Biography

Even in the deepest darkness there is light.
Can a painter inspire those who see her work to look more carefully at the world around them and discover its extraordinary beauty?
My work isn’t political or confronting - it’s a reminder that the unpredictability and lurking chaos of the outside world is only transient. Art that pays tribute to the natural world is an invitation to step back and reconnect with who we are.
From a perspective often reflecting the domestic and the feminine, I use compositional elements as the common denominations of our collective experience. I don’t particularly paint animals, flowers and fruit, rather the emotions they create in me – the inner life. I see a painting as a conversation between me and the viewer. I’m looking for a sense of rightness in the combination of drama, colour and technique to create balance, truth, serenity.
Oil paint has vibrancy, delicateness and strength – it is the perfect medium to suggest the elusive quality of light and express nuance. There is an intimate dialogue between the painter and the painting, which becomes a dance when the work finds its own presence, when the air of the arbitrary vanishes, and the painting is liberated from the artist. Then the work is not a representation of something else, but itself.
Gatya Kelly

Gatya Kelly Artist CV
Born Sydney
Lives and works in Mullumbimby, Byron Bay, Australia
Selected exhibitions
2023 Solo exhibition Bloom – Frances Keevil Sydney
2022 Reflection – Frances Keevil Sydney
2022 Finalist BAM Art Prize – Northern Rivers Community Gallery Ballina
2022 Poison Garden – Antler Gallery Portland Oregon USA
2022 Interconnected – Beautiful Bizarre Magazine NERAM Armidale
2019 Solo exhibition Luminous – Frances Keevil Gallery Sydney
2019 Ensemble – Tweed Regional Gallery Downtown Murwillumbah
2018 Solo exhibition Arcadia – Frances Keevil Gallery Sydney
2018 Triptych three woman show – Frances Keevil Gallery Sydney
2017 Out with the Old – M-Arts Precinct Gallery Murwillumbah
2017 Solo exhibition Alchemy – Jan Manton Art Brisbane
2016 30×30 – Art Piece Gallery Mullumbimby
2016 Solo exhibition Luscious – Tweed Regional Gallery Murwillumbah
2015 Finalist EMSLA Prize – Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery
2015 The Garden Show – Art Piece Gallery Mullumbimby
2013 Table Manners – Northern Rivers Community Gallery Ballina
2013 Border Art Prize – Gold Coast City Gallery
2013 Finalist Northern Rivers Portrait Prize – Lismore Regional Gallery
2013 Byron Arts Classic – Byron Bay
2012 Border Art Prize – Tweed Regional Gallery Murwillumbah
2012 Winner Art Expo – Ocean Shores
2012 Table Manners – Northern Rivers Community Gallery Ballina
2011 Eat, Paint, Love – Still at the Centre Gallery Byron Bay
2010 Affordable Arts Fair – Bristol UK
2010 Chelsea Arts Fair – London UK
2010 Byron Arts Classic – Byron Bay
2009 Finalist Byron Brewery Arts Award – Byron Bay
2009 Summer show Brownston Gallery – Modbury UK
Residencies
2021 Arillas, Corfu Greece
2020 Dartington, Totnes Devon UK
2016 Hill End Artist in Residence Bathurst Regional Gallery NSW Australia
2015 Nancy Fairfax Artist in Residence Tweed Regional Gallery NSW Australia
2011 Dartington, Totnes Devon UK
2009 Poci, Castellina-in-Chianti Tuscany Italy
2008 Arillas, Corfu Greece
2007 St Girons, Ariege France