Bio
Working at the intersection of observation and transformation, Paula J. Kelley is a multidisciplinary artist based in Southern California whose practice spans sculpture and photography. Self-taught and informed by an early background in large-scale metal fabrication, Paula’s practice is grounded in duration, patience, and the attentive act of seeing.
Her photographic projects unfold slowly, often over years, forming sustained investigations into what is overlooked in everyday life. In bs: a look @ bus stops in Miami-Dade—presented with the HistoryMiami Museum—she documented people waiting for public transit across Miami, individuals at once visible and invisible within the urban landscape. In Rear Ends, an ongoing series developed over years of travel across the United States, Paula photographs the backs of vehicles encountered on the road. Most of her images are captured while she herself is moving, and often while her subjects are in motion—moments suspended between speed and stillness. As others pass these scenes in a blur, she isolates fragments of narrative and personality that would otherwise vanish.
In her ceramics, Paula applies a similar temporal sensitivity to material transformation. She builds soft textile structures and coats them over weeks with tinted porcelain slip, creating luminous, fossil-like forms that retain traces of what once existed. Across both practices, her work reflects a devotion to time, attention, and the quiet endurance of things easily missed.
CV
Paula J Gambrell-Kelley
www.paulajkelley.com / @clayslapper / @paulajkelley / paulajkelley@gmail.com
EDUCATION // WORK HISTORY
1989-1990 // Visual Arts, College of Charleston, SC
1997-2008 // Apprentice and Assistant to Peter Giovenco, metal sculptor, Ft. Lauderdale FL
1999-2013 // Book Curator and Independent Bookseller working with artbook publishers and small presses to curate book lists for independent bookstores around the US and Worldwide.
2006-2008 // Full Circle Gallery, Ft. Lauderdale Florida, partners and co-curator with Peter Giovenco showcasing and exhibiting local artists.
2008-2015 // Volunteer and Program Coordinator with Gardening for Good, Greenville, South Carolina. Implemented school programs with ages 6-18 building, planting and growing food for their local communities and teaching sustainability.
2013-2016 // Gingko Press, Sales, curation, book ideation and creation
2017-2019 // UASF Drone Operator for architects and developers / self-employed
2019 – 2021 // Assistant & Apprentice to Lauren Shapiro, master ceramicist, Miami FL
2019 – 2022 // Associate Artist at Bakehouse Art Complex, Miami FL
2022 – 2023 // Studio member and student at Berman Ceramic Arts, North Hollywood, CA
EXHIBITIONS
Recent
2024 // The Art of Costume: Group Exhibition curated by Lisa Tomczeszyn and A. Laura Brody at The Los Angeles Makery – Oct. 3-27, 2024
2024 // Group Exhibition at Pershing Art Space, Los Angeles CA, April 16-18, 2024
2022-2023 // Exhibition at IN HEROES WE TRUST, Los Angeles CA, September 24, 2022 – July 28, 2023
2022 - Current // exhibit and sell work with Garden Temple, Los Angeles CA
2020-2021 // Assisted Lauren Shapiro with the installation and production of FUTURE PACIFIC at the Bakehouse Art Complex, Miami FL, November 21, 2020 – March 31, 2021. Included creating public workshops and school programs to build and produce the installation.
2019 // Exhibition: bs: a look @ bus stops in Miami-Dade, HistoryMiami Museum, July 9- September 18, Miami FL – photography, ephemera, bus stop models, publication of research
EXHIBITIONS / COMMISSIONS
Previous
2019 // Photography Project for private client, Miami FL
2019 // Photography Project for The Dalmore Society, Miami FL and Scotland
2018 // Photography Commission for Connor Harrington, Miami FL / London UK
2018 // Photography Commission for Private Collection, Dallas TX
2018 // Drone Photography and Video Commission for Rinaldi, Collins Park Hotel, Miami Beach FL
2018 // Drone Photography and Video Project for Rag & Bone, NYC – Miami Design District, Miami FL
2018 // Photography Commission for Solid, Brooklyn, New York, Sun Xun Project
2017 – 2018 // Photography Project for The Rinaldi Company, New York NY
2017 // Drone Photography and Video Project for Rag & Bone, NYC – Miami Design District, Miami FL
2017 // Drone Video and Photography Project for Goldman Global Arts, Wynwood, Miami FL
2017 // Exhibition – Until the Darkness Falls / Dreams My Mother Bequeathed, Large Scale Photography, Clay Sculptures, Print on Vellum – mixed media Installation, Alfred I. DuPont Building, Diorama Project, Miami FL
2017 // Exhibition – Post Card, Northwyn Studios, Miami FL
2017 // Exhibition – Visual Remix, Gallery 2612, Miami FL
2017 // Polaroids of Sun Xun project Miami Beach – Commissioned by MA3 Agency, New York, NY
2009 // Exhibition – Book Arts, Hilton Chicago, Chicago IL
2008 // Exhibition – Bad Art, Hilton Chicago, Chicago IL
1998 – Current // Ceramics and clay sculptures, paintings and photography commissions for private clients: Boca Raton FL, Ft. Lauderdale FL, Key West FL, NYC, Greenville SC, Miami FL, Sante Fe NM, Charlotte NC, Brooklyn NY, Berkeley CA, San Francisco CA, Asheville NC, Dallas TX, Los Angeles CA.
Exhibitions
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