Kelly Larsen _ Fine Artist
STATEment

My paintings are composed of raw, organic substances. Stone, soil and plant materials are often used for some of the pigment by grinding and mixing with oil and binders. Industrial objects are also placed onto the surface including metal, glass and paper. The colors are typically dark and muted. Decomposed, putrefied and oxidized materials, contained within Earth, inspire me.

Earth gives its power to each piece since the work’s physical essence is derived from it. The Earth is something that cannot be ignored, and demands respect. Utilizing Earth’s unpredictable forces, I use the elements to decay, char, warp, and transform the pieces, bringing them to a naturally decomposed state. This perpetual process refers to the significance of death. It involves random, chaotic, and impulsive forces that are tangible, imitating the Earth’s natural processes.

Taking the substrate in this phase, I discern what is to be preserved and accentuated in the final outcome. Like the layers of Earth’s crust, I construct over what has been deconstructed, giving birth to each piece. I then glaze transparent pigment over the geography of textures that have been built up through time, paying close attention to the natural interactions between the substance and essence.

Spherical and contradictory ideas like wet and dry, smooth and rough, soft and hard are always apparent in the work. Figurative elements and landscapes are often integrated into the surfaces of my paintings.

During the process of creation I ponder what the work may look like as time takes it's toll on the physical body of the painting. At times, I plan on parts of the painting cracking and falling from the surface. Some of them I include images or certain colors behind known fragile paint. So as the painting leaves my presence I intend for the work to change in time which creates mystery, involvement, and demands attention. The owner can then decide if they would like to restore it or just let it go in the direction that the painting will inevitably end up: as dirt of the earth, as it once was.

BIOgraphy

EXhibitions, Solo
2008 • Mode Boutique - Nude Clothing - Provo, UT.
2007 • Painted Temple - Entresol - Provo, UT.
2006 • Painted Temple - Seducing Sedation - Provo, UT.
2005 • Chapman Library - Salt Lake City, UT.
2004 • Day-Riverside Library - Salt Lake City, UT.
2004 • 401 Gallery - Sedately Earth Bound - Orem, UT.
2003 • Katz Gallery - Archaic Earth - Provo, UT
2001 • Atrium Gallery - Bright Sedated Textures - Salt Lake City, UT.

EXhibitions, Group
2009 • Utah Arts Alliance Gallery - Life | Death | Birth - Salt Lake City, UT.
2008 • Helper Art Festival - Plein Air Competition - Helper, UT.
2008 • UVU - Grand Opening of the New Digital Library - Orem, UT.
2008 • Covey Center for the Arts - Freedom Festival - Provo, UT.
2008 • Utah County Art Gallery - Spring Show - Provo, UT.
2008 • A Gallery - Salt Lake City, UT.
2007 • Pickle Company - Alternative Student Art Show - Salt Lake City, UT.
2007 • Woodbury Museum - Art for Life - Orem, UT.
2007 • Thanksgiving Point Gallery - On Going - Lehi, UT.
2007 • Meyer Gallery - Utah Art Students Juried Show - Park City, UT.
2007 • 401 Gallery - Alternative Student Show - Orem, UT.
2007 • A Gallery - Salt Lake City, UT.
2006 • A Gallery - Salt Lake City, UT.
2005 • Cowan Gallery - UVU President Inaugural Invitational - Springville, UT
2005 • A Gallery - Salt Lake City, UT.
2004 • A Gallery - Salt Lake City, UT.
2003 • Chroma Gallery - Salt Lake City, UT.
2003 • A Gallery - Salt Lake City, UT.
2002 • Union Pacific Depot - Feed the Hungary Foster the Arts - Salt Lake City, UT.
2002 • Robert Canaga Gallery - Works on Paper - Eugene, OR.
2001 • Kilby Court - BluePeak Art Manifestation - Salt Lake City, UT.

EDUcation
2009 • Private Studio Workshop with Patrick Devonas - Orem, UT.
2009 • Artist Residency for 30 days - Vermont Studio Center - Johnson, VT.
2008 • BFA - Utah Valley University - Orem UT.
2008 • Study Abroad in New York City with UVU for seven days
2003 • Traveled Europe for ten days
2001 • Traveled Europe for thirty days

COllections
Public • Utah Valley University - Presidents Collection - Orem, UT
Public • Woodbury Museum - Permanent Collection - Orem, UT
Private • California, Utah, Washington

PUBlications
Warp and Weave Magazine, 2007
Touchstone Magazine, 2007
Touchstone Magazine, 2006

VOLunteer
Utah Arts Festival, 2008
Sundance Film Festival, 2004
Sundance Film Festival, 2003

Combining Archaeology and Art
http://www.iianthropology.org/itunelecturesbailey.html

The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 07/02/2009 04:19:50 PM MDT

Life cycles
You have to admire an exhibition that takes on what we call, for lack of better words, the "big themes," and few ideas are bigger than the big three of birth, life and death. Presenting the work of three Utah emerging artists, the Utah Arts Alliance Gallery has scrambled the order, but the impact remains. "LIFE/DEATH/BIRTH; ONE CYCLE--THREE ARTISTS" presents recent work by Andrew Christensen, Kelly Larsen and Daniel Walker. Christensen takes street art and graffiti as the springboard of inspiration for his textured work. Of the three, Larsen's technique of painting gets closest to embodying its theme. Burying his canvases in soil to impart a decomposing feel, he then adds oil pigments extracted from seeds and trees to present an earthy feel and tone. Images of birds receive more thematic attention in his work. "Historically, birds have been symbols for many aspects of life. Here the bird is a creature of Earth and bound for decay in an urban setting," Larsen writes in his artist's statement. "Feel free to use whatever metaphor that satisfies you."

When » Through Aug. 1. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.; Saturday, noon-6 p.m.
Where » 127 S. Main Street, Salt Lake City
Info » Free; call 801-651-3937 for more information.

Student Artists Experiment
By Rodber L. Hardy
Deseret Morning News
Published Thrsday, Feb. 28, 2008 12:26 a.m. MST

OREM - Kelly Larsen mixes dirt with other elements to create his paintings. "They're highly Earth-inspired," said the Utah Valley University student at the opening of the annual Woodbury's Art Museum's Bachelor of Fine Arts show.

Larsen is one of five artists exhibiting at the show. He is also represented at A Gallery in Salt Lake City. His art, which includes an unusual variety of mixed media, examines chaos and order. Among the elements he combines are plant material, metal and glass along with elements in varying states of decay. He glazes over his creations as on the final steps. The results are dramatic.