Artist Kellie Lehr

Kellie Lehr is a visual artist whose work explores the intersection of painting and sculpture, engaging raw canvas as surface and structure. Balancing traditional and experimental methods, she stretches some works conventionally while allowing others to unfold into layered, folded, and sculptural forms. Her practice is rooted in themes of memory, transformation, and materiality, embracing imperfection as a catalyst for reinvention. Lehr holds an MFA from Lesley University College of Art and Design in Cambridge, MA, and a BSBA from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, AR. She was selected for the 2023-25 Juried Registry of the National Museum of Women in the Arts and has attended residencies at Foundation House in Connecticut, Château d'Orquevaux in France, and Millay Arts Colony in New York. Her work has been exhibited nationally, with her first NYC solo show at The Painting Center in 2024.

"I am a painter who works with canvas as both surface and cloth, exploring its ability to hold memory, transformation, and time. For me, folding is more than a gesture -it’s a way of thinking, making, and being. From DNA to skin, from mathematics to the simple act of tidying, folding reflects change, time, and organization. In my current series, I explore the possibilities of raw canvas through folding: abstract paintings, soft sculptures, and soft books created with ink, charcoal, acrylic, and oil. My process is slow, tactile, and ritualistic. I fold, ink, wash, and sometimes leave the canvas to dry in the sun -embracing mistakes, tension, and chance. Patterns emerge, dissolve, and re-form, echoing memory, the passage of time, and the flux of space. I’m influenced by movements such as Supports/Surface, Neo-Concrete, Pattern and Decoration, Colour Field, and Feminist Performance Art. I see painting as both performance and ritual—an intimate collaboration between myself and the material. Each fold, unfold, and refold opens new possibilities, reminding me that even the most humble materials can hold infinite potential."

Tell us a little about yourself (where you are from) and your background in the arts.

I grew up in Arkansas, moving often as a child, which gave me an early sensitivity to change and shifting perspectives. In my early twenties I lived overseas, an experience that broadened my sense of place and deepened my connection to art.

I studied painting at the University of Arkansas from 2015–2018 before earning my MFA in Visual Arts from Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 2022.

In addition to my studio work, I curated exhibitions for nearly five years at 211 South, a contemporary art gallery in Bentonville, Arkansas (2019–2024), and recently co-curated a large group exhibition at The Painting Center in New York. My work has been exhibited nationally, and I’ve attended residencies in Connecticut, France, and most recently New York.

I now live and work in New Haven, Connecticut, while maintaining close ties to my Arkansas roots.

What kind of work are you currently making?

I’m working with raw canvas as both a flexible, cloth-like material and a surface for more traditional painting. Some works remain unstretched, folded, stained, washed, and layered into wall-mounted forms that blur the line between painting and sculpture. Others are stretched on bars, where the folds, seams, and traces of labor become part of the painted surface itself.

Across both approaches, I’m interested in transformation, presence and absence, and the tension between what is hidden and revealed.

What is a day like in the studio for you?

My days in the studio are a balance of physical labor and quiet reflection. I might be stretching, folding, or ironing canvas, staining with washes of paint, or working with oil to build layered surfaces. Some days involve letting the sun and weather play a part in the process, while others are about looking—studying how a surface is holding memory, how a fold shifts space, or how one piece resonates with another.

I like to alternate between precision and surrender, leaving space for accidents, material surprises, and transformation.

What are you looking at right now and/or reading?

Lately I’ve been looking at the work of Sam Gilliam and Simon Hantaï, both of whom expanded painting through folding and material experimentation. I’ve also been revisiting Liubov Popova, whose early 20th-century explorations in geometric abstraction and Constructivism feel strikingly contemporary in their focus on structure, material, and transformation.

In terms of reading, I’ve been drawn to Svetlana Boym’s The Future of Nostalgia, especially her idea of “reflective nostalgia”—how memory lingers in fragments, carrying both longing and imperfection. That idea feels close to my process, where folds and traces become a language for what is both present and lost.

Where can we find more of your work? (ex. website/insta/gallery/upcoming shows)

Website: https://kellielehr.com/home.html

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellielehr/

Upcoming exhibition: "Into the Fold" at Keen University October/November, 2025

Open Studios: October 18th & 19th, 2025