Daniel Kelly (b.1947)

Born in Idaho Falls, Daniel Kelly is a painter, printmaker and multi-media artist. He studied at the University of Portland and Portland State University. Following graduation, Kelly moved to San Francisco, working in glass and mosaics before studying romantic-expressionist painting with Morton Levin. Upon seeing a book of woodblock prints, Kelly pursued the print medium with unyielding enthusiasm. He promptly moved to Kyoto in 1978 and began to study traditional woodblock technique under Tomikichiro Tokuriki. Over the next few decades, Kelly’s work became increasingly daring.

Combining his expansive knowledge of techniques with innovative amalgamations of media, Kelly challenges the boundaries of each individual art form, as well as the limits of his own expression. From concrete to paint, polyvinyl to old book pages, his works push visual distortion and a vital physicality. Kelly regularly holds exhibitions worldwide and his work can be found in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the British Museum. As expressed by contemporary author Banana Yoshimoto, “[Daniel Kelly] consumes and digests the beauty of an object, holding and appreciating it within himself until he has absorbed it.”