P E TE KE LLY fine art encaustic photographer

"My approach to photography is very similar to a painter, I want to interpret more than is captured in one frame, the image capture is just the beginning of the creative process for me. My work is a complex process of multiple photographic layers, some textural, some imagery, layered in Photoshop and output to museum-quality digital pigment prints on watercolor paper, mounted on board with Encaustic wax surface, consisting of Beeswax and Damar Resin."

“Kelly blurs the line between photography and painting. His subject matter, ranging from images of the natural world (flora and fauna), to urban and residential landscapes and focuses on the individual’s place in a given environment, as expressed by his or her body language. ‘New York Artworld’ Magazine

A RT I S T S TAT E M E N T

I try to see beauty around me, drawing beauty from ugliness by capturing close up textures of fading paint or graffiti, or by reducing the shape of the subject to silhouette. My photographs represent a collaboration of ideas in the camera and the computer, utilizing photographic and digital techniques, arriving at a point which reflects the Dadaist concept ‘Photography as the Art of the Found’. My images are rarely staged, they may be photographically manipulated for example photographing the subject out of focus, or digitally manipulated, by layering images or textures together for a conceptual purpose. However the images were found, as represented in the viewfinder of the camera at that moment in time. The nostalgic or painterly style, which is created by layering photographs of found textures such as close-ups of stone walls, brush strokes on canvas, or scratches on photographic film. The ‘spontaneity’ in the texture reinforces the Dadaist ‘Found Object as Art’ concept.

To layer a brush-stroke, grainy or scratchy image on top of a pristine photograph, degrading the image and breaking fundamental photographic rules, is important in my work as an artist. To communicate the medium in an alternative way, to provoke memory in the viewer by offering nostalgic references in the brush-stroke or scratch, paying homage to painter’s like Turner , Constable and Giacometti. My photographic influences are Irving Penn, Albert Watson, Michael Kenna and Keith Carter. Ultimately, I strive to create a cohesive body of work which encompasses a broad range of styles, from the large depth of field (sharp focus) scenes in Cityscapes and Landscapes, to the shallow depth of field (out of focus) in the Abstract images, shot in silhouette, where the textural layers take on a more prominent role. I finish off many of my pieces with an ancient Egyptian crafting technique using encaustic wax.

PHOTO G RAPHI C E NC AU S T I C

I am one of a few photographers who has worked extensivley with the encaustic technique and have taught photographic encaustic workshops to other photographers in my studio in Cheshire, U.K, and at the Applied Arts School, Amagansett, New York. The early Egyptian iconic art and relics in Pharaoh’s tombs contain encaustic wax paintings. I utilize this technique in a modern context, encasing my photographs in wax on prepared board. Using beeswax is a passion of mine, the more I learn about Bees, the more I’m amazed and understand the need to bring awareness to the declining populations of Bees and their pivotal role in pollination of plants. To view video of my process click here.

ART BLOC KS My fine art photographic Artblocks are handcrafted using 100% fine art materials on recycled wood which is then coated with encaustic wax. The image is layered with texture digitally and printed onto 300 gsm cotton rag watercolor paper using light-fast pigment inks. It is then adhered to the gessoed board using acid free glue, varnished and the edges sanded and painted. It is then coated with a bees wax and Damar Resin mixture. I try to use recycled materials whenever possible in my work. I currently recycle 13” wide circles of 1” thick plywood, which is left over from making loudspeakers in the business above us in the mill. We cut them into 9”x9” squares, or 8”x10”, for images to be mounted on. I also use 18”x 8ft sheets of plywood and offcuts of the same 1” thick plywood in 8ft lengths for making the frames of the panels, for mounting images on.

LA ND S C A P E S

Photos: Private Collection, Hudson, New York

C I TYSCA P E S

CIT YS CAPE S

FLORA

ABS TRAC TS

EQU ES TR I A N

ANIMALS

P EOP LE & P LAC E S

COMMISS I ON S : R E TAI L PRODUCT COLLECTIONS IKEA, Paperhouse Cards, Hallmark Cards, Habitat, Felix Rosensteil’s. DISPLAY INSTALLATIONS Polo

Osaka, Japan Store 2 - (16x20” and 30x40”) prints on paper Bloomingdales

59th Street Store, NY ‘New York Skyline’ - 20ft x 8ft mural Soho Store, NY ‘Imaginary New York’ - 30 x 30” giclee print on canvas ‘Taxi Cab’ - 30 x 30” giclee print on canvas

Photos: (left) IKEA ‘San Francisco Crop’ (right) ‘New York Skyline’, ‘Imaginary New York’ , ‘Taxi Cab’

COMMISS I ON S : HO SP I TAL I T Y Henley Hotel • Washington, DC

Interior Design: Hein & Cozzi Images for 200 room refurbishment The Krebs • NY

Interior Design: McAlpine, Ferrier 1 - 30 x 30” encaustic on board 1 - 56 x 56” encaustic on board 1 - 66 x 66” encaustic on board Connaught Hotel • London

Interior Design: Oliver Laws 1 - 24 x 60” mural print 2 - 20 x 24” prints 1 - 30 x 40” print Avalon Hotel • New York, NY

Interior Design: Hein & Cozzi 1 - 44 x 44” encaustic on board

C HARIT Y AU C TI ON S

FOTORELIEF and A Milk Gallery Project organizes “A Picture Saves A Thousand Lives” silent photo auction event to contribute to the Haitian earthquake relief effort through ROSE Charities. Over 100 of the world's most respected fashion and fine art photographers are each donating a photograph to be exhibited and auctioned off that evening, with the opening bids ranging from $300 to $10,000. Invited guests – art patrons, collectors, celebrities, and the fashion & fine art photography world elite – will have the opportunity to take home an important work of art, while making an invaluable contribution to the relief effort. All of the proceeds from the auction will go to ROSE Charities, to provide long-term care and rehabilitation for the survivors of the Haitian earthquake.

‘Ring-a-Roses’ - Milk Gallery, Auction for Haiti Relief It fetched the highest bid that night

EXHIBITI ON S SO LO 1997 Red Chair Gallery • Kansas City, MO

G RO U P 1999 Sloan-Kettering Hospital • NY

Soho Photo Gallery • Manhattan, NY 1999 Williamsburg Art & Historical Society • Brooklyn,

NY

2000 Dow & Jones • NY

Robin Rice Gallery • Manhattan, NY 2000 Get Real Art • Manhattan, NY 2001 Get Real Art • Manhattan, NY 2002 Robin Rice Gallery • Manhattan, NY

Carrie Haddad Gallery • Hudson, NY 707 Contemporary • Santa Fe, NM 2004 Robin Rice Gallery • Manhattan, NY 2005 Lunar Boy Gallery • Astoria, OR

Marziart Internationale • Hamburg, DE Calvin Charles Gallery • Scottsdale, AZ

707 Contemporary • Santa Fe, NM 2003 Aspen International Art • Aspen, CO

Hudson Galleries • New Orleans, LA Lightbox Gallery • Kansas City, MO 2004 Gallery 22 • Hale, Cheshire, UK

Calvin Charles Gallery • Scottsdale, AZ 2005 Lunar Boy Gallery • Astoria, OR

2008 The Crowne Estate • Windsor Gate Park

Marziart Internationale • Hamburg, DE 2006 Toucan Art, Cheadle Hulme • Cheshire, UK

Conservatory Gallery, UK 2007 Conservatory Gallery • Windsor Great Park, 2009 The Corner Gallery • Carshalton Beeches, Nr

Surrey, UK

London, UK 2010 Jarva Gallery • Whaley Bridge, Derbyshire, UK 2010 ‘Artday’ Lyme Hall • Lyme Park, Cheshire, UK

Milk Gallery, Auction for Haiti Relief • NY

Robin Rice Gallery • Manhattan, NY 2011 WildAid Gala Auction • San Francisco, CA 2012 Jarva Gallery • Whaley Bridge, High Peak,

Derbyshire, UK

Robin Rice Gallery • New York, NY Art of Interiors • Hale, UK Jarva Gallery • High Peak, UK Londonart • London, UK Artsia • UK SaatchiOnline • London, UK

2002 Bloomingdales Photographic Collection

2006 Robin Rice Gallery • Manhattan, NY 2007 Toucan Art • Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire, UK

GA L L E RY R E P RE S E N TATI ON

2012 Art of Interiors • Hale, Cheshire, UK

“ Pete Kelly’s latest show evokes memory through strong associative, emotional and surreal imagery, stretching reality toward a timeless fantasia. Through his collection, Kelly invites viewers to not only bear witness to the moments he has captured in frame, but provides tangible windows of access in each piece, rousing their faded cache of memories and permitting them to relive each experience as if it were their own.” Robin Rice

CONTAC T Goyt Mill, Marple, U.K. +44 161 484 5995 [email protected]