© BlindPassion.com
Colored Women
PAINTINGS BY MARY JANE NOLAN KELLY
Commentary by Tim Yohn
Do not be misled by what Mary Jane Nolan Kelly has chosen to call the group of her recent paintings on view for two weeks in April 2005 at the Jadite Gallery in Manhattan.
They have to do with women and color, but nothing to do with race.
Obliquely referring to the fact that Nolan Kellys day jobs tend to be in the movie business (she is a freelance production supervisor), one might pitch the work as "Henri Matisse, Meets Roy Lichtenstein, Meets Andy Warhol."
You will find traces of Fauvism, Surrealism, Pop, in Kellys use of solid flat colors; bold, true, and uncorrected line; absence of perspective; color switching; very little sign of the brush, but she moves beyond this honorable mix to achieve a dominant icon, in this case one with classical roots-the female torso.
Lest you believe looking at her work is to turn your back on the island of Manhattan for the sun-splashed Greek island of Mykonos where Nolan Kelly spends half the year when budget and commitments allow, think again. And take a closer look at the painting of a thin, blond party girl in a red dress. Above her a sign announcing "Vacancy" bridges what were the Twin Towers, rendered out of perspective here.
In a tiny apartment in Manhattan and in a small house on Mykonos, where she paints, she also writes poetry and sounds her dreams for the imagery she deploys in various media. For Nolan Kelly, the canyons of Manhattan and the beaches of Mykonos are for wandering and thinking, not places to bring an easel and paints.
For more information about the art of Mary Jane Nolan Kelly click "View Image" on the left side of any painting exhibited on the page, then click "Purchase" to go to the Jadite Gallery, which represents her work.
