Mike Kelley

Mike Kelley was an American artist known for his diverse and provocative body of work, which spanned various media including installation, drawing, sculpture, performance, and video. Kelley was a prominent figure in the contemporary art scene and is often associated with the Los Angeles art community. His work frequently explored themes of memory, trauma, and the construction of identity, often incorporating found objects and textiles. One of his notable series, More Love Hours Than Can Ever Be Repaid and The Wages of Sin (1987), utilized discarded stuffed animals and other fabric items to create a poignant commentary on sentimentality and consumer culture. Kelley's practice also included significant contributions to the field of collage, where he employed a range of materials to create complex, layered compositions. He was a founding member of the art collective Destroy All Monsters alongside Jim Shaw, Cary Loren, and Niagara, which blended visual art with punk music. Kelley's work has been exhibited in major institutions such as the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. His influential retrospective, Mike Kelley, was organized by the Stedelijk Museum in 2012 and traveled to several international venues.