About.

 
I am a visual artist whose practice encompasses drawing, painting, performance, and curatorial projects. Through a queer and feminist lens my work has focused on artistic labour, authorship, historiography, and embodiment. My works often draw on a grunge aesthetic using everyday, overlooked, or discarded materials with an awareness of the physicality and performativity of painting itself. I am known for an unapologetic approach to exploring themes of gender identity, sexuality, consumerism, and the environment. I am a founding member of Barbara Cleveland, an Australian artist collective with artists Diana Baker Smith, Frances Barrett and Kate Blackmore. The collective takes their name from a fictional feminist performance artist recovered from the margins of Australian art history, a figure who has featured in our work since 2010.  
I have been working on Gadigal land (Sydney) since the early 2000s, I was born in Naarm (Melbourne) and I am of Scottish descent. I hold a Bachelor of Fine Art from UNSW and a Masters in Visual Art from University of Sydney. My thesis explored the interconnections between performance and painting. In addition to my formal training, I was taught from a young age the craft of signwriting by my father whose occupation was a commercial artist for TV and theatre. I am an Alumni of the Australia Council Arts Leaders Program (2016) and currently artist in residence at the NSW Creative Industry Residency Program, Museum of Art & Applied Sciences, Ultimo.
Most recently I have exhibited a commission In Memory at Bus Projects, Thinking Business at Goulburn Regional Art Gallery (touring nationally), Unfinished Business: Perspectives on art and feminism at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, MUMA’s Art You Can Wear project and created a collection for the NGV Design Store. My works are held in various collections including the ABC, Sheila Foundation, Artbank, Museum of Contemporary Art and the Art Gallery of NSW.

Contact      

︎@kellydollydolly

kdolly@protonmail.com