A Washington, DC-based artist, Kreg David Kelley won his first art award at the age of 12 with the 'Connecticut Scholastic Art Awards Program' for a drawing entitled 'Holocaust'. In 1996 he drew several drawings of the first teacher-in-space, S. Christa McAuliffe, which now hang in the Christa Corrigan McAuliffe Center in Framingham, MA.Throughout his teenage life he experimented in different artistic mediums, but it wasn't until 2003 that his art became more of a full-on hobby. Aside from abstraction and 3D works on canvas, he utilizes damaged antique engravings and artifacts from the 18th - 19th century into his pieces. From February until April of 2006, he had his first solo show in collaboration with David Mamet's Victorian lesbian comedy,'Boston Marriage': all 15 pieces sold. During that time, he was also commissioned by his gallery to create a collage of the 100th anniversary of D.C.'s University Club, which now hangs in their lobby. Several of his pieces are in world-reknowned chef Gerry Garvin's restaurant in Hollywood & he participated in a group show in NYC featuring works by Yoko Ono. He has donated pieces to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC.org) National Dinner, Whitman Walker Clinic's Art for Life, and Georgetown Hospital's/Four Season's Georgetown Jingle. He has sold works to clients in many countries across the world including Amsterdam, Canada, Brazil, Greece, Denmark, Norway, Russia, Australia, France, Japan, Italy, Spain, & the United Kingdom. In the summer of 2010 his painting of "Washington, DC: Night in the City Series" was chosen to be featured in the national calendar for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). His current exhibitions are Galerie Lareuse (29th & Pennsylvania Ave, NW- Georgetown), the first & only DC Century 21 Building (17th & Q St., NW), the new MOVA DC (14th Street),Tonic Restaurant (Mt. Pleasant), Last Exit Lounge, & Ulah Bistro. Having moved from Connecticut to attend the George Washington University, he has been living in D.C. since 2000 and is the curator for Galerie Lareuse in Georgetown, specializing in original works on paper by 19th & 20th century masters.
"Inside the Mind of Kreg D. Kelley" May 2010
A Recent Interview with Topcoat Magazine:
"Classical art has made an auspicious resurgence in the form of Washington, DC-based artist, Kreg D. Kelley. Many of his works cleverly invoke themes from past legends, blending the styles of artists like Picasso with his own prodigious talent. His pieces seemlessly draw the eyes to the entire canvas. Kelley succeeds where too many contemporary artists fail or make no effort: creating a relationship between art and the viewer. That success had been confirmed at the age of twelve, when Kelley won fist art award. He went on to sell all fifteen pieces of his very first show and consistently sells to buyers all over the world. We caught up to Kelley to gain more insight on an artist resting comfortably on the precipice of stardom.
TCM: What message do you feel you wish to convey in your art? Is it a consistent message that is uniform in all your art or does each piece have a completely independent voice? KDK: I’ve always been a fan of the concept that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. I think that placing a name or label on a piece, or implying a certain message constricts the viewer's natural response. Unless I am paying homage to a certain subject, the biggest struggle I've had with my work is the nomenclature. In my collages that involve antique items such as sheet music, keys, clock parts, et al., from the 19th century, I am trying to show the viewer that 'old and forgotten' can still be 'new and modern'. Many of the antique items I use are salvaged, and are often on their way to being thrown away; I like the idea of preserving the past. Inspiration is sometimes hard to label in certain pieces, and most of them have their own unique story. Naturally, my style varies with the story, just as it evolves over the years to reflect my experiences and the things that have moved me. I think Pierre Reverdy put is best when he wrote “Poetry is achieved when any work of art is integrated, be it only for a moment, in the real life of man by the emotion it provokes in his spirit and in his flesh.”
TCM: What was the jolt, not so much the inspiration behind creating such works of art? KDK: Life is short. The idea that I am creating beautiful things that people will enjoy long after I am gone gives me a sense of excitement and pride. History has always fascinated me and I think it is not egocentric to desire to be a part of it- or to be remembered. Just like a person’s legacy is carried on through a child, mine is continued through my work.
TCM: Working in a gallery with other works of art, is it difficult to not be inspired from what you see other artist creating or do you welcome the outside influence?
KDK: I absolutely love being around art other than my own and it helps me to be tactful about the work I am doing. I think it is important to have respect for what has been done or else your pieces will end up redundant and lackluster. While I am inspired by the art I work around, I can equally be turned off. The key I’ve learned is to balance what you see, and do it with your own style. I don’t want to be Picasso or Matisse, or any of the others whose work surrounds me, I want to be myself.
TCM: Where do you find your continual inspiration for creating new works?
KDK: Aside from hearing kind words, and of course selling a piece, the significant moments that keep me going involve museums and nature. I've been lucky to live in a city where some of the world's most beautiful art is held, both natural and man-made. Whenever I need to re-charge my creative thinking I go to these places. If something really hits me it will somehow be a cog in the wheel that drives me to create. And more than anything, knowing that what I create brings happiness to the viewer is how I gain more and more inspiration. I love what I do and I think that is inspiration within itself."
by EJ Jacobs, Editor-in-Chief, Topcoat Magazine 2010
