Jim Kempner Fine Art is pleased to announce an exhibition of Jay Kelly’s recent drawings and sculpture, his ninth solo show at the gallery. The dates of the show are January 19 through February 23. The opening reception for the artist is on January 19 from 6-8pm.

Continuing his exploration of making objects, Kelly, a self-taught, former photorealist painter of industrial landscapes, brings his attention to detail and love of weathered, aged surfaces to his intricately constructed sculpture. Kelly’s abstract wire sculptures are delicate constructions in space and have a light, playful quality. Others, made with silver nickel, wood, and gesso are aged with patina and are more compact in appearance, only reaching up to 8 inches in height. Kelly has expanded beyond his traditional miniature format to include sculptural works as large as 2 feet high. Regardless of scale, Kelly’s handcrafted precision is evident in all his work.

Jay Kelly employs the same meticulous and controlled elements with his drawings of acrylic, graphite, and gouache to create this collection of 5 x 5 inch drawings on vellum. Seemingly spontaneous and unconscious, upon closer inspection these drawings reveal perfectly controlled lines and a balance of asymmetrical forms. The drawings are self-contained worlds of elegant lines and blurred dreamlike shapes. This new body of drawings moves from fresh, soft hues to saturated colors, rich and robust over translucent vellum.

Kelly’s influences range from 1950s Abstraction, 20th century architecture, jazz music, and mid-century Scandinavian pottery, all of which get filtered through an idiosyncratic, yet eloquent aesthetic.

Jay Kelly’s work was included in New York/New Drawings, 1946-2007, works from the Sarah-Ann and Werner Kramarsky collection at Museo de Arte Contemporaneo Esteban Vicente in Segovia, Spain in 2009. His work was also included in What is a Line? Drawings from the Collection at Yale University Art Gallery, along with work by Richard Serra, Brice Marden, Carl Andre and others. Jay Kelly’s work is represented in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Brooklyn Museum, The British Museum, Yale University Art Gallery, Werner Kramarsky and many others. For information and images, please contact the gallery.