Long Time Ago

 

One of my responsibilities at the gallery is to maintain the John Cleary blog and make announcements for upcoming shows.  So, in a little bit of cross-bloggery promotion I thought I would extend an invitation to our next opening!

Please join us Saturday, March 26, from 6 – 8 p.m. for the opening of Keliy Anderson-Staley: Imagined Family Heirlooms. The exhibition will run through Saturday, April 23. The artist will be in attendance for the opening reception.

“Young Boy” circa 1870; found and treated wet-plate collodion tintype

Born in 1977 in the woods of northern Maine, Keliy Anderson-Staley received her Bachelor of Arts from Hampshire College in Amherst, MA and a Master of Fine Arts from Hunter College in New York, NY.

Imagined Family Heirlooms harkens back to the rootless nature of the American identity, with many individuals unable to place family histories back more than one or two generations. This series of installations, comprised of both found and newly-made objects alike, suggests those photographs and sentimental objects one might have collected over the years. Domesticity in a wide range of connotations plays a central part in her works, as is evident in the use of rusted baking pans as a unifying visual motif.

Installation shot of The Baking Pan Series: An Incomplete Family History

 

She has spent the last decade championing historical and alternative photographic practices, passing along her knowledge of extended technique through classes at The Center for Alternative Photography in New York and the Bakery Photography Collective in Westbrook, ME, among others.

“Relatives” 2011; 5x7” Antique Albumen Print

 

Keliy Anderson-Staley’s work has been featured in such publications as New York Magazine, Esquire Russia and F-Stop Magazine, with numerous solo and group exhibitions held in collections from around the world.

“Collage 1” 2011; 9x12 Made of found quilt fragments and found antique tintype

 

Artist: Thomas Hampson/ Album: Copland: American Songs