NEW YORK, NY.- Nancy Margolis Gallery is presenting Kelly Bjork’s first solo exhibition with the gallery. The show is on view September 12th through October 26th, 2019.
In her intimate narrative paintings, Seattle-based artist Kelly Bjork depicts candid moments between friends and lovers within tidy, domestic settings. Painted on paper with gouache and pencil, expressive figuration, patterning, and gratifying hues dominate Bjork’s work, confronting the viewer with challenging and amusing imagery. The artist’s pleasure-focused motifs invite viewers to enter a world where conflicts and tensions are simply absent. In their place, figures practice self-care (Cultivating Space, 2019), indulge in leisure (The Oracle, The Witches, Us, 2019), and channel deep intimacy (Anima Rising, 2019).
Small in scale, Bjork’s compositions present rich visual complexity. The artist renders her scenes in precise detail, with studious attention to textures and patterns on walls, furnishings, and surfaces. Hanging tapestries, throw pillows, bed linens, bath towels, electrical outlets, rugs, artwork, and decorated vases are executed with meticulous care. Further, Bjork creates continuity between her paintings with recurring items—a lampshade from her Joshua Tree series, an expressive abstract painting, a hand-stitched quilt, and a pink electric gemstone light, to name a few. The particularity of these objects signals that they are not generic, but exist in a particular location and bear special significance to the artist.
The frank clarity of Bjork’s compositions coupled with the tenderness of her subjects evoke the intimacy of snapshots. Her paintings feature a cast of characters, including representations of the artist herself. Many of the figures who inhabit her scenes are shown nude or caught unawares, comfortably coexisting with one another. Her visual memoirs include a portrait of a friend napping, a glimpse of herself in a bathroom mirror, and a naked man lying supine on a neatly made bed. Bjork’s vignettes of intimacy, comfort, and simplicity within everyday settings offer viewers a welcome respite from the often not-so-blissful realities of our world. Her paintings are easy to fall into, and once immersed, we find ourselves wishing to be guests in Bjork’s home.
Kelly Bjork grew up in Tacoma, Washington and graduated with a B.F.A. from Western Washington University in 2009. Her paintings have been featured in numerous publications, including: New American Paintings, McSweeney’s, No Man's Land, The Stranger, Anxy Magazine, and BOOOOOOOM. Notable clients include BluDot, The Wing, and The Washington Post. In 2018, she received the Helen Frankenthaler Fellowship for the Vermont Studio Center.
