Claire Kalala's “Kitchen Paintings,” in her own words, “are paintings of Black people doing things - moments in time - and each resonates with lifelong trauma and transformation of me growing up in those spaces: kitchens as places of literal and figurative nurturance around the world.” The combination of pain and hope together is a uniting thread across this body of work. On her triptych, Claire shares: “These women are tough and cute - but they also have complexity with what’s going on inside.” Their portraits speak to the vast richness of individuals, and specifically Black people in the U.S. and around the world. Kris and Claire’s work is painting the way toward liberation, painting toward healing, painting forward.
Some of Kris McElroy's pieces in “Rerooted” come from his Untethering Art Project: “the concept [of this project] was using art to explore, express, transform, heal, and reclaim my life and who I am as a person. This includes positive and negative life experiences; stereotypes, values, messages, trauma, identity as individual parts and as a whole, the experience of code switching, and much more to keep the flow free from my own judgement and unconscious limits and restrictions. There is a very big mind and body connection as well as how it relates to the development, transformation, and expression of the soul of a person, which includes me. The work in this show is moving from the untethering to the rerooting.”
Kris asks, “These pieces are telling me a story. Are they telling one for you?”
Triptych
Oil on canvas • $3500
Oil on canvas • 2018 • $1200
Oil on canvas • 2018 • $1200
Oil on canvas • 2018 • $1200
Oil on canvas • 2015 • NFS (prints available)
Oil on canvas • 2015 • NFS (prints available)
Oil on canvas • 2015 • NFS (prints available)
Oil on canvas • 2011 • $900 (prints available)
Textiles • 2020 • NFS
Video
This book explores the deep inner work that has paralleled my exploration of the world of art therapy. Moving to integrate my thoughts and my feelings, I responded to each moment twice, attempting to go deeper and engage with the somatic.
Track: Downbeat by David Quattrini
Video
This book depicts my first year as an art therapy student and as a friend of Make Studio.
Track: Lonely by Michael Collins
Video
This book is an exploration of substance use and addiction.
Track: New Roof by Judson Crane
Video • 2020
These dual zines show the two sides to every story and each moment.
Marker & pastel • $35
Marker • $35
Marker, paint & pastel • $35
Marker • $25
Marker • NFS
Marker & pastel • $50
Mixed media • $50
Mixed media • $50
Mixed media • $50
Mixed media • $75
Mixed media • $75
Mixed media • $50
Pastel & marker • NFS