“Carmody’s virtuosic handling of paint is quietly gestural,” says curator Katherine French. “Her paintings are not only intelligently composed, but also filled with an exquisite sensitivity to light. In them, she manages to successfully re-interpret 19th century realism for contemporary audiences in a way that is fresh, original and absolutely sincere.”
Kelly Carmody is an American painter whose work explores the relationship between observation and abstraction. Working primarily in oil, she draws on the visible world while allowing color, shape, and the physical qualities of paint to guide the development of each composition. Still lifes, landscapes, interiors, and figures provide a framework for an investigation of painting that extends beyond the subject.
In addition to annual solo show’s Carmody has exhibited at the Art Students League in New York City, the BP Portrait Award Show at the National Portrait Gallery in London, the Portrait Society of America, and the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.
She received the Edmund C. Tarbell Award, the Charles Movali Excellence in Painting Award, the Blanche E. Colman Award, the Newcomb Award for Traditional Painting at the Rockport Art Association, and the North Shore Arts Award from the Guild of Boston Artists. She was a finalist in the Portrait Society’s International Portrait Competition. Additionally, Carmody has received grants from the Ludwig Foundation, Turkey Land Cove Foundation, and the Massachusetts Cultural Council, as well as the Edward G. McDowell Travel Grant and the Walter Feldman Grant.
Her work has been featured in American Art Collector, Fine Art Connoisseur, International Artist Magazine, Fine Art Today, Southwest Art, Studio Visit Magazine, Boston Magazine, The Southampton Review, The Southforker, and The Boston Globe.
Carmody attended the Massachusetts College of Art and furthered her studies at the Art Students League and in the studio of Numael Pulido. She currently paints and teaches in her Waltham, Massachusetts studio.