Kelsey Shwetz

Kelsey Shwetz’s paintings are glimpses of a post-apocalyptic world, where the environment has been poisoned and made uninhabitable for humans. Sourcing reference material from constructed environments such as conservatories, botanical gardens, and scientific dioramas, Shwetz simulates an artificial nature that is both intensely familiar and estranged. This world represents a not so distant future, an alternative planet, or a computer simulation, where a new narrative is dawning, and the viewer is often the only figure in the eerie landscape. Shwetz is a Canadian born painter who lives and works in Ridgewood, Queens. She has exhibited in New York, Miami, Germany, Slovakia, Toronto, and Montreal. Her most recent solo exhibition was at Brethren Gallery in New York in 2018. Shwetz has received fellowships from the Vermont Studio Center, Columbia University, and CanSerrat Residency in Barcelona and grants from Canada Council for the Arts. She is currently an MFA Visual Arts candidate (2022) at Columbia University and has been a guest lecturer at UCLA, Pratt Institute, and LaGuardia Community College.