Cheryl Kelley is an American painter known for her
photorealism
Photorealism is a genre of art that encompasses painting, drawing and other graphic media, in which an artist studies a photograph and then attempts to reproduce the image as realistically as possible in another medium. Although the term can be ...
, especially her paintings of
classic and
muscle cars. Her work has been featured on the cover of ''Harper's Magazine''
and can be seen at the Scott Richards Contemporary Art gallery in
San Francisco,
California, the Bernarducci·Meisel Gallery in
New York City,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, and the Seven Bridges Foundation in
Greenwich,
Connecticut.
In 2009 and 2011 she was a finalist for the
Hunting Art Prize The Hunting Art Prize is awarded annually to an artist for excellence in drawing and painting. The prize of $50,000, sponsored by Hunting plc, was established in the United Kingdom in 1981 and was mostly awarded to British artists before relocating ...
, and in 2012 she received a
Pollock-Krasner Foundation grant.
The art collectors' resource
Artsy
Artsy, formally known as Art.sy Inc is a New York City based online art brokerage. Its main business is developing and hosting website for numerous galleries as well as selling art for them. It utilizes a search engine and database to draw conn ...
considers her one of ten "Masters of Photorealism".
Style
Kelley began her career as an
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 ...
but is recognized chiefly as a
photorealist or
hyperrealist
Jean Baudrillard ( , , ; 27 July 1929 – 6 March 2007) was a French sociologist, philosopher and poet with interest in cultural studies. He is best known for his analyses of media, contemporary culture, and technological communication, as we ...
.
In 2003, she began to make paintings of cars using oil on canvas, saying she was drawn by the abstract quality of reflections off the cars' curved surfaces.
Around 2008, she began to use oil on aluminum panels.
Like traditional
photorealists, Kelley bases her paintings on photographs, in this case taken mostly at car shows and automobile museums.
However, her technique does not rely strictly on the "mechanical" transfer of photographic images to canvas.
Technique
Much of the commentary on Kelley's work centers on her use of cars as subjects. Her low angles of perspective and emphasis on "sensuous curves and luscious surfaces"
are seen as representing a feminine, sexualized take on a conventionally masculine area of interest.
By "portray
nghigh-powered muscle cars as seductive objects of desire,"
she "brings a uniquely female perspective to these objects that are almost synonymous with youthful bad-boy hyper-masculinity."
Have you ever seen a car so sexy that you wanted to run your hands all over it, maybe even stretch out luxuriously on the hood? .... Along with pinup and boudoir photography, the dominion of male artists over car art is being left in the dust. While Robert Bechtle paints photorealistic automobiles in their natural, middle-class habitats, Kelley takes them out of context, removing their utilitarian role and elevating them to works of art, freeing her to infuse them with hyperrealistic detail.
Observers state that her works resemble high-definition photographs, but that the images shown in reflection actually make the paintings seem "more realistic than their photographic references."
Recognition
Kelley gained public attention in 2009 as a finalist for the
Hunting Art Prize The Hunting Art Prize is awarded annually to an artist for excellence in drawing and painting. The prize of $50,000, sponsored by Hunting plc, was established in the United Kingdom in 1981 and was mostly awarded to British artists before relocating ...
.
In August 2009, her work was featured on the cover of ''
Harper's Magazine
''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. (''Scientific American'' is older, b ...
''.
Shortly afterward, her work was chosen by
Frank Bernarducci, a leading authority on photorealism, for exhibition at the Bernarducci·Meisel Gallery, which he co-founded with
Louis K. Meisel Louis K. Meisel (born 1942 in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York) is an American author, art dealer and proponent of the photorealist art movement, having coined the term in 1969. He is also the owner of one of the earliest art galleries in SoHo a ...
.
gallery
Jonathan Novak Contemporary Art includes her among a group of "revered and influential"
photorealists, including
John Baeder
John Baeder (born December 24, 1938) is an American painter closely associated with the photorealist movement. He is best known for his detailed paintings of American roadside diners and eateries.
Early life
John Baeder was born in 1938 in So ...
,
Robert Bechtle,
Charles Bell
Sir Charles Bell (12 November 177428 April 1842) was a Scotland, Scottish surgeon, anatomist, physiologist, neurologist, artist, and philosophical theologian. He is noted for discovering the difference between sensory nerves and motor nerves in ...
,
Robert Cottingham
Robert Cottingham (born 1935 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American artist known for his paintings and prints of urban American landscapes showing building facades, neon signs, movie marquees, railroad heralds and shop fronts. ,
Richard Estes,
Gus Heinze
Gus Heinze (born May 1, 1926 in Bremen, Germany) is an American photorealist painter.
Early work
From 1947-1950, Heinze studied under Robert Weaver, Howard Trafton, and Robert Ward Johnson at the School of Visual Arts and the Art Students Leag ...
,
Ralph Goings
Ralph Goings (May 9, 1928 – September 4, 2016) was an American painter closely associated with the Photorealism movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was best known for his highly detailed paintings of hamburger stands, pick-up trucks ...
,
Daniel Green, and
Elizabeth Patterson. In 2013,
Artsy
Artsy, formally known as Art.sy Inc is a New York City based online art brokerage. Its main business is developing and hosting website for numerous galleries as well as selling art for them. It utilizes a search engine and database to draw conn ...
included her on its list of ten "Masters of Photorealism," along with founding photorealists
Richard Estes and
Robert Cottingham
Robert Cottingham (born 1935 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American artist known for his paintings and prints of urban American landscapes showing building facades, neon signs, movie marquees, railroad heralds and shop fronts. .
Beyond the art world, fans of classic and muscle cars admire Kelley's paintings for capturing the aesthetic experience of viewing classic cars, both as art objects and in the context of auto shows. Automotive writer Aaron Miller dubbed her "the most photo-realistic automotive artist in America,"
while
Rosecrans Baldwin
Rosecrans Baldwin is an American novelist, essayist and nonfiction author. He is also a co-founder and editor of ''The Morning News (online magazine), The Morning News'', an online magazine. Born in Chicago, Illinois and raised in Darien, Connect ...
has said she "is the best thing that ever happened to car shows."
Her recent work gets the sex appeal right but also nails the grandeur of auto shows, where some of the world’s fastest objects sit still under lights.
Her technique and her subject matter have inspired numerous tributes from fans impressed by the photorealism of her paintings as well as the apparent incongruity of a "lady who ... paints super awesome cars."
Cheryl Kelley likes to paint hyper-realistic portraits of vintage muscle cars. This Texas based artist uses high-gloss oil paints to recreate Detroit iron with photographic precision. The result is uncanny and cool. Cheryl draws her subject matter inspiration from hanging out at car shows. I ask you, can a girl get any cooler than this?
Personal life
Cheryl Kelley was born in
Houston,
Texas in 1968.
She graduated from the
High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston in 1987 and attended the
University of Houston.
She now lives in
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label=Tiwa language, Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. ...
.
Noted exhibitions
Solo exhibitions
2015 Seven Bridges Foundation,
Greenwich,
CT
2013 "Cheryl Kelley: Detailed," Samek Art Gallery,
Bucknell University,
Lewisburg,
PA
Group exhibitions
2016 "Land Escapes," Joshua Liner Gallery, New York, NY
2015 "Stainless Steel: A Group Exhibition of Reflective Works in 3 Dimensions," Bernarducci·Meisel Gallery, New York, NY
2015 "The Art of Collecting," Flint Institute of Arts, Flint, MI
2014 "Everybody Needs a Hero!" Scott Richards Contemporary Art, San Francisco, CA
2014 "Winter White," Bernarducci·Meisel Gallery, New York, NY
2014 "Photorealism in a Digital Age II" Bernarducci·Meisel Gallery, New York, NY
2014 "Photorealism: The Everyday Illuminated" Jonathan Novak Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA
2013 "Summer Sights: A Gallery Survey Exhibition," Bernarducci·Meisel Gallery, New York, NY
2013 “Photorealism Revisited,” Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Oklahoma City, OK
2010 "Drive," David Klein Gallery, Birmingham, MI
2013 “Route 66,” Skidmore Contemporary Art, Santa Monica, CA
2009 "Photorealism: A Closer Look," Scott Richards Contemporary Art, San Francisco, CA
2009 “Endless Summer Exhibition,” Lyons Weir Gallery, New York, NY
2008 “Fotofest,” New Gallery, Houston, TX
2008 "Summer Salon: Works on Paper" Lyons Wier Ortt Contemporary Art, New York, NY
2007 "High and Dry Smoke and Fog" Phantom Galleries LA Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, CA
2007 Bridge Art Fair, Art Murmur Gallery, Miami, FL
2007 Lyons Wier Ortt, New York, NY
2005 Auto Show, The Arts Center of the Capital Region, Troy, NY
2003 "Celebration of Contemporary Art," The Woodlands Resort and Conference Center, The Woodlands, TX
2001 "Sultry," Houston Community College, Houston, TX
Noted collections
Pesterer Contemporary Fine Art,
Zurich,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
The Seavest Collection of Contemporary Realism, New York, NY, USA
The Seven Bridges Foundation, Greenwich, CT, USA
, Chicago, IL, USA
Awards
2012
Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant
2011 Finalist,
Hunting Art Prize The Hunting Art Prize is awarded annually to an artist for excellence in drawing and painting. The prize of $50,000, sponsored by Hunting plc, was established in the United Kingdom in 1981 and was mostly awarded to British artists before relocating ...
2009 Finalist,
Hunting Art Prize The Hunting Art Prize is awarded annually to an artist for excellence in drawing and painting. The prize of $50,000, sponsored by Hunting plc, was established in the United Kingdom in 1981 and was mostly awarded to British artists before relocating ...
Work featured in
2013 "Roadster Reflections." ''American Art Collector,'' edited by Joshua Rose, Issue #89. March.
2012 ''Nob Hill Gazette'', Front Cover. June.
2010 "Metal Beauty." ''American Art Collector,'' edited by Joshua Rose, Issue #61. November.
2009 “Heavy Metal.” ''American Art Collector,'' edited by Joshua Rose, Issue #47. September.
2009 "Illustration: ''Cadillac'' (detail)," ''Harper's Magazine'', Front Cover. August.
2008 ''Oranges & Sardines: Summer 2008'', by David Krump, Andy Nicholson, Meghan Punschke, and Didi Melendez.
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
2008 ''New American Paintings: Juried Exhibitions in Print'', Western Edition, Issue #78. Juror: Andrea Karnes, Curator,
Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth (widely referred to as The Modern) is an art museum of post-World War II art in Fort Worth, Texas with a collection of international modern and contemporary art. Founded in 1892, The Modern is located in the c ...
,
Fort Worth
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
,
TX.
2005 ''New American Paintings: Juried Exhibitions in Print'', Western Edition, Issue #60. Juror: Fereshteh Daftari, Former Curator,
The Museum of Modern Art,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
,
NY.
References
External links
Video
"Cheryl Kelley Paints" on YouTubeMadeline Rinehart interviews Cheryl Kelley on "Hart to Heart" webcastOklahoma City Museum of Art interviews Cheryl Kelley
Fan collections
* Fan video
Автомобили от художницы Cheryl Kelley. Гиперреалистично [Cars by artist Cheryl Kelley. Hyperrealism/nowiki>]
Realistic Old Polished Cars Paintings (NOT PHOTOGRAPHS!!!)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelley, Cheryl
1968 births
Living people
21st-century American painters
Painters from Texas
University of Houston alumni
Artists from Houston
Photorealist artists
20th-century American women painters
21st-century American women painters
High School for the Performing and Visual Arts alumni