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Keltie Ferris is best known for patterned paintings that use acrylic and oil, spray gun and brushes, as well as erasure and impasto to create energetic abstractions that vibrate with contrasts of medium application, color combinations, and compositional strategies. In his early work, he experimented with pixelated backgrounds and blurred foregrounds to tease at depth perception; now, he builds-up thick areas of relief to add a dimension, although he redacts the process as well by wiping away areas of the imagery. Ferris continuously expands his relationship to painting, both in the way he handles the medium but also how his work relates to the history of the genre, considering the relationship of an artist’s identity to their output of imagery.  

Keltie Ferris (b. 1977, Louisville, KY) lives and works in Brooklyn and Woodstock, NY. He graduated with a BFA from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in 2004, and received an MFA from the Yale School of Art in 2006. Solo exhibitions include *O*P*E*N* at The Speed Art Museum in Louisville, KY (2018); Body Prints and Paintings at the University Art Museum at SUNY Albany, Albany, NY (2016); Keltie Ferris: Doomsday Boogie at the Santa Monica Museum of Art, Santa Monica, CA (2014); and Man Eaters at the Kemper Museum, Kansas City, MO (2009-10). His works have been included in group exhibitions at institutions such as: Museum of Contemporary Art, Jacksonville, FL; Saatchi Gallery, London, UK; Contemporary Arts Museum of Houston, Houston, TX; The Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, NY; Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY; the Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art, Indianapolis, IN; and The Kitchen, New York, NY. In 2014, he received the Rosenthal Family Foundation Award in Painting by the Academy of Arts and Letters. Ferris’ work is included in public collections at The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO; The Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art (Oppenheimer Collection), Overland Park, KS; The Saatchi Gallery, London, UK; The Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY; and Amorepacific Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea.

Artworks

Keltie Ferris
Color Radio, 2019
Oil and acrylic on canvas in artist’s frame
82 x 62 x 3 inches
(208.5 x 157.5 x 7.5 cm)
Photograph by Mark Woods

Keltie Ferris
Hydra, 2019
Oil and acrylic on canvas in artist’s frame
83.25 x 123.75 x 3 inches
(211.5 x 314.5 x 7.5 cm)
Photograph by Mark Woods

Keltie Ferris
Red Crest Blue, 2019
Oil and acrylic on canvas in artist’s frame
42 x 37 x 3 inches
(106.5 x 94 x 7.5 cm)
Photograph by Mark Woods

Keltie Ferris
For)))]]]}}}ward, 2018
Oil and acrylic on canvas in artist’s frame
35 x 30 x 3 inches
(89 x 76 x 7.5 cm)
Photograph by Mark Woods

Keltie Ferris
Dissident, 2017
Oil and powdered pigment on paper
40 x 26 inches
(101.5 x 66 cm)
Photograph courtesy of Morán Morán

Keltie Ferris
Chorus, 2017
Oil and powdered pigment on paper
40 x 26 inches
(101.5 x 66 cm)
Photograph courtesy of Morán Morán

Keltie Ferris
Ring Master, 2017
Oil and powdered pigment on paper
40 x 26 inches
(101.5 x 66 cm)
Photograph courtesy of Morán Morán

Keltie Ferris
sunK sun, 2016
Oil and acrylic on canvas
100 x 80 inches
(254 x 203 cm)
Photograph by Mark Woods

Keltie Ferris
oRiOn, 2015
Acrylic and oil on canvas
72 x 60 inches
(183 x 152.5 cm)
Photograph by Frederik Nilsen

Keltie Ferris
Marksman, 2015
Acrylic and oil on canvas
72 x 60 inches
(183 x 152.5 cm)
Photograph by Frederik Nilsen

Keltie Ferris
W(A(V)E)S, 2015
Acrylic and oil on canvas
96 by 130 inches
(244 by 330 cm)
Photograph by Frederik Nilsen

Keltie Ferris
WoVeN, 2015
Acrylic and oil on canvas
72 by 60 inches
(183 by 152.5)
Photograph by Frederik Nilsen

Keltie Ferris
You + Me=Me + You, 2012
Oil and acrylic on canvas
80 x 60 inches
(203 x 152.5 cm)
Photograph by Mark Woods

Keltie Ferris
¿?, 2011
Oil, acrylic and pastel on canvas
80 x 80 inches
(203 x 203 cm)
Photograph by Mark Woods

Keltie Ferris
!@#$%^&(), 2010
Oil, acrylic and pastel on canvas
80 x 80 inches
(203 x 203 cm)
Photograph by Mark Woods