James Kelsey (sculptor)
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James Edward Kelsey (born November 15, 1964) is an American
Abstract Expressionist Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of the ...
sculptor best known for creating large stainless steel abstract curvilinear sculptures.


Biography

James Edward Kelsey was born on November 15, 1964 in
Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...
,
Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
and moved to Renton, Washington in 1965, where he spent his childhood until age 13. In 1977 his father was hired by Bell Helicopter and moved his family to
Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
,
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. James was first exposed to the concept of abstract art while living in the Middle East and experiencing the abstract nature of
Islamic art Islamic art is a part of Islamic culture and encompasses the visual arts produced since the 7th century CE by people who lived within territories inhabited or ruled by Muslim populations. Referring to characteristic traditions across a wide ra ...
. His family left Iran in 1979 due to the onset of the
Iranian revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...
. Kelsey discovered his love of creating art in junior high school and experimented with photography, wood shop, ceramics, and a short course in metal casting. When he was in high school, his father died, and he dropped out of school halfway through 10th grade. He immediately attained his G.E.D. and married at age 17, a marriage which lasted six years. At age 18, he became a firefighter in the
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...
and was stationed in Aviano,
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. While living there, he explored much of the art and architecture of Northern Italy, Venice, and Pisa. This is also the first time he met men and women working as full-time artists both as painters and sculptors. In 1987, he was honorably discharged from the Air Force. Instead of producing art, he enrolled at Big Bend Community College in
Moses Lake Moses Lake is a lake and reservoir along the course of Crab Creek, in Washington state, USA. Moses Lake is part of the Columbia River basin, as Crab Creek is a tributary of the Columbia River. Although originally a shallow natural lake, Moses ...
, Washington to pursue his love of flying. He was awarded a commercial pilot license and continued on to Eastern Washington University, from which he graduated with honors and a degree in Business and Interpersonal Communication. After College, Kelsey moved back to
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, Washington with his partner and soon-to-be wife, Misty Devin, whom he had met in college. In 1996 they moved to Everett, Washington Devins' job. While there, Kelsey wrote his yet-unpublished novel, ''The Last Icon''. In 1998 they moved again, to
Bremerton, Washington Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington. The population was 37,729 at the 2010 census and an estimated 41,405 in 2019, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremer ...
. Kelsey decided to finally ignore much of the advice he had heard throughout his life and pursue his love of art with the goal of making it a career. He enrolled in the welding program at
Olympic College Olympic College is a public community college in Bremerton, Washington. It opened as Olympic Junior College on September 5, 1946. Olympic College serves Kitsap and Mason counties in Washington. The college's service area contains two major na ...
. By the end of the two-year program, he had created four significant sculptures including ''And He Offered the Moon To the Sky'', his first piece of public art, which can currently be seen on the Olympic College campus. While still taking classes, he secured a job with a local metal fabrication company as their sole welder and honed his skills while continuing his classes. Two years later, he quit his welding job to work for three years for a local stone sculptor, Will Robinson. Kelsey served as the fabricator for Robinson's bases and fountain basins, as well as learning stone working skills. This was also Kelsey's introduction to the business side of the art world as he accompanied Robinson to his galleries and installed sculptures in clients' homes. In 2002, Kelsey built his own studio on his property in
Port Orchard Port Orchard, part of Washington state's Puget Sound, is the strait that separates Bainbridge Island on the east from the Kitsap Peninsula on the west. It extends from Liberty Bay and Agate Pass in the north to Sinclair Inlet and Rich Passage ...
, Washington. In 2007 Kelsey divorced from Misty Devin, his wife of 15 years. During that same year the
financial crisis of 2007–2008 Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fi ...
began. He struggled to maintain his home and art studio, but as the recession continued in 2012 he was forced to sell before an imminent foreclosure as part of the
2010 United States foreclosure crisis The 2010 United States foreclosure crisis, sometimes referred to as Foreclosure-gate or Foreclosuregate, refers to a widespread epidemic of improper foreclosures initiated by large banks and other lenders. The foreclosure crisis was extensively ...
. In November 2012 Kelsey signed a contract with the mint company I.P. Callisons and traded three of his sculptures, ''Helios'', ''Industrial Heart'', and ''Eye of the Beholder, II'', for one of their 7,000 square foot facilities in
Centralia, Washington Centralia () is a city in Lewis County, Washington, United States. It is located along Interstate 5 near the midpoint between Seattle and Portland, Oregon. The city had a population of 18,183 at the 2020 census. Centralia is twinned with Ch ...
. In 2013 Kelsey was commissioned by the
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, formerly known as the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and also known as Fred Hutch or The Hutch, is a cancer research institute established in 1975 in Seattle, Washington. History The center grew out o ...
in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, Washington to create ''Touching the Intangible'' and ''Tuareg Sun''.


Major works

''Memories in Blue'' (executed in 2005–2006) is the primary sculpture in a memorial installation for the Tacoma Police Department. Also in this installation is ''For All They Gave'', a bronze and granite piece with the names, dates, and stories of each officer who died in the line of duty. Connecting these to sculptures is a 100-foot glass line titled ''Thin Blue Line''. ''Tsunami in Steel'' (2009) is Kelsey’s first international sculpture. It is a private / public collaboration between Am-Pri Homebuilders and the City of
Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...
,
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. Inspired by the 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean, Kelsey was unable to let the thoughts and images out of his mind. His mother lives along the Pacific Ocean and in creating this sculpture he was able to settle his mind and move on. ''Touching the Intangible'' (2013) is part of the
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, formerly known as the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and also known as Fred Hutch or The Hutch, is a cancer research institute established in 1975 in Seattle, Washington. History The center grew out o ...
's art collection. The sculpture represents the efforts of doctors and scientists who search for the causes and cures of HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases. From the artist: "Everyone at The Hutch is on a never-ending search for cures for diseases. The irony is that once they discover a potential cure, they simply pass it on to others to carry on the work and begin their search all over again with yet another disease. They are on the cutting edge of discovery." The sculpture stands in front of the FHCRC's Vaccine and Infectious Disease Building in Seattle.


References

* Baker, Travis, The Kitsap Sun
''Sculptor's Work Now Installed at Grounds''
(Kitsap Sun, March 25, 2006) * Held within the collection o

Bridgerland Applied Technology College, Eye of the Beholder, IV * Eldridge, Keith, KOMO News 4

May 25, 2006 * Davison, David R, Tacoma Weekly
Know your art: Tacoma Police Memorial Project
June 1, 2010 * LeVan, Patricia,
The Good Men Project The Good Men Project is an American weblog founded by Tom Matlack in 2009. Background The online platform was founded in 2009 by American entrepreneur Tom Matlack. The Good Men Project launched as an online publishing site and social platform ...

''Beginning Again Once More''
March 28, 2014


External links




James Kelsey on Facebook

James Kelsey Studios


{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelsey, James (Sculptor) 1964 births Abstract expressionist artists Sculptors from Wisconsin 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American male artists 21st-century American sculptors 21st-century American male artists American male sculptors Artists from Seattle People from Everett, Washington Living people People from Renton, Washington Commercial aviators Sculptors from Washington (state) People from Bremerton, Washington People from Port Orchard, Washington