As children, we are encouraged to play, explore and fail. As adults that encouragement declines. Instead, we are encouraged to keep busy, interact less, and cast off our fantasy worlds. My work investigates glee and sentimentality realized through material, technique, and play. My work allows the adolescent in us to thrive. It provides fantasy without shame or guilt, and allows us to engage with the present. The exchange between the viewer and the work removes the adult preoccupation with the daily grind and provides a space for make-believe. My work offers a chance for repressed play to overflow and, in turn, gives the opportunity for unification of humanity through experience.
Kelsey Tynik is an interdisciplinary sculptor born in New Jersey. She has spent the last 6 years in Brooklyn and Queens and is now working toward her MFA at The University of Connecticut. She has shown in New York , NY at 601Artspace, In/Passing, and LoBo Gallery. She has shown in Brooklyn, Queens, and Arkensas. Her most recent show is at Ely Center of Contemporary Art in New Haven, CT. Kelsey's most recent press was a studio visit interview with I Like Your Work Podcast and The Coastal Post focusing on Aesthetics at Play. Kelsey attend The Studios at Mass MoCA this summer and plans to attend Cha North the following.
What is one thing you’d like our readers to know about you?
In my studio, I believe that nothing is too precious. I struggle to trust this theory in everyday life. However, inside this creative space, it is easy to believe! This mentality allows me to loosen up around the work and assist it in finding its own home.
What is your biggest source of inspiration?
My drawing practice is my biggest source of inspiration. This is where I filter my everyday feelings into an automatic drawing practice. I draw with speed and intention. When I am drawing I’m not bogged down by my structural builds, material concerns, or theory, I am just connecting with paper, ink, and colored pencil. This is somehow both the simplest and most complex form of my practice and generates most of my sculptural work.
Why do you create and how has your art practice affected your life?
I create in the interest of escaping the everyday and the mundane. Creating, or daydreaming of a new creation, allows me to enter a strange reality when I’m sitting in my living room or running an errand. I enjoy sinking into texture, fabric, wood grain, and color and feeling my whole body become a part of that space. Artmaking allows me to check in with something greater than myself. It is imperative for me to keep my body moving and stay grounded, and using my hands and a multitude of materials is the best way I know how.
