For some artists, pulling off a single solo show may seem like a rigorous feat, let alone two separate shows at once. But for Miami-based artist Kelly Breez, two separate shows at once is just as her name may imply, a breeze.
Breez recently opened tandem solo shows — “Fuck It Will Set You Free” and “Fake News” — at two of Miami’s most prestigious art galleries, Primary and Locust Projects. In her largest presentation of work to date, both shows provide engaging and energetic installations that evoke both familiar and new narratives in her work, while using an expressive approach to color, line, and gesture in order to provoke complex emotional states.
In “Fuck It Will Set You Free,” Breez exhibits the influence of her past decade, harkening back to the carefree mantra she and her friends chanted on their road-trip journey out to San Francisco and the stylistic qualities she picked up while living there. Talking about the show Breez explains, “’Fuck It Will Set You Free’ is a collection of works that represent my belief in artistic and personal liberation in the face of convention. The future is unknown, which leaves room for adventure and mystery. Calculated moves shut out possibilities, ‘Fuck It’ is about affirming your power to do stuff people might not understand. It’s playful, it’s stubborn.”
While “Fuck It” professes her carefree attitude—a combo of a California state of mind with her South Florida tropical upbringing— “Fake News” has a serious and poignant mood. The show responds to the media frenzy leading up to, and following, the 2016 election. The work shown is a series of resin-coated drawings with the look of sensational tabloids, magazine covers, and newspapers. With a dark humor that pervades throughout, Breez’s graphic-driven and comic-inspired drawings tease out the phenomena of fake news, partisan media, and celebrity culture. These works poignantly evoke the country’s shifting values and suggest both personal and universal perspectives on our shared cultural experience.
These unique collections of resin covered illustrations on wood and their distinctly immersive installations provide insight into the mind of one of our favorite artists. Check out photos from the two shows below and head to Primary and Locust Projects before April 8th to catch the shows in person.
For more from Kelly head to www.tropicalperson.com.
