Connell, Kelli
American, b. 1974
In her ongoing series, Pictures for Charis, Kelli Connell examines the notion of a muse and the photographer-to-sitter relationship, particularly when photographers depict their spouses or partners in long-term projects. In a heavily research-based pursuit, Connell unpacks iconic images by Edward Weston of his wife, Charis Wilson, made in the 1930s. Connell retraced Weston and Wilson’s steps, traveling throughout the western US landscape and recreating and interpreting the images, using her own wife, Betsy, as her model. Through the use of text and image, the artist simultaneously pays homage to the underrecognized creative force and role of Charis in Weston’s successes, while also addressing questions surrounding the agency, power, and influence of the model in a photographer’s gaze.
Kelli Connell received a BFA in photography from University of North Texas (1997) and an MFA in photography from Texas Woman's University (2003), both in Denton, Texas. Her work is held in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, J Paul Getty Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Columbus Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Dallas Museum of Art, and Milwaukee Art Museum, among many others. She has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, MacDowell, PLAYA, Peaked Hill Trust, LATITUDE, Light Work, and the Center for Creative Photography. Connell is a professor at Columbia College Chicago.
US resident, b. 1941, Venezuela