| Judi Geer Kellas, painter and printmaker living and working in Lawrence, Kansas, has a creative passion that began in 1996. A series of paintings, drawings and prints about flight and the women in aviation is the result. Her work uses Kansas and women's history to encourage appreciation and recognition for the magnificent women in aviation, from 1910 to the present. Inspired by the birthplace of Amelia Earhart in Atchison and the historical birthplace of modern aviation in Wichita, Geer Kellas creates her series, "Celebration of Flight: Women in Aviation." Fifty-six paintings, drawings and prints now honor over 38 women aviators. The series embodies the artist's missions to preserve the birth and living heritage of women in aviation and to inform and inspire today's art audience by commemorating the lives of these women. Geer Kellas works in mixed-media and acrylic paintings, collage, silverpoint drawings and original prints (serigraphs, lithographs, relief prints). She has shown her works in more than 40 solo shows and 85 group exhibits in art galleries and museums regionally, nationally and internationally. "My art work never was plein aire painting. Early on I used photography as a sketching tool, solving Cezanne's problem of making the world sit as still as an apple. Gradually photography became an integral part of my work, not only using photos as sketches, but also giving the art work content and spirit. I sometimes use manipulated photographic images collaged on or affixed directly to the canvas or paper combined with painting, drawing and metal leafing," explained Geer Kellas. "I tend to work in series; I've done over 50 pieces in the COF series. I have a Waterflower series and a Dauphin Island series. I often work on 2 or 3 series concurrently, doing one Dauphin Island painting, then a woman pilot who has inspired me." Both her parents were amateur artists, and at eight years of age she painted her first oil painting on canvas. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art from Birmingham-Southern College and a Master of Arts in Painting from the University of Alabama. When she married George Kellas and they moved to the Midwest, Geer Kellas taught at Kansas University in the 1970s. She owned and operated 7E7 Gallery in Lawrence, Kansas for 11 years. Upon selling the gallery, she returned to her studio full time. |
Solo Exhibits May 7-29, 2010 Celebration of Flight Women in Aviation Burkholder Project Lincoln, Nebraska November 7-December 5, 2009 Museum of Women Pilots International Ninety-Nines Headquarters Oklahoma City, Oklahoma April 3 - May 27, 2009 Celebration of Flight: Women in Aviation Coutts Art Museum El Dorado, Kansas June 20-July 19, 2008 Celebration of Flight Women in Aviation St. Benedict's Abbey Art Gallery Atchison, Kansas August 2007 Celebration of Flight: Women in Aviation The Burkholder Project Lincoln, Nebraska July 8-August 27, 2006 Celebration of Flight : Women in Aviation Muchnic Gallery Atchison Art Association Atchison, Kansas |
Group Shows January 2008 Burkholder Project "Artists Choose Artists: Self-portraits" 2007 Classroom Collection Spencer Museum of Art, CornerBank, Lawrence, KS December 2007 Burkholder Project "Holiday Show" Lincoln, Nebraska 2007 Burkholder Project "Postcards for my Valentine" 2007 Burkholder Project "Artists Choose Young Artists" Lincoln, Nebraska 2004 Alice Sabatini Gallery "Nine Connections: work by 9 women artists" Topeka, Kansas 2003 Ghost Fleet Gallery "Women's History Month: Women in Aviation" Nags Head, NC 2003 Cedar Key National, Cedar Key, Florida 2002 Ghost Fleet Gallery "Icarus International" award Nags Head, NC |
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Copyright is reserved by the artist. No unauthorized reproduction, duplication, public exhibition is permitted. Distribution of the artworks or writings about the work through any means, including electronic media, is strictly prohibited without prior written permission. |
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