Kelly Rossetti - Contemporary Abstract Artist
BIO
Kelly Rossetti b 1979, is a contemporary abstract and figurative painter working out of her studio in Bridgeport, CT. While primarily self-taught, she studied classical oil painting at a small Atelier in NYC where she credits getting her foundation and love of the figure. Kelly works in both Acrylic and Oil and often utilizes an array of mixed media to achieve depth, texture and marks.
ARTIST STATEMENT
My work explores the alchemy of being perfectly imperfect. Where beauty and grit coexist, and resolution is never the goal. I’m interested in the tension between control and release, refinement and disruption, and how those opposing forces can exist within a single surface.
Rather than conceal the process, I build through it. Layers are scraped back, unearthed, and reworked. Marks are buried and rediscovered. What remains…the fragments, edits, and remnants, becomes the foundation of the piece. Each painting carries a visible history, as if it has been excavated rather than simply made.
I often incorporate raw or unprimed canvas and torn elements from previous works, creating compositions that are assembled as much as they are painted. These fragments function like a visual language, constructed piece by piece where nothing is wasted and everything is recontextualized.
Underlying many of the works is a quiet structure: a suggestion of grids, divisions, or shifting planes that hold moments of chaos in place. This balance between order and disruption allows the work to feel both grounded and in flux. I use the landscape not as something to depict, but as something to dismantle…breaking it into fragments, reassembling it through gesture and material until it exists as a felt experience rather than a fixed place.
Each painting becomes a record of presence and permission. Permission to follow instinct. Permission to leave evidence. Permission to allow something unresolved to hold weight.
My abstracted landscapes refrain from rigidly adhering to any fixed landscape, acknowledging the perpetual flux of nature. Through abstract strokes and textural elements, they capture the essence of the environment, distilling the depicted objects and surroundings to their core elements. My goal for all of my work is for each encounter to reveal new details and nuances that may have escaped initial observation.
Representation
Sorelle Gallery, Westport CT
His Daughter Paloma, Lenox, Massachusets
Exhibitions
Upcoming:
From the ground up, curated by Erika b Hess, Warnes Contemporary Brooklyn, NY. April 23- June 14, 2026
Opening Reception April 23, 6 pm.
Homecoming: School of Art Alumni Exhibition: Chautauqua Visual Arts, Fowler-Kellogg Art Gallery
July 8th- August 6th, 2026. Opening reception July 8th, 3-5 pm.
Previous:
The Other Art Fair: November 6-9, 2025 Brooklyn, NY
2025 Summer Residency at the Chautauqua Visual Arts School : August 9- 24, 2025 Chautauqua, NY
Make Believe at the The Stairwell Space at American Fabrics Arts Building curated by Linda Colletta Opening June 14th- July 26
Macro/Micro at The Stairwell Space at American Fabrics Arts Building curated by Marly Hammer Opening May 15, 2025- June 7, 2025
Closing reception and artist panel on June 7 from 2-4 pm.
Press: Selected for Arts to Hearts Project- "100 Emerging Artworks of 2024- Women's Edition" Juried by Danielle Krysa
Armonk Outdoor Show, Armonk, NY September 28-29, 2024
47th Annual Juried Exhibition- Ridgefield Guild of Artists' - September 28-October 27, 2024 *Juried and curated by Amy Smith-Stewart.
Awakening: Group Exhibition at Sorelle Gallery, May 10- June 1, 2024 Opening May 11th 3-5pm at Sorelle Gallery.
TNAS Group Exhibition June 13-August 22, 2024 Norwalk Art Space Norwalk, CT
Armonk Outdoor Show, NY September 30th-Oct 1, 2023-- BOOTH D 14
Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Show- Philadelphia September 15-17, 2023
2 Person Exhibition- "Kaleidoscope" Sorelle Gallery- Westport CT July 7-29, 2023 *Meet and Greet with Artists Saturday July 8th 3-5 pm. READ ABOUT THE EXHIBITION HERE
"Instinctive Patterns" Visionary Projects // The Yard Flatiron North, NYC -- April 17- July 20, 2023
Residency at AIR Studios// Jen Tough Gallery Santa Fe, NM May 22-29, 2023
Gritty in Pink, 4 Female Artists, The Gallery at SoNo 1420, October 5- November 5, 2022. Artist Reception Thursday, October 13, 6-8pm. Norwalk, CT
Armonk Fine Arts Festival, October 1 & 2, 2022 - RECEIVED 1ST PLACE AWARD FOR MIXED MEDIA PAINTING
Westhampton Beach Festival of the Arts, September 3 & 4, 2022
"Sense of Pace" SOLO Show, His Daughter Paloma, Lenox, Mass Artist Reception Sunday, July 3rd 3-5pm. July 3-August 3,2022
"Between Blurred Lines", 2 Person Exhibition at Norwalk Art Space October 28th- December 2 Norwalk, CT
*Opening Reception Oct 28 from 6-9 pm.
Artist Talk with Kelly Rossetti & Joanna Lentini. Moderated by David Green of the Cultural Alliance November 7th // 1-3 pm, Norwalk art Space
Armonk Outdoor Art Show Armonk , NY September 25-26, 2021
Quiet Moments: Exhibition featuring work of Daniel Pollera and Kelly Rossetti. Sorelle Gallery, Westport CT Opening reception July 10, 2021 - August 1, 2021
Norwalk Art Space Resident Artist and Korry Fellow Opening Exhibit June 4, 2021- July 15, 2021
Norwalk Art Space Korry Fellow June 2021-May 2022
Westport Fine Arts Festival Westport, CT May 29-30, 2021
His Daughter Paloma Inaugural Group Show Lenox, Mass May 22, 2021- June 22, 2021
Art Essex Gallery Live Invitational Exhibition, Westport CT February 5 - 28, 2021
Juried by Lisa Cooper of the Elisa Contemporary Art Gallery & Art Salon.
Visionary Projects in collaboration with Lohme Art Gallery Juried Virtual Exhibition: Disrupting the Stillness November 16 - December 16, 2020
Sono Arts Fest Gallery Walk-- Washington Ave, Norwalk CT October 22- Dec 29
Visionary Projects Juried Virtual Exhibition: Part I, The Era of Seclusion
October 2, 2020- November 10, 2020
https://thevisionaryprojects.com
Armonk Outdoor Show Armonk, NY October 3-4, 2020 *VIRTUAL ONLY*
Bruce Museum Fine Arts Show, October 2020 *Virtual Only*
Carriage Barn Arts 2020 Member Show September 12- October 11, 2020
*Speaker on the Panel Discussion: The Intersection of Art & Design: October 8 6:30 pm. Virtual Event
Ridgefield Guild of Artists Juried Member Show, Ridgefield, CT March 21-April 26, 2020
Juried by Adrienne Ruger Conzelman of ARC Fine Art *View on-line exhibition here.
Small Group Show, Wilton Library, Wilton, CT November 15- January 6, 2020
Solo Show, Gallery at the Pearl, Westport CT September 23- November 23, 2019
Armonk Outdoor Art Show Armonk, Ny September 21-22, 2019
Stamford Art Festival Stamford Harbor Point, CT July 27-28, 2019
Westport Fine Arts Festival Westport, CT July 20-21, 2019 *Received Award of Excellence
Norwalk Art Festival Norwalk, CT June 29-30, 2019
CCNS Art Show South Norwalk, CT May 30- June 1st, 2019
Carriage Barn Arts Center Spectrum Selections: Ditto, juried by Blaire Clarke & Sarah Tortorich of Voltz Clarke Gallery NYC April 6th- May 9th, 2019
Armonk Outdoor Art Show Armonk, Ny September 29-30, 2018
Westport Fine Arts Festival Westport, CT July 14-15, 2018
Art Expo New York Pier 94 NYC. BOOTH 602, Showing through Galerie MJ Laberge Gallery April 19-22, 2018
SOLO Show Abstraction & Form, Gallery on Division Somerville, NJ October 31st- December 2nd, 2017
Juried Group Show: Bring on the Blue, Norwalk CT Oct6-8, 2016
Westport Fine Arts Festival Westport, CT July 16- July 17, 2016
We welcome studio visits by appointment. Please email to schedule.
My Studio is located in the historic American Fabrics Art Building in Bridgeport, CT
Studio 403
1069 Connecticut Ave
Bridgeport, CT
