione di
elementi pittorici e rivestimenti materiali costituisce un
gioco aleatorio di concisione e raffinatezza. Con qua e là una
macchia, uno schizzo e uno spruzzo di pigmento luccicante
sulla superficie, tali iterazioni rimangono come elementi
della narrativa che si svolge all’interno di un sentiero di
carta, arretrando e avanzando come acqua sulla sabbia.
Maestro delle cose difficili, Kelly è un artista paziente
e focalizzato. Con un riguardo informato per le qualità
materiali del fare arte, alimentato dalle sue esperienze di
instancabile viaggiatore, egli ricerca un armonioso equilibrio
dove la storia e l’esplorazione personale continuamente
producono nuovi percorsi di processo e di immagine. Il suo
lavoro è diventato così sufficientemente auto-composto da
sembrare disegnarsi da sé, esistere come un oggetto con una
inconfutabile presenza.
/
PAPER
TRAILS
EXHIBITION
SPAZIO BIANCO
RELAIS SAN MAURIZIO
MIMESIS ROUGE XXI, 2010
oil/mixed media on canvas
80 x 64 inches / 203.2 x 162.6 cm
MIMESIS ROUGE XX, 2010
oil/mixed media on canvas
80 x 64 inches / 203.2 x 162.6 cm
FELLINI’S NOCTURNE I (8 1/2 / 1963), 2010
oil/mixed media on canvas
72 x 56 inches / 182.8 x 142.2 cm
VISCONTI’S NOCTURNE II (The Dammed / 1969), 2010
oil/mixed media on canvas
72 x 56 inches / 182.8 x 142.2 cm
NOCTURNE GRANDE LXIII (Cognac), 2010
oil/mixed media on canvas
72 x 56 inches / 182.8 x 142.2 cm
TROPOS VII, 2007
oil / mixed media on canvas
40 x 32 inches / 101.6 x 81.2 cm
TROPOS XVII, 2010
oil / mixed media on canvas
40 x 32 inches / 101.6 x 81.2 cm
MIMESIS NOIR III, 2010
oil / mixed media on linen
27 x 22.5 cm / 68.5 x 57.1 cm
BABEL VII (Totem Series / London 1916), 2008
oil / mixed media on panel
17 x 14 inches / 43.2 x 35.6 cm
THICKET ASSEMBLAGE LXX, 2008
oil / mixed media on linen
27 x 22.5 inches / 68.5 x 57.1 cm
THICKET ASSEMBLAGE LXXII, 2008
oil / mixed media on linen
27 x 22.5 inches / 68.5 x 57.1 cm
THICKET ASSEMBLAGE LXXIII, 2008
oil / mixed media on linen
27 x 22.5 inches / 68.5 x 57.1 cm
NOCTURNE SUITE XXXI, 2009
oil / mixed media on panel
24 x 30 inches / 60.9 x 76.2 cm
NOCTURNE SUITE XXXII, 2009
oil / mixed media on panel
24 x 30 inches / 60.9 x 76.2 cm
BABEL XI (Credit Nationale 1922), 2009
oil / mixed media on linen
21.5 x 20 inches / 54.61x 50.80 cm
BABEL XIII (Kabarett 1954), 2009
oil / mixed media on linen
21.5 x 20 inches / 54.61 x 50.80 cm
BABEL XV (Yam 1956), 2010
oil / mixed media on linen
21.5 x 20 inches / 54.61 x 50.80 cm
TROPOS NOIR VI, 2010
oil / mixed media on panel
19.25 x 15.25 inches / 48.89 x 38.73 cm
TROPOS ROUGE VII, 2010
oil / mixed media on panel
19.25 x 15.25 inches / 48.89 x 38.73 cm
TROPOS XXVII, 2008
oil / mixed media on panel
17 x 14 inches / 43.2 x35.6 cm
TROPOS XXIX, 2008
oil / mixed media on panel
17 x 14 inches / 43.2 x 35.6 cm
TROPOS XXXII, 2008
oil / mixed media on panel
17 x 14 inches / 43.2 x35.6 cm
TROPOS XXX, 2008
oil / mixed media on panel
17 x 14 inches / 43.2 x35.6 cm
TROPOS XXXI, 2008
oil / mixed media on panel
17 x 14 inches / 43.2 x35.6 cm
NOCTURNE SUITE XL, 2010
oil / mixed media on panel
10 x 7.75 inches / 25.40 x 19.68 cm
NOCTURNE SUITE XXXIX, 2010
oil / mixed media on panel
10 x 7.75 inches / 25.40 x 19.68 cm
NOCTURNE SUITE XXXXVIII, 2010
oil / mixed media on panel
10 x 7.75 inches / 25.40 x 19.68 cm
ROBERT KELLY
Group Exhibitions
Born 1956 Santa Fe, New Mexico
Lives and works in New York, NY
2010
2009
2008
Education
1978
Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Bachelor of Arts
Solo Exhibitions
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
1994
1993
1992
1990
1989
1988
1987
Spazio Bianco - Relais San Maurizio/ AR Contemporary Art, Italy
John Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Leslie Feely Fine Art, New York, NY
Robert Kelly /Mel Kendrick, David Floria Gallery, Aspen, CO
Linda Durham Contemporary Art, Galisteo, NM
Tres Americas, Galeria Emma Molina, Monterrey, Mexico
David Floria Gallery, Aspen, CO
Bentley Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
Barbara Davis Gallery, Houston, TX
AR Contemporary Art, Milan, Italy
Bentley Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
Doug Udell Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta
Linda Durham Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, NM
John Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Anne Reed Gallery, Ketchum, ID
Linda Durham Contemporary Art, New York, NY
Scott White Contemporary Art, La Jolla, CA
John Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Anne Reed Gallery, Ketchum, IDBentley Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
Doug Udell Gallery, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Linda Durham Contemporary Art, Galisteo, NM
John Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Bentley Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
Barbara Davis Gallery, Houston, TX
Barbara Singer Fine Art, Cambridge, MA
Anne Reed Gallery, Ketchum, ID
Linda Durham Contemporary Art, Galisteo, NM
Betsy Senior Gallery, New York, NY
Bentley Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
Anne Reed Gallery, Ketchum, ID
Linda Durham Contemporary Art, Galisteo, NM
Erickson and Elins Fine Art, San Francisco, CA
Sarah Dobbs Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia
Hand Graphics, Santa Fe, NM
Linda Durham Contemporary Art, Galisteo, NM
Erickson and Elins Fine Art, San Francisco, CA
Linda Durham Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, NM
Clark Gallery, Lincoln, MA
Victoria Munroe Fine Art, New York, NY
Erickson and Elins Fine Art, San Francisco, CA
Linda Durham Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, NM
Victoria Munroe Fine Art, New York, NY
Linda Durham Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, NM
Galleri Weinberger, Copenhagen, Denmark
Maloney Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Victoria Munroe Fine Art, New York, NY
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2001
2000
Dallas Art Fair/Shearburn Gallery, Dallas, TX
Cleve Carney Collection, Elmhurst Art Museum, Elmhurst, IL
Tipping the Balance, The Drawing Room, East Hampton, NY
Linear Manifestations, Jeannie Freilich Contemporary,
New York, NY
ADAA The Art Show 2008/ Berggruen Gallery, New York, NY
Chicago Art Fair 2008/ Shearburn Gallery, Chicago, IL
Summer Group Show, Leslie Feely Fine Art, New York, NY
Basel Art Fair / Berggruen Gallery, Basel, Switzerland
20th Year Anniversary Exhibition, Galleri Weinberger,
Kobenhavn, Denmark
Basel Art Fair / Berggruen Gallery, Miami, FL
Art Miami / Shearburn Gallery, Miami, FL
Group Show, Galleria Rosella Colombari, Milan, Italy
Group Show, The Drawing Room, East Hampton, NY
Year 07 / London Art Projects, AR Contemporary, Milan, Italy
Toronto Art Fair / Douglas Udell Gallery, Toronto, Canada
ADAA The Art Show 2007, New York, NY
Works on Paper and Related Sculpture, John Berggruen Gallery,
San Francisco, CA
25 Year Collage Show, Elizabeth Leach Gallery, Portland, OR
Basel Art Fair / Berggruen Gallery, Basel, Switzerland
Miami / Basel Art Fair 2006, John Berggruen Gallery, Miami, FL
ADAA The Art Show 2006, New York, NY
You Are Invited Buschlen Mowatt Galleries, Palm Desert, CA
Miami / Basel Art Fair 2005, John Berggruen Gallery, Miami, FL
New Paintings, David Floria Gallery, Aspen, CO
MOMA Lecture Series, Greenwich, CT
Palmbeach3 <Scott White Contemporary Art, Palmbeach, CA
Six American Artists, AR Contemporary Art, Milan, Italy
Miami / Basel Art Fair 2004, John Berggruen Gallery, Miami, FL
Celebrating 23 Years, Elizabeth Leach Gallery, Portland, OR
Sean Scully and Robert Kelly, Anne Reed Gallery, Ketchum, ID
SITE/UNSEEN, James Kelly Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM
Color/Form/Figure, John Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Art Basel, Miami, John Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Mano A Mano, Robert Kelly / Ricardo Mazal, Lendrum Fine Art,
Los Angeles, CA
A Way With Words, John Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1111, Chiaroscuro Contemporary Art & Photography, Santa Fe, NM
Genius Loci, DMJM Rottet, Houston, TX
Bologna Art Fair, Sergio Tossi Arte Contemporanea, Florence, Italy
An American 6, Sergio Tossi Arte Contemporanea, Florence, Italy
Six in the City, Linda Durham Contemporary Art, New York, NY
Currents, Barbara Davis Gallery, Houston, TX
Eye Candy, Soma Gallery, La Jolla, CA.
Layerings, Elizabeth Leach Gallery, Portland, OR
Group Exhibitions continued
Summer in the City, John Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Summer Group Show, Senior & Shopmaker, New York, NY
Mysticism and Desire, Patricia Hamilton F.A., Los Angeles, CA
Summer Reading, Anne Reed Gallery, Ketchum, ID
Passion and Perspective, Sandy Carson Gallery, Denver, CO
Abstraction: Form To Field, Elizabeth Leach Gallery, Portland, OR
The Art Show, Art Dealers Association of America
(J. Berggruen Gallery), New York, NY
Processes, Douglas Udell Gallery, Vancouver, BC
Winter Group Exhibition, SOMA Gallery, LaJolla, CA
1999
1997
1996
1995
1994
1993
1992
1991
1990
1989
1988
1988
1987
1986
1985
1984
1983
1982
Group Show, Barbara Davis Gallery, Houston,TX
Museum Collections
Minimalism, Soma Gallery, LaJolla, CA
Sheer Abstraction, Barbara Davis Gallery, Houston, TX
University of New Mexico Art Museum, Albuquerque, NM
One Common Denominator, Anne Reed Gallery, Ketchum, ID
The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY
Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Taos: The City Series, Cedar Rapids
The Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe, NM
Museum of Art, IA
Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI
Limited Edition Prints & Sculpture, Elizabeth Leach Gallery,
Smith College Art Museum, Northampton, MA
New York, NY
Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutger’s University, NJ
Mary Judge & Robert Kelly,Two Person Show, Betsy Senior Gallery,
Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, AL
New York, NY
The Fogg Museum, Cambridge, MA
Art Chicago, Chicago Art Fair, Linda Durham Contemporary Art,
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
Galisteo, NM
The Margulies Collection, Miami, FL
Smallest Show On Earth, Richard Levy Gallery, Albuquerque, NM
The McNay Museum of Art, San Antonio, TX
The Reflected Spirit, Megan Fox, Santa Fe , NM
State of the Questions, Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe, NM
(New Prints)Andy Spence, Richmond Burton, Robert Kelly,
Mel Kendrick, Quartet Editions, NY
Selected Private Collections
Retrospective/Prospective: 1996-1997, Anne Reed Gallery,
Ketchum, ID
AT&T, New York, NY
SITE Santa Fe, Contemporary New Mexico Artists; Sketches &
Body Shop International, London, England
Schemas, Santa Fe, NM
Chemical Bank, London, England
Sheldon Art Gallery, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NB
Chemical Bank, Wilmington, DE
Linda Durham Contemporary Art, Galisteo, NM
Christian Science Headquarters, Boston, MA
Sarah Dobbs Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia
Cleve Carney, Elmhurst, IL
Bentley Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
Colgate, New York, NY
Twelfth Annual Salon Show, Clark Gallery, Lincoln, MA
Combined Jewish Philanthropies, Boston, MA
Works from the William Small Collection, Smith College,
Dupont, Wilmington, DE
Northampton, MA
General Mills, Minneapolis, MN
Eleventh Annual Salon Show, Clark Gallery, Lincoln, MA
Gillette, Boston, MA
Alumni Show, Carpenter Center, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Grey Advertising, New York, NY
Works on Paper: Lyric with an Edge, Victoria, Munroe Fine Art,
New York, NY
Graham Gund, Cambridge, MA
Tenth Annual Salon Show, Clark Gallery, Lincoln, MA
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Kansas City, MO
Summer Salon, Victoria, Munroe Fine Art, New York, NY
IBM, New York, NY
Selected Works on Paper, Victoria, Munroe Fine Art, New York, NY
Hallmark, Kansas City, MI
The Painters, Victoria, Munroe Fine Art, New York, NY
Werner Kramarsky, New York, NY
Ninth Annual Salon Show, Clark Gallery, Lincoln, MA
Marsh & McLennan, Inc., New York, NY
Collector’s Choice, Center for the Arts, Vero Beach, FL
Mead Data Central, Dayton, OH
Monotypes from the Garner Tullis Workshop, Persons/Lindell
William C. Mercer Collection, New York, NY
Gallery,Helsinki, Finland
Microsoft Corporation, Mountain View, CA
Mitchell/Goldberg/Kelly/Lovet, Galleri Weinberger,
Mitsubishi, New York, NY
Copenhagen, Denmark
Morgan Guarantee Trust Company, New York, NY
Gallery Artists, Linda Durham Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
New England Life, Boston, MA
Chicago International Art Exposition, Chicago, IL
The Olin Foundation, NY
Art And Architecture, Acock Schlegel Architects/Brenda Kroos
Pepsi Cola Company of Annapolis, MD
Gallery, Columbus, OH
Phillip Morris Co., Boston, MA
Three Person Invitational, Linda Durham Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Price Waterhouse, Boston, MA
Gallery Artists, Galleri Weinberger, Copenhagen, Denmark
Scientific Atlanta Headquarters, Atlanta, GA
Los Angeles International Contemporary Art Expo
Smith Barney, New York, NY
Sign of the Cross, Jamison/Thomas Gallery, Portland, OR
Solomon Brothers, New York, NY
Gallery Artists, Shelia Nussbaum Gallery, Millburn, NJ
Time Inc., New York, NY
Summer Show, Victoria, Munroe Fine Art, New York, NY
Wang, Boston, MA
Fourth Annual Salon Show, Clark Gallery, Lincoln, MA
The Ginny Williams Foundation
Krakow International Print Biennale, Poland
Wills Eye Hospital, Philadelphia, PA
Linda Durham Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Salon Show, Clark Gallery, Lincoln, MA
Summer Show, West End Gallery, Provincetown, MA
Works On Paper, Victoria, Munroe Fine Art, New Haven, CT
Salon Show, Clark Gallery, Lincoln, MA
Best Of Boston, Mona Berman Gallery, New Haven, CT
Gallery Artists, Impressions Gallery, Boston, MA
Group Show, Mills Gallery, Boston, MA
Color It Pastel, Paul Gallery, University of New Hampshire,
Durham, NH
Publications
Susan Sheehan, The Little Nell, On Its 20th Anniversary.
Architectural Digest, June 2010
Bonhams, Contemporary and Modern Art.
November 10, 2009
Miller, Joe. Report From Colorado, Looking to the Future,
Art in America, May 1998
Bottomley,,Sue Anne. Silk aquatint; Old Hat Or Nouveau Chapeau,
Printmaking Today, Winter 1997.
Moldaw, Carol. Chalkmarks On Stone, La Alameda Press, New Mexico, 1997
Nancy Keates, Aspen’s Little Nell Gets a Big Make Over.
WS Journal, August 2009
McCloud, Kathleen. Robert Kelly: Complex Layers of Meaning,
The New Mexican, July 4, 1997
Joe Fletcher. Time for a Change.
Interior Design, July 2009
Adelmann, Jan Ernsy. Report From Santa Fe, Going Mainstream,
Art in America, January 1995
Hilarie M. Sheets. Robert Kelly, Leslie Feely Fine Art,
ARTnews, March 2009
Armitage, Diane. Geometric Abstraction at Allene Lapids Gallery,
THE Magazine, September 1995
Garcia, Luisa. Une muestra el oxido, lo digital yel dialogo,
Vida El Norte, November 16, 2007
Baker, Kenneth. Local Color at the ICA, Boston Phoenix, May 26, 1981
Cook-Romero, Elizabeth. The Sights of Silence,
The New Mexican, Pasatiempo June 22, 2007
Bell, David. Artwork Taps Sensitivity Awareness,
Albuquerque Journal, August 20, 1992
Review, Albuquerque Journal, March 8, 1988
Previews. Santa Fe Summer Preview,
Art In America June, 2006
Bentley, Lis. Timeless Works Of Ancient, Devotional Spirit,
Santa Fe New Mexico, August 19, 1994
AR/Contemporary Gallery, Robert Kelly Recent Works,
October 2005
Donahue, Marlena. Review, Los Angeles Times, January 22, 1988
Weideman, Paul. The Wide World of Zeros and Ones,
The New Mexican, Pasatiempo, March 19, 2004
Davis, Kathryn M. Robert Kelly: New Paintings/Assemblages,
T H E magazine, September 2004
Dugan, Dana. Artist Renders Formalism With Soul,
Idaho Mountain Express, August 18, 2004
Kuntz, Melissa. Robert Kelly at Linda Durham,
Art in America, February 2004
Loos, Ted. Sun Valley Splendor, House Beautiful, January 2004
Devon, Marjorie. Tamarind: 40 Years,
University of New Mexico Press, published May 2000
McQuaid, Cate. Opening of last show to celebrate Singer’s life,
Arts Media-Boston’s VA Guide, February 27, 2000
Guiliano, Charles. Boston Now: Abstract Artists, Art New England, 1981
Gustafson, Paula. Doug Edge/Robert Kelly/Julie Richard,
The Georgia Straight, April 14-21, 1995
Henry, Gerrit. Robert Kelly; Victoria Munroe Gallery,
ArtNews, November 1993. Houseguests, Art Talk, March 1988
Howell, D. Statistical Methods of Psychology,
Cover Illustration, (Boston, MA: Pindle, Weber, Schmidt)
McCloud, Kathleen. Monotypes are Perfect Metaphors for Memory:
Robert Kelly Accumulates History, Pasatiempo, The Santa Fe
New Mexican, July 19, 1996
Melrod, George. Preview, Art & Antiques, February 1997
Reed, Arden. Robert Kelly: The Historical Present, Artspace, April 1992
Robert Kelly, Santa Fean Magazine, Vol 24, No 6, July 1996
Mandel, Charles. The Paint is the Point,
Edmonton Journal, November 5, 1999
Stapen, Nancy. Painters Stretch the Possible - Robert Ripps,
Kathleen Bradford, Robert Kelly, The Boston Globe, November 11, 1993
Sperduto, Doretta. Serenity in Seattle,
Met Home, September/October 1999
Temin, Christine. Art of the State, The Boston Globe
Weidman, Paul. Traveling Breaks Creative Habits,
The New Mexican, July 15, 1999
Rexer, Lyle. Robert Kelly At Betsy Senior, New York,
Review, March 15, 1999
Johnson, Ken. Mary Judge & Robert Kelly, Betsy Senior Gallery,
New York Times, June 26, 1998
Tobin, Richard. Robert Kelly at Linda Durham, Galisteo,
THE Magazine, September 1995
Unger, Miles. Robert Kelly, Art New England, December 1993
Van de Walle, Mark. Robert Kelly at Linda Durham, Galisteo,
THE Magazine, September 1992
Zellen, Jody. Best of Boston, Art New England, Vol 4, No 6, May 1983
This catalogue was published on the occasion of Robert Kelly’s exhibition
in Spazio Bianco, at Relais San Maurizio, Langhe, Italy in collaboration
with AR / Contemporary Art, Milan, from October 25th – December 9th, 2010.
Robert Kelly wishes to thank AR / Contemporary Art and Roberto Annicchiarico for his continual support, dedication, and
invaluable friendship. He gives special thanks to Cristina Franzoni and Pier Domenico Gallo for organizing and hosting this
exhibition in Spazio Bianco at Relais San Maurizio, and the opportunity to exhibit his work in such an exquisite setting. He is
grateful to Lorenzo Butti for his imagination and creative design that initiated this exhibition, and to Francesco Clerici for his
curatorial assistance and support.
Robert dedicates this Show to Shirine Gill for her generous love, patience and guidance through his many ‘notti oscure
dell’anima’. He is deeply grateful to his assistants, Selime Okuyan, Ryan and Trevor Oakes, and Dan Rushton, for tolerating his
obsessive nature. He thanks Gary Mankus for his fine eye and technical skills with post-production.
He gives special thanks to Ed Leffingwell for his curatorial savvy and fine catalogue text.
Copyright ©
Robert Kelly, 2010
AR / Contemporary Art, 2010
Spazio Bianco / Relais San Maurizio, 2010
Ed Leffingwell, 2010
ISBN
Graphic design: Lorenzo Butti
Photography: Ellen Page Wilson Photography, 2010 / Maris Hutchinson, Matthew Conradt
Proofing: Gary Mankus / Gary Mankus Studios
Translator: Globostudio
Shipping: David O’Connell / OCS