Kelsey Shwetz
Bio: Kelsey Shwetz is a Canadian born painter who lives in New York. She is a two-time recipient of the The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant, along with grants from Canada Council for the Arts and the Mayer Foundation. She was awarded fellowships by the Vermont Studio Center, The Choy Family, Ellen Gelmen, Columbia University and CanSerrat Residency in Barcelona.
kelseyshwetz.com
Instagram: @kelseyshwetz
Thesis Exhibition
Artist Statement: My work explores nature and mythology through the lens of our current climate crisis and addresses the concept and implications of the Anthropocene. The world in my paintings is ripe with human presence but unsettlingly empty, a plausible near future where a post- Anthropocene narrative is dawning and flora and geological forms reassert their agency. I often describe liminal or threshold spaces; an atmosphere where an event has just occurred or is about to unfold. I’m interested in materials used to both represent nature (as in kitsch) and allow us to experience it from a protected and idealized vantage point (as in windows). The structures in my paintings are still in mint condition, they have not weathered long spans of time and are still warm with the hum of human residue. I aim to create a psychological space that creates a feeling of intense identification yet ironic distance from the environment on the canvas: a nature that is familiar but not quite right. The world in my work is both lush and thriving yet in an ominous state or at near-destruction. I aim to evoke an aspect of the sublime that the tradition of landscape painting has long sought, while describing a world we would mourn for if it were lost.
L to R: Revenge (A Warning), (102" x 62", Oil on canvas, 2022); Imbrem Sanctum (80" x 74", Oil on canvas, 2022); Seed of Desire (84" x 62", Oil on canvas, 2022)
First Year Exhibition
L to R: Doric Order (36” x 46”, Oil on canvas, 2021); Blue Greenhouse (36” x 46”, Oil on canvas, 2021)
