Kelly M O'Brien

Kelly O’Brien’s practice explores ecological grief, wonder, and creative agency through sculptural forms that engage with cycles of transformation and repair. Using labor-intensive techniques—hand incising, casting, and slow assemblage—she reflects on impermanence and the invisible systems that shape our world.

Her work is rooted in a philosophy of care, inviting quiet attention to fragility, resilience, and the porous boundaries between human and more-than-human life. She often returns to Mary Oliver’s line, “Attention is the beginning of devotion,” as a guidepost—believing that slowing down, noticing, and loving are radical acts in a time of ecological crisis.

O’Brien’s studio becomes a site of inquiry where materials and methods are chosen with intention, and where form emerges through embodied listening. She sees art not merely as commentary, but as a way of modeling how we might live differently—with greater tenderness, accountability, and connection to the living world.

Kelly uses her practice to offer a glimpse of hopeful flourishing. Beyond studio and gallery, where can this work engage in a praxis of care? How might we foster a web of care for land, people, and creatures? She is inspired by the actions and initiatives fostered by Culture Declares, a UK-based movement that is growing worldwide.

Awards: Gilbert Bayes Award, 2023; Hauser & Wirth CalArts Postgraduate Residency shortlist 2020; HIX Prize finalist 2019

Residencies: Byrdcliffe Woodstock 2023; PADA Lisbon 2022; The Studio Innovation Hub, Bath Spa University 2022

Grants & commissions (2019-2024): Foundation for Contemporary Arts, Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, Arts Council England, Gane Trust, Harbut Trust, HPC Community Fund, Somerset Art Works

MFA (Distinction), 2019, Bath Spa University; Staedelschule Adult Academy, Frankfurt, 2013-14

Exhibited in the UK, US, France, Germany

Director, Material Projects Space, co-founder, Bath Art Depot; co-curator, A Gathering of Unasked Possibility, a collaborative project fostering active hope through creative practitioners

Also, since 2015 Kelly has run PaperJoy Studio