First Street Gallery is pleased to present Interiors & Still Places, an exhibition of recent paintings, oil on wood panel, by Mary K. Connelly. Working on a smaller, more intimate scale, Connelly creates paintings that are a distillation of perception and memory, where color and light convey a world psychologically and spiritually charged.  Architectural space serves as a formal and conceptual device to establish tension and duality between the interior and exterior worlds. As “home,” interior space signifies for Connelly the conditions of both entrapment and private repose. The interior also serves as a metaphor for consciousness, as a chamber for reflection and introspection. The practice of perceptual painting is central to Connelly’s work — the artist believes it is possible to transcend “self” through a responsive and empathetic relationship to the visual world.

Born in 1961, Mary K. Connelly was raised in Belleville, New Jersey. She earned her BFA in painting at Washington University in St. Louis and received an MFA in painting at Indiana University in Bloomington. Recently awarded “First Place” in the 10th International Open 2007 at the Woman Made Gallery in Chicago, Connelly was awarded a solo show at the gallery in 2008. Upcoming shows in 2007 include a solo exhibition at the University of Wisconsin at Madison in August, and a three-person show at Stanford University in the fall. Connelly’s work will be featured in the upcoming 2007 edition of The William and Mary Review. The artist currently resides in Denver and is an Assistant Professor of Painting and Drawing at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center.

A reception for the artist will be held on Saturday June 23rd, 2-5. The artist will also give a gallery talk on Wednesday June 27th at noon.