Mary Reid Kelley

Mary Reid Kelley creates videos, photographs and drawings based on her humorous and poignant renditions of ancient Greek mythology and historical events.

Mary Reid Kelley, The Thong of Dionysus, 2015. HD video, black-and-white, sound; 9:27 minutes. Courtesy of the artist, Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects and Fredericks & Freiser Gallery, New York
We’re Wallowing Here in Your Disco Tent is a program of five videos by Mary Reid Kelley. It will be part of High Line Channel 14, a series of outdoor projections of art videos in the semi-enclosed passageway on the High Line at West 14th Street.
Mary Reid Kelley, The Queen’s English, 2008. Video, black-and-white, sound; 4:20 minutes. Courtesy of the artist, Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects and Fredericks & Freiser Gallery, New York
Top: Mary Reid Kelley, The Thong of Dionysus, 2015. HD video, black-and-white, sound; 9:27 minutes. Courtesy of the artist, Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects and Fredericks & Freiser Gallery, New York Above: Mary Reid Kelley, The Queen’s English, 2008. Video, black-and-white, sound; 4:20 minutes. Courtesy of the artist, Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects and Fredericks & Freiser Gallery, New York

Mary Reid Kelley creates videos, photographs, and drawings based on her humorous and poignant renditions of ancient Greek mythology and historical events. Her scripts are densely woven with complex multi-lingual word play, literary and artistic allusions, and lascivious puns that burlesque the master narratives and gender politics of war and myth, giving them a grotesquely comic feminist twist. Produced with Patrick Kelley, Reid Kelley’s videos feature costumes, props, and black-and-white aesthetics that pay homage to many visual worlds, including Cubism, early cinema, and cartoons.

Mary Reid Kelley, Sadie, The Saddest Sadist, 2009. Video, black-and-white, sound; 7:23 minutes. Courtesy of the artist, Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects and Fredericks & Freiser Gallery, New York
Mary Reid Kelley, Sadie, The Saddest Sadist, 2009. Video, black-and-white, sound; 7:23 minutes. Courtesy of the artist, Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects and Fredericks & Freiser Gallery, New York

“Mary Reid Kelley wields her scripts like swords, recasting historical narratives with nimble and heartfelt humor,” says High Line Art Assistant Curator Melanie Kress. “We are thrilled to be able to share Reid Kelley’s sage approach to history on the High Line, itself a historical artifact and home to myriad ever-changing narratives.”

Mary Reid Kelley with Patrick Kelley, The Syphilis of Sisyphus, 2011. HD video, black-and-white, sound; 11 minutes, 2 seconds. Courtesy of the artist, Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects and Fredericks & Freiser Gallery, New York
Mary Reid Kelley with Patrick Kelley, The Syphilis of Sisyphus, 2011. HD video, black-and-white, sound; 11:02 minutes. Courtesy of the artist, Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects and Fredericks & Freiser Gallery, New York

1 September – 2 November 2016
Mary Reid Kelley: Were wallowing here in your disco tent
High line art
14th Street Passagem, High Line, New York

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