Michaelene (Mikey) Walsh and Kelli Scott Kelley : Holding
- Feb 16
- 2 min read
Michaelene (Mikey) Walsh and Kelli Scott Kelley: Holding
The U.N.O. Gallery is honored to present the works of Michaelene (Mikey) Walsh and Kelli Scott Kelley.
To hold is a universal act, both burden and embrace. It can mean to grasp, to endure, to carry, to comfort, or to resist. Holding acknowledges the exhaustion and complexity of daily life: the struggle to keep holding on to hope, to dreams, to joy, even amid disappointment, sorrow, and uncertainty. This exhibition reflects the physical and emotional labor of holding what we can and cannot endure, what we must protect, and what we must release. It gestures toward the metaphorical and literal weight women carry: the work of mothering, caregiving, and sustaining, as well as the resistance of holding back against destructive forces: floodwaters, war mongers, monsters of power.
For both artists, the act of holding becomes a meditation on resilience, love, and the tenuous beauty of being human.
Michaelene (“Mikey”) Walsh and Kelli Scott Kelley are longtime friends and colleagues, both artists and mothers, who teach in the School of Art at Louisiana State University Walsh as Associate Professor and head of Ceramics, Kelley as Professor and Head of Painting. In Kelley’s work, subconscious worlds populated by hybrid beings unfold into dreamlike narratives that explore humankind’s connections, disconnections, and impact upon the natural world. Through an alchemy of truth and magic, she seeks to reveal the supernatural woven through the everyday.
In this series, Deep Time, Walsh sought solace in the eternal and enduring qualities of the ceramic vessel, an archetype found throughout human history. Returning to the most basic elements of the ceramic process, her work connects to many makers’ hands across time.
Exhibition Dates: February 21st through March 8th.
Opening Reception: Saturday, February 21st, from 6:00 - 9:00 PM
Gallery Hours: Saturday and Sunday, 12-5 or by appointment
UNO St. Claude Gallery | 2429 St. Claude Avenue
If you would like more information about this exhibition, please email UNO Gallery Director, Tony Campbell, apcampbe@uno.edu
Kelli Scott Kelley, Flying Crone (detail), 40 x 60, acrylic, repurposed fabric and paper on stretched line.
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