kirk fanelly poodle
portrait by Deborah Triplett

Intro

Kirk Fanelly currently lives and works in his hometown of Charlotte, NC. He received a BA in Visual Art from Brown University and split his undergraduate time between Brown and neighboring RISD—completing courses in their painting & illustration departments. In addition to his undergraduate work, Fanelly attended a formative fellowship at Yale.

Fanelly’s work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions across the Eastern United States including: Davidson College Smith Gallery, Appalachian State Turchin Center, Winthrop University Rutledge Gallery, Artspace (Richmond, VA), and The Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (Winston-Salem, NC). His most recent exhibition was a solo show at the Atlanta Botanical Garden that featured large-scale studies of plants and flowers. Fanelly’s work can be found in public and private collections internationally.

Grants awarded include: North Carolina Arts Council Fellowship Grant; Marie Walsh Sharpe Foundation Fellowship; and Yale Norfolk Fellowship.

Statement

My work has shifted over the last several years. In earlier narrative paintings, I was interested in articulating the awkwardness and vulnerability of people in relation to our psychogeography—more specifically: architectural environments, suburban mores & myths, sexual dynamics, and a variety of disquieting implied narratives happening in private.

My more recent work concerns itself with finding meaning in materials and chance encounters with the broader natural world rather than encounters with human absurdity (which appear in overabundance these days). This current approach is one that feels increasingly expansive and calming. The process of cut paper and new creative directions have me rediscovering connectivity to nature (including animalia) and finding joy through deep observation.

CV

EDUCATION

1999
Brown University, BA in Visual Art, May 1999
Rhode Island School of Design

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2020
Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden, Belmont, NC, “Botanicals”
2018
Atlanta Botanical Garden, Atlanta, GA, “Botanicals”
2009
Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC, “Paintings and Recent Works on Paper”
2008
Lee Hansley Gallery, Raleigh, NC
2007
Emory & Henry College, VA, “Bedfellows”
2005
Davidson College, Davidson, NC, “Domestic Disturbances”
2003
Rocky Mount Arts Center, Rocky Mount, NC, “Residence I and Other Recent Work”
2002
Lee Hansley Gallery, Raleigh, NC, “Art from Architecture”
2001
Carolina Union Gallery, Chapel Hill, NC, “Images from Home”
1999
List Art Center, Brown University, Providence, RI “Diptychs” Thesis Exhibit

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2017
Greenhill Center for North Carolina Art, NC. “Observational Abstraction”
2016
Lee Hansley Gallery, NC. “My Favorite Things”
2012
Turchin Center, Boone, NC. “2011 NCAC Artist Fellowship Recipients”
2009
Jack the Pelican Presents, Brooklyn, NY. “American Dream”
2009
Jack the Pelican Presents, Brooklyn, NY. “Old School”
2007
Artspace, Richmond, VA. “Radius250”
2007
SECCA, Winston Salem, NC. “Homegrown Southeast 2007”
2006
Lee Hansley Gallery, Raleigh, NC. “New & Hot North Carolina”
2004
McColl Center, Charlotte, NC. “Summer Affiliate Exhibition”
2004
CityArts, Wichita, KS. “There’s Always Room for One More”
2004
Whitecouch, Brooklyn, NY. “Unreal Tournament”
2003
Lee Hansley Gallery, Raleigh, NC. “The Perfect Painting”
2002
Whitecouch, Brooklyn, NY. “5 Degrees”
1998
Yale University, Norfolk, CT. “Yale-Norfolk Exhibition”

BIBLIOGRAPHY

2017
“Who To Meet in Charlotte Visual Arts” The Charlotte Observer, May 2.
2017
“Carolina Art Crush: Kirk Fanelly” Happeningsclt.com, April 25th. Interview, illus.
2012
Lowdown Magazine, Vol. 80. Interview, illus.
2007
Scales, Shatesha. “It Might be Good to Eat the Babies” The Johnsonian, Sept. 12, illus.
2005
Maschal, Richard. "Fanelly Paintings Speak with an Edgy, Sexy Voice", The Charlotte Observer, Sept. 16
2002
Greenberg, Blue. "Architectural Forms Key to 4 Artists" Durham Herald-Sun, Aug. 18. illus.
2002
Halperen, Max. "Peeking into Hidden Places" Raleigh News & Observer, Aug. 16. illus.

GRANTS & AWARDS

2010
North Carolina Arts Council Fellowship Grant
1998
Yale Summer School of Music & Art at Norfolk Fellowship
1997
Brown University Research at Brown (RAB) Grant
1993
Marie Walsh Sharpe Foundation Fellowship

SELECTED COLLECTIONS

Dave Eggers; San Francisco, CA
April Gornik and Eric Fischl; North Haven, NY
Jane Rosenblum; New York,NY
Adam Sheffer; New York, NY
Helene Winer; New York, NY
Robert Gardner, LewAllen Contemporary; Santa Fe, NM
Rocky Mount Art Center; Rocky Mount, NC
Brown University; Providence, RI
Davidson College; Davidson, NC

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