Kelsey Irvin - Vintage Elements, Contemporary Lines

Adrift

Vintage Ephemera, Found Object, Fabric, Oil & Acrylic on Panel

60"H x 60"W x 2"D

Nothing gets left behind with artist Kelsey Irvin. She is a master of ensuring that everything that once held beauty is repurposed with a new life and a new, transformed identity. As she herself states, the vintage ephemera is just as important, if not more important than the paint itself.  

Kelsey Irvin studied at St. Lawrence University in New York and then returned to Southern California where her art career began to flourish. Using vintage ephemera, found objects, paint, charcoal, and other materials, she created a style that is completely her own but nonetheless truly magnificent. She is able to take bits and pieces of the past and give them a newfound purpose while still holding true and paying homage to the original character of each one. Her paintings are in public and private collections throughout the United States, Italy, Dubai, Greece, Singapore, and China. 

Kelsey is not shy in experimenting her art style on various, unique forms of canvases. She's been known for her perfectly curated assemblage of panels, has worked on both canvas and wood, but takes her ephemera collage style a step further. Astonishingly, she has been known to paint on deer antlers and animal skulls, taking what was once lifeless and bringing it back into a familiar version of beauty. Much like her technique of using vintage, she once again brings light to the retired glory of everything she uses. In her own words, she refers to it as "memories misplaced in need of recognition."