Lisa Kellner

In my work I use a reductive language and intuitive approach to make paintings and sculptural constructions about the environment, societal constructs and how we occupy space.

My work explores dimension, place and systems of mark making. I’m interested in forging spatial relationships between the physical and the intangible. Inspired by nature, history and the spaces humans create for themselves, my paintings conflate place and structure with memory and perception. A blending occurs; consolidating all into one.

Particular constraints are employed in order to focus on essential connections between form, color and composition. The intention is for these relationships to convey a certain feeling or meaning within the viewer. I make this work to create spaces in our world that provide solace, inspiration and new ways of seeing. Each piece melds together free flowing brush work with bold passages of color, blending the chaos and bustle of societal experience with the calm and quiet of the natural world.

Influenced by travel and the places I’ve experienced, I seek to distill identity and perception down to their very essence by merging a minimalist approach with a painterly output.

Lisa Kellner’s paintings and sculptural constructions have been exhibited throughout the United States and internationally. Her work can be found in private residences and commercial spaces in the United States, Europe and Japan. Exhibiting institutions include the Bellevue Arts Museum (WA), the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (NY), the Brooklyn Arts Council (NY), the Weatherspoon Museum (NC), the Islip Art Museum, Washington Project for the Arts and the Muscarelle Museum of Art (VA), among others. She has created site-responsive installations for institutions including the Cornell Fine Arts Museum (FL), the Bellevue Arts Museum (WA), Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Swing Space (NY), Brooklyn Arts Council (NY), the Center for Maine Contemporary Art (ME), Lehman College Art Gallery (NY) and the Target Gallery at the Torpedo Factory (VA). In addition, Kellner has worked with galleries such as Ascent Contemporary (NY), Project 4 (DC), BravinLee Projects (NY), JoAnne Artman (LA), Granite Gallery and Artemis Gallery, both in Maine. Kellner’s work has been reviewed and mentioned in publications including The New York Times, The Boston Globe and Sculpture Magazine.

Lisa has received several awards including the New Media Invitational from the Target Gallery, DC and was nominated a Joan Mitchell Emerging Artist semi-finalist. Recent curated exhibitions include Materiality: The Matter of Matter at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art (ME), Lost and Found at the Umbrella Arts Center (CT), Nature Triumphs at Five Points Arts Center (CT) and the Granite Gallery Invitational (ME). Lisa has collaborated on projects with organizations including Artspace, NY. She has worked with various artists on projects such as the USPS Art Project and curated an exhibition with artist Huguette Despault May entitled, What Matters Most. Lisa continues her interview series, Five Questions for Artists, that focuses on artists’ thoughts about why and how they make their work. She is currently working on a monograph in conjunction with a series of new paintings that will be exhibited in 2023.




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