Kate Kelly is a feminist portrait painter who studied Fine Art Painting at Camberwell (MA) and the University of Brighton (BA). Kelly has exhibited across the UK and internationally. She has been selected for residencies with the Royal Drawing School and Organhaus Gallery (Organhaus Art Space) in Chongqing, China, and is currently a Next Generation RBSA member.
Her work explores intersectional feminism and biographical experiences, incorporating personal herstories from both research and practice.
​
The women in her paintings are active, vocal and physically present, with space for their narratives. Kelly examines female experience through visual means, integrating identity through patterns and the spaces her subjects occupy. She uses photography and drawing to capture staged and candid moments. Her paintings explore subjective embodiment, portraying individuals as people with agency and presence, rather than as objects of passive observation.