Blue Mountain Gallery presents member artist, Joan Kelly in an exhibition of works entitled “Invisible personas”. While it is true our faces carry our identity to the outside world, yet how ironic is it that these very faces (identities) remain invisible to ourselves.  Just as the surgeon can open up our chest and see our heart, yet she cannot see the intentions or innermost thoughts of the individual who holds them.  In this collection of work, Joan Kelly, an artist who has lived in Singapore for the last 13 years, attempts to paint invisible personas by reaching beyond the usual boundaries and perceptions that separate groups of people from one another.

By living amongst specific communities, Kelly was welcomed and subsequently developed a reciprocal artistic relationship with brothel workers in Kolkata, Pehlwan (wrestlers) of Varanasi India, and recently, a group of young Moroccan girls living in a detention center in Fez. The intimacy of the encounters creates an environment of exploration between the artist and her subjects, who became participants in the creative process. The paintings that emerged reveal the invisible personas that became visible through the process. Also included in this show is work made as Kelly took on the role of resident artist at University of Tasmania, her subject became the charred remains of devastating fires. Here too, the personas of the ancient trees offered themselves to the artist.

Opening Reception, April 26, 2018 from 5 p.m. – 8 p.m.

April 28 – 2 – 3 p.m. – Joan Kelly hosts a discussion on “Serving Community in a Market-Driven Culture of Mass Distractions.”

Exhibit runs from April 24 – May 19 at Blue Mountain Gallery.

For more information,  please see:  http://bluemountaingallery.org/joan-marie-kelly/