MY WORK –
Kelly Elkowitz (b. 2001) is a multimedia artist, who transforms found materials into anatomical paintings and sculptures. Taking inspiration from the ancient concept of the four humors (which gave insight into our personalities and emotions through percentages of the four bodily fluids within us), and the history of memento mori in art, her work seeks to find meaning of ourselves within the construction and physicality of our anatomy.
Currently, Elkowitz is working on a series of paper works that build our anatomy layer by layer through the flat form. Working on stretched plastic, first the transparent layers are laid down to represent skin, then found materials are built upon them to depict muscles, bones, and organs. Once dried, the work is removed from the plastic, revealing a fragmented yet tangible figure. These forms exist in varying stages of completion, sometimes standing alone, other times integrated into larger compositions.
Elkowitz has shown in group shows in Chelsea as well as in solo exhibitions at her university. In 2021, she was commissioned by Hofstra University’s President, Susan Poser, for her Inaugural Painting, a graphic still used by the university today. She has received the Presidential Purchase Award twice, both in 2021 and 2023, where her artworks were purchased to become a part of the University’s Permanent Collection. Elkowitz graduated with a degree in Fine Arts from Hofstra University in 2023 and is currently based in New York. Elkowitz will be showing her work in a Solo Exhibition this June, at SLAG&RX New York.