Kelsey Skordal

Kelsey Skordal is an artist who creates drawings, paintings, and handmade books. She received her BA in studio art from Colorado College, and she is currently an MFA candidate in drawing and painting at the University of Connecticut. Although she grew up on an island near Seattle, WA, she now lives and works in the woods of Connecticut.

Can you tell us a bit about the process of making your work? 

A memory fragment or a mood is usually the starting point for my work. I often start by covering the surface in loose drawings that are related to the idea of the piece, then I begin painting the central image on top of those drawings, using them as the foundation for the narrative. Unexpected moments peek through the paint layers, and I love leaning into an intuitive call-and-response process while trying to navigate the different “depths” of the image.

Can you talk about your monochromatic palettes in your drawings and how you choose them?

With this body of work, I was thinking a lot about the beaches near where I grew up in Washington state, as those places exist strongly in my memory. There is almost a parallel between remembrance and the tides, which have a cycle of pulling back to reveal and rising to conceal what lies beneath. On those beaches the landscape is overwhelmed by shades of blue and green, so I wanted to bring that into the drawings. I also wanted to evoke the sensation of closing your eyes, which is an action that turns the mind inwards towards introspection. When you close your eyes in bright sunlight for a few minutes, you open them to reveal the world tinted blue.

Ebb and Flow, acrylic and wax pastel on canvas, 44” x 32”, 2021.

Laid Bare, acrylic and wax pastel on canvas, 20” x 16”, 2021.

What are some references you draw upon in your work? Are there any themes in particular that you like to focus on when creating?

I have an archive of old photographs that I took as a child and teenager, first with disposable Kodak cameras then later with blurry flip phone cameras. Looking through these images can help spark an idea or a feeling that I want to explore in a drawing. Aside from visual references, I find myself frequently referring to books, in particular novels that blend memoir with fiction. Recently I’ve been reading a lot by Carmen Maria Machado, Ocean Vuong, and Ben Lerner.

Where are some of your favorite spaces that support contemporary art or design? Now that the art has an online presence, has that changed?

I am a huge fan of online art spaces. I think it’s very important that there are ways for people to access and engage with contemporary art, even when they are not living in a place that has a strong artistic community. However, I am lucky to be a few hours away from New York. While I try to visit different spaces each time I go, at the end of the day I almost always find myself back at Printed Matter where I love to flip through artists’ books.

Slipping Beneath, acrylic, wax pastel, acetone transfer, and charcoal on collaged paper, 24” x 18”, 2021.

Who are some of your favorite artists? Or who has been inspirational recently?

Too many to mention! Recently I’ve been looking at the work of Mamma Andersson, Louis Fratino, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Cecily Brown, and Julie Mehretu, to name a few. I also saw an amazing show last year at MASS MoCA of Ledelle Moe’s massive concrete sculptures, and it has been in the back of my mind ever since.

Do you have any shows coming up? Anything else you would like to share?

I’ll be having a couple of shows in the spring, with details to be ironed out soon, and I am happy to say I should be finishing my MFA at the University of Connecticut this spring, as well!

Kelsey Skordal’s work is included in our show “Transcendental States,” September 15th - October 15th, 2021. Visit her work at kelseyskordal.com or on Instagram @scored_all