Kelly Bjork grew up in Tacoma, Washington and graduated with a B.F.A. in drawing and printmaking from Western Washington University in 2009 and has been exhibiting their work regularly from Seattle to New York to France and in between ever since. Their paintings have been featured in numerous online and in print publications, including New American Paintings, McSweeney’s, No Man's Land, The Stranger, and The Washington Post.

Kelly Bjork's work focuses on portraiture and intimacy between loved ones and objects. They show the tenderness that can be experienced in this world through selective simplicity and tiny details. With our current socio-political climate, it is important to recognize these often-unnoticed moments in our daily lives, and to remember that they exist. Bjork’s paintings help them move forward openly, by presenting what is good in our world.

They have received numerous awards and residencies, including the Helen Frankenthaler Fellowship for the Vermont Studio Center, the Facebook Artist in Residence Program, and The Fellow Ship Artist Residency in Guemes Island, WA.

In 2019, their first large-scale mural was executed for Seattle's Facebook offices. They worked with Facebook again in 2020 to create an image in support of the Black and LGBTQ+ communities as a message to Seattle during the uncertainty of the pandemic. This image invited viewers to insert themselves in the embrace and elevation of marginalized communities. It lived as a wheat paste in the Pioneer Square neighborhood of Seattle.

Kelly Bjork's debut New York solo show in 2019 openly depicted their journey of self discovery and queerness. This was a pivotal moment in their work where they extended the loving tenderness they give to their subjects, to themself as they depicted awkward moments of self-reflection in intimate and private spaces, becoming a voyeur of their changing identity. Laying themself and feelings bare, both figuratively and literally, this body of work embraces the discomfort of change and the beauty and freedom that follows.

Creating quiet moments of emotional wellbeing in my art is how I work to soothe and comfort others. I depict a world of tenderness, acceptance, and vulnerability in order to share the sensations of emotional wellbeing that I aim to foster in my life and in my community. I often create vignettes of people close to me. Narratives of intimate relationships are important for displaying the peace and support that everyone strives for in their homes and in their heads—peace and support that so often we are lacking.

My paintings intend to bring that support in our surroundings. I consider my work both manifestation and documentation, it's a means of advocating for mental wellness by acknowledging my own struggles with it. I hope a viewer sees the image of a space I’ve created as a place where they can rest and will be taken care of.

2020 The Fellow Ship Artist Residency, Guemes Island WA
2019 Facebook Artist in Residence Program, Seattle WA
2018 Helen Frankenthaler Fellowship: Vermont Studio Center, Johnson VT
2017 Winter Art Walk Award, City Arts Magazine, Seattle WA
Summer Art Walk Award, City Arts Magazine, Seattle WA