Kelly Franké

Bio:

Kelly Franké grew up in Babylon, New York, where she spent much of her childhood drawing in her father’s studio. As a small child, she would sit under his drafting table and draw as he worked, trying to mimic the illustrations he created for advertisements and publications. Today, Franké holds a Bachelor of Fine Art from Alfred University (2008) and a Masters in Fine Art (2012) from Indiana University. Throughout both degrees she intensively studied drawing, painting, and printmaking, both in traditional and unconventional forms. She is also known to be a muralist, her largest commission consisting of seven murals for the Mathers Museum of World Cultures at IU. Franké has taught Fundamental Drawing at both Indiana University and Caldwell University. Currently, Franké works out of her two studios located in Astoria, NYC and Greenport on Long Island.
Artist Statement:

Drawing is a process of building and searching. I’ve always been attracted to landscapes that are architecturally intricate. The harder it is to draw, the greater my need is to conquer it on paper. However my interest is not in photo realism. My focus is primarily on linear elements, and how I can achieve explicit detail with minimal, elegant lines. I strive to map out structural proportions perfectly. In attempts to balance accuracy and play, I allow certain moments to remain unfinished, as if faded away. Exposed construction lines echo traditional blueprints. Essentially my drawings are constructions – some very literal, others more allusive.