June 2019

In cooperation with Literaturhaus Berlin und Orschina e.V.

Exhibition Opening

At the invitation of Villa Aurora & Thomas Mann House, Michael John Kelly spent two months as Berlin fellow in Berlin. For his stay, Kelly brought more than 40 digital paintings on paper with him, which he successively tore apart over the period of the residency. His art, situated between digital drawing, video art and classical abstract painting, references an entire era of artistic practice.His aim is not so much to translate digital painting back to its analogue counterpart, but instead to connect them, making them experienceable.

Williams also deals with the conditions and possibilities of the classical medium of painting. She deconstructs the rectangular canvas creating her own surface by connecting it with ropes and fabrics - often found objects collected during her stay in Berlin. The formal boundaries of her works are often unclear, and the creative process thus revealed is an integral part of the work's narrative. The fragmented canvases tell of their own creation, the connections made by ropes create a visual strand, open spaces as points of tension or calming empty lines to read.