23 facts about Phil Kelly

Phil Kelly (Artist) (1950–2010) was an Irish expressionist painter who became a Mexican citizen in 1999.

Phil was brought in the works in England with mighty influences from his Irish ancestry. He was educated at Rugby School and studied Art and Special Education at theoretical in Bath. On rejection college he lived in London, Portugal and subsequently in Whitby, North Yorkshire, all considering fellow player Ann Woods, seeking to announce himself as a painter even if earning maintenance through a variety of jobs including van driving, farmwork and teaching. From 1974 to 1981 he exhibited his con in little galleries wherever he lived, some in Portugal, some in the UK. In 1982 he made his first visit to Mexico and a further chapter in his sparkle began. Until now his paintings were influenced by such artists as Freud, Auerbach and Jack Yeats and by the landscape and colours of Northern Europe. Now the colour and roomy of Mexico brought a supplementary dimension to his work. He stayed for three years and by fortuitous was out of the country afterward the Mexican earthquake devastated the apartment where he lived, killing his co-conspirator Blanca. Kelly returned to London, working where he could, usually teaching and exhibiting in several little London galleries, these were often one-man shows.

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The lure of Mexico and particularly the city in imitation of its extreme existence, its palm trees and brightly painted VW taxis was irresistible. In 1989 he was assist and in the later year married Ruth Munguia, an experienced arts administrator, who took exceeding the meting out of his exhibitions and professional life. Regular exhibitions followed in Mexico and occasionally in London, with several pieces selling at Christie’s (1991 and 1992).

In 1993 Ruth and Phil’s first daughter, Ana Elena, was born. 1996 was a breakthrough year for Kelly like a significant exhibition at the Westbourne Gallery in London, an exhibition at The Hay Festival of Literature, with one of his paintings featured on the cover of The Festival Brochure and a major exhibition at the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo in Mexico City: Babel Descrifada. This exhibition caused debate and some notoriety in the Mexican press, but Kelly’s reputation was firmly established. Daniel Dultzin, Mexican ambassador to Ireland, championed his proceed and his first Irish exhibition opened at The Frederick Gallery in Dublin, in 1997, further exhibitions followed both at The Frederick Gallery and in complex years at Hillsboro Fine Art. 1997 also proverb the birth of Maria Jose, Phil and Ruth’s second daughter. Attending actions at embassies in Mexico and Ireland, Kelly befriended the poet Seamus Heaney and his wife, the writer Marie Heaney, painting them several grow old and supplement illustrations to their works published in Mexico. The chef, writer and broadcaster, Rick Stein commissioned a series of paintings for his Seafood Restaurant in Padstow, Cornwall, UK and has written about Phil for the national press. In 1999 Kelly became a Mexican citizen. Notable Mexican collectors of Phil’s accomplish include the poet Pura Lopez Colome, wrestler Marco Rascon Cordova and businessman Sergio Autrey Maza. Regular exhibitions take place in Mexico, Ireland and occasionally in England.

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Kelly’s enactment is the proceed of an urban painter, one who lived in the ultimate urban atmosphere of Mexico City. As competently as the many cityscapes of Mexico DF, Kelly produced a number of striking figurative works, paintings of Oaxaca and Dublin, seascapes of Mexico and Cornwall and many ink drawings.

Phil Kelly’s paintings are yet exhibited regularly and he has play-act in several notable Mexican museums, including The Museum of Modern Art in Mexico City and The Museum of Modern Art of Oaxaca. Various paintings and drawings have been used as artwork for books published in Mexico, Ireland and in the UK and there are many pieces in private collections.

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