ANGELA KEHLENBECK

ARTIST STATEMENT

I choose a moment in time and let the sculpture tell its story.

The small human figures I have been working on are bodies I know, scenes I remember or imagine, that have touched and influenced my life.

Working on these delicate sculptures - which are made of simple wire, tape, glue and (deliberately selected) newspaper clippings from NYT and ZEIT – is a slow process. Shaping the figure and tenderly tracing the nuances of this person's body and posture opens up new spaces of deep understanding and empathy for her story, for the fragility of human existence and its resilience.

Very personal works are created in which I deal with a part of my history, with my family, with myself or with scenes I envision – while transferring these personal stories into sculptures that, in their intriguing vividness, tell of complex human conditions such as exhaustion and withdrawal, of tense concentration, of a life-defining step, of balance and weightlessness or of calm clarity.

BIO

Born in Hamburg, Germany, Angela Kehlenbeck grew up in Frankfurt and Bremen. After graduation she traveled several countries in South America and worked as an intern/assistant with photographer Tom Glaeser in Frankfurt.

She received degrees from Hochschule RheinMain in Wiesbaden, School of Design and from HAW in Hamburg, School of Illustration and started out her career working in Picture Book Illustration, publishing with renowned German and International publishers, followed by freelance work as an artist in painting, drawing and sculpture. She was a lecturer at the Institute for Teacher Training and member of several Artist Communities in Bremen, Germany with annual Open Studios Events.

After moving to the Unites States Kehlenbeck now lives in Brooklyn, NY and works at her studio at J&M Studios in Sunset Park, focusing on a series of delicate sculptures.

NEWS

‘Five Points: A Convergence of Dreams’
April 6 - 29, 2023, an exhibition featuring ten artists
curated by Savona Baily MyClain at
Equity Gallery, 245 Broome Street, NY 10002

Angela Kehlenbeck‘s work was exhibited in juried group exhibitions:
Online exhibition SHE at http://www.art-fluent.com/she (2023)
Cultural Center of Cape Cod, MA (2023)
Schweinfurth Art Center in Auburn, NY (2022)
NARS Foundation in Sunset Park, Brooklyn (2022)
Chroma Projects in Charlottesville, VA (2021)