Biography
Kelly Viss
Born: French Camp, California
B.A. California State University Stanislaus
Currently residing in Turlock, California
Kelly Viss, though still comparatively young, has managed to master the difficulties of landscapes and still lifes. She has created a unique and original body of work at a time when there are few visual ideas that aren’t derivative or imitative. Her paintings immediately arrest one with their reverence for nature. Rendered in strong yet muted colors, they nonetheless possess an impressionistic sensuality. The landscapes draw the viewer in with an invitation to the mysterious present while simultaneously eluding one’s total comprehension. These scenes seem to recede to a place less substantial, less real, but one to which we all yearn to journey.
With her delicate layering, Viss presents, in both the landscapes and still lifes a world as complex as nature while simultaneously as mediative and satisfying in effect. The works demonstrate a command of light, perspective and shadows which implies a maturity well beyond her years.
Kelly Viss has exhibited her work every year since 1990, when she earned her B.A. from California State University, Stanislaus.
— Marion Zola