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j u a n
k e l ly
top | Distinguished Portrait • hand - pulled, 14 color lithograph • edition of  •    inches image size •    inches paper size
front cover | The Wall at the Fountain • oil on canvas •    inches
J U A N
K E L L Y
p u n c t u m
t e m p o r i s
August 22nd through September 7th, 
opening reception: August 22nd,  to  pm
nüart gallery
santa fe
670 canyon road
| new mexico |
87501
Seraphic Stone No.5 • acr ylic on canvas •    inches
Green Grass • oil on canvas •    inches
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it ’s all about the eyes
When Buttercup warbled, “Things are seldom what they seem” in Gilbert and Sulli van’s H.M.S. Pinafore, she hadn’t seen Juan Kelly’s
paintings, but her wise observation is good to keep in mind when you look at them.
Some of the most recognized images in American art are Edward Hicks’ paintings of the “Peaceable Kingdom” based on the
prophecy in the Biblical Book of Isaiah “The wolf shall also dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the
kid….” A close look at some of these painted animals reveals a look of bewilderment in their eyes: “Why am I not eating
the lamb?” “Why am I not running away?”
While painting one of the large canvases for this exhibition, Juan stepped back and said “It’s all about the eyes!” The 19 th
century American sculptor Hiram Powers said “The eye is the window of the soul; the intellect and will are seen in it. The
animals look for man’s intentions right into his eyes. Even a rat, when you hunt and bring him to bay, looks you in the eye”
It is the eyes in Juan’s paintings that first drew me in; beyond the color and the perfect composition.
Colorful. Playful. Fanciful. Magical. These are all admirable qualities that contribute to the seductiveness of his paintings,
but superficial observations. He draws us into seeing the complexities of life beneath the surface. “I’m going to the
unconscious mind,” he says.
Juan’s paintings of animals are suggestive of animals that we know. An artist of his skill could paint highly realistic representations
of lions, zebras, and horses, but he chooses to simplify the detail to make them less particular, less individual. In fact, he says, “I
don’t think of the animals as animals. I think of them more as personalities.” Ironically, however, when he depicts an animal in a
seemingly impossible position, he paints with more detail to emphasize the correctness of the anatomy and the reality of the pose,
helping us to accept the situation.
At first glance, some of the predicaments his animals find themselves in seem hopeless. But the paintings stop short of hopelessness. There
is always a way out; always a door open for a successful resolution of a real or perceived conflict.
I laughed when I first saw one of the paintings in this exhibition in its early stages. “I’ve been there,” I said, recognizing a universal
human situation that had once become real in my own life. The potential for disaster resolved positively over time. Time is frozen,
though, in Juan’s paintings, leaving it up to the viewer to resolve the conflicts.
Humor and the ability to make people laugh are important in his work. “I don’t like to talk too much about what the paintings
mean. I’m joking about serious things, making fun of seriousness. I love beauty, and beauty will carry the message,” he says.
“If you enjoy it, you may put time into understanding it.”
The Austrian philosopher, Ludwig Wittgenstein, wrote “Humor is not a mood but a way of looking at the world.” Juan Kelly looks
at the world with humor and with compassion. He welcomes us into a colorful, playful, fanciful, magical world to confront our
humanity. Even the melancholy Herman Melville new the valu e of humor. “A laugh is a mighty good thing, and rather too scarce
a good thing.” Juan encourages us to laugh and to contemplate. Today, contemplation is definitely “too scarce a good thing.”
John O’Hern
Senior Editor, American Art Collector
Executive Director and Curator, Arnot Art Museum (retired)
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top | The Ship of Flowers • hand - pulled, 16 color lithograph • edition of  • .  . inches image size • .   inches paper size
right | Gluteus Maximus • oil on canvas •    inches
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top | Faith in the Archer • hand - pulled, 19 color lithograph • edition of  •    inches image size • .  . inches paper size
right | The Vegetarian Lion’s Visitors • oil on canvas •    inches
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top | The Collector • oil on canvas •    inches
right | The Wall at the Fountain • oil on canvas •    inches
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Shaded Flowers • oil on canvas •    inches
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The Unforbidden Apple • oil on canvas •    inches
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JUAN KELLY
b. 1958, Limón, Costa Rica
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
Punctum Temporis, Nüart Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville, TN
Psychosomnia, Nüart Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Northern Michigan University Art Museum, Marquette, MI
The Water is in the Melon, Nüart Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, Santa Fe, NM
National Museum of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
The Archetypological Fruits, Nüart Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
The Passion to Know, Nüart Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
The Passion of Being, Portals Gallery, Chicago, IL
21st Century Surrealist & Symbolist, Magidson Fine Art, Aspen, CO
SOFA New York, William Zimmer Gallery, New York, NY
The Passion to Be, Turner-Carroll Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
SOFA Chicago, William Zimmer Gallery, Chicago, IL
Psycho-Vigilance, Turner-Carroll Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
El Espiritu del Arte Latinoamericano, Galería Valanti, San José, Costa Rica
The Romantic Pursuit, Turner-Carroll Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Office of the Governor of Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico
Sarah Dobbs Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
Still Lives Are Not What They Used to Be, Turner-Carroll Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Art Chicago, Chicago, IL
The Artists’ Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Alianza Francesa (The Culteral Institue of the French Embassy), San José, Costa Rica
Museo Ethnohistorico (Ethnohistoric Museum), Limón, Costa Rica
Gallery Ottokar, Basel, Switzerland
Gallery Residenz, Bamberg, West Germany
The National Theater of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
Rick Moore Art Group, Naples, FL
Jeanine Meijers Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
Contemporary Classicism, Chimeara Art Space, Los Angeles, CA
Peyton-Wright Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Turner-Carroll Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Carole Laroche Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe, NM
Corte Suprema de Justica (Supreme Court), Limón, Costa Rica
University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
The Lure of New Mexico Imagery, Gallery 10 Inc, Santa Fe, NM
The Artists’ Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
MUSEUM & PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Life of Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica
Presidential Palace, San José, Costa Rica
Children’s Hospital at Lutheran, Wheatridge, CO
Ethnohistoric Museum, Limón, Costa Rica
JAPDEVA, Limón, Costa Rica
Lachner & Saenz, S.A., San José, Costa Rica
Museum of Contemporary Art, Seville, Spain
National Theater, San José, Costa Rica
RECOPE, San José, Costa Rica
SINTRAJAP, Limón, Costa Rica
Standard Fruit Company, Limón, Costa Rica
The Cultural Institute of the French Embassy, San José, Costa Rica
Wellington Management Company, Boston, MA
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo (Museum of Contemporary Art), Seville, Spain
Museo National (National Museum), San José, Costa Rica
Museo del Banco Central, Bienal Lachner & Saenz, San José, Costa Rica
Alianza Francesa (The French Embassy), San José, Costa Rica
Banco Central , San José, Costa Rica
Julia Marchena Gallery, San José, Costa Rica
Instituto National de Seguros, San José, Costa Rica
Numerous private and public collections in the United States, Canada,
Central and South America, Europe and Japan.
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Municipalidad de Limón, Limón, Costa Rica
The Rules • oil on canvas •    inches
back cover | Juan Kelly in his Studio • photo by Michael Goldman
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nüart gallery
670 canyon road | santa fe | new mexico | 87501
t/505 988 3888 | www.nuartgaller y.com | f ineart @ nuartgaller y.com