MY WORK –
My process begins with found materials. Through the remains of everyday life, I can begin to construct the form. Through the images of magazines, photographs, and remnants of papers from the street, I embed life within each work, using the materials to speak about skin, muscle, organs and bone. Through the tactility of the layers comes the physicality of the figure.
My work focuses on the physical form in order to speak on the metaphysical – mind and soul. Through the physicality of the work, I can dissect and re-form the human body, reminding ourselves of the vessel we lie within. My work seeks to connect the physical to the eternal. The works are all at once grotesque yet beautiful, and delicate.
WORKS ON PAPER –
Working on stretched plastic, my work first begins by laying down transparent layers to represent skin, then moving to depicting muscles, bones and organs, all through the remains of everyday life. Once the layers have dried, the work in removed from the plastic to expose the finish image of a figurative form.
BIO –
Kelly Elkowitz (b. 2001) is a multimedia artist, who transforms found materials into figurative paintings and sculptures. Elkowitz has shown in group shows in Chelsea as well as in solo exhibitions at her university. In 2021, she was commissioned for the Inaugural Painting for President Susan Poser, which was on display throughout the ceremony and as 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 Hofstra University’s Collection. Elkowitz graduated with a degree in Fine Arts from Hofstra University in 2023 and is currently based in New York.