When We Are Among the Trees references Mary Oliver’s luminous poem of finding peace and redemption in a woodland. Sculptor and installation artist Kelly M O’Brien started this body of work upon returning to the US after living overseas and settling in a riparian pine forest. Exploring themes of care and repair related to climate change and biodiversity, the materials O’Brien works with—biomaterials that are plant-based and biodegradable—are at the heart of her practice.
O’Brien’s work draws out and explores themes around ecological uncertainty and relational entanglement, navigating and holding complex ideas lightly and nimbly. Full of creative and hope-filled perspectives, she presents inspiring new work spanning sculpture, wall-based art, and installation that offer curiosity, care, and agency as antidotes to climate, social, and private despair.
Opening reception: Saturday, April 5th, 2025, 4-6pm.
Nature Reading Circle with the artist: Saturday, May 3rd, 1pm.
Learn more here.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Kelly M O’Brien settled in lower Sullivan County in 2023 after living in the UK and Germany for 12+ years. She exhibits her sculpture and installation work in the US and UK, with a commercial practice that serves the hospitality and corporate sectors worldwide.
Kelly has an MFA from Bath Spa University UK (2019) and arts training at the Staedelschule Academy, Frankfurt, Germany (2012-14). Since 2019 she has received the following awards, grants, and residencies – Awards: Royal Society of Sculptors Gilbert Bayes Award for Emerging Sculptors of Exceptional Talent, HIX Prize London. Residencies: Byrdcliffe Woodstock AiR supported by a Pollock-Krasner grant, PADA Lisbon AiR, Studio Innovation Hub at Bath Spa University, Hauser & Wirth CalArts Postgraduate AiR (awarded and canceled by pandemic). Grants: Foundation for Contemporary Arts, Pollock-Krasner Foundation, Arts Council England, Gane Trust, Harbut Trust, HPC Community Fund, Somerset Art Works.
