Creating quiet moments of emotional wellbeing in my art is how I work to soothe and comfort others. I depict a world of tenderness, acceptance, and vulnerability in order to share the sensations of emotional wellbeing that I aim to foster in my life and in my community. I often create vignettes of people close to me. Narratives of intimate relationships are important for displaying the peace and support that everyone strives for in their homes and in their heads—peace and support that so often we are lacking. My paintings intend to bring that support in our surroundings. I consider my work both manifestation and documentation, it's a means of advocating for mental wellness by acknowledging my own struggles with it. I hope a viewer sees the image of a space I’ve created as a place where they can rest and will be taken care of.

Press:
Juxtapoz Magazine It's Nice That
We And The Color Vice/Creators
Cltra Clctva BOOOOOOOM

patreon

EDUCATION
2009 BFA Drawing + Printmaking, Western Washington University

SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023 Sketches, Common Area Maintenance, Seattle WA
2022 Swimming Naked, J. Rinehart Gallery, Seattle WA
2019 Kelly Bjork, Nancy Margolis Gallery, New York NY
2018 Gentle Cravings, Zinc Contemporary, Seattle WA
2016 Almost Home, Joe Bar Cafe, Seattle WA

SELECT GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024 To: You, From: Me, SOIL, Seattle WA (December)
Butt…I Love You, Make.Shift, Bellingham WA
Quotidian Queer, North Seattle College, Seattle WA
2023 Out of Sight, Bumpershoot, Seattle WA
Cheek and Hole, Specialist Gallery, Seattle WA
The Exhibit, PublicDisplay:Gallery, Seattle WA
2022 Pride on Public Display, Pound Gallery, Seattle WA
2021 Off the Wall, J.Rinehart Gallery, Seattle WA
2 Gather, Studio E Gallery, Seattle WA
2020 Conversations, J.Rinehart Gallery, Seattle WA
Wallpaper Diaries, Chautauqua Institution, Chautauqua NY
2019 Winter Salon, Koplin Del Rio Gallery, Seattle WA
Soft Sound Quiet Package, Seattle Freezer, Seattle WA
100, Joe Bar Cafe, Seattle WA
2018 Bellwether, Bellevue Arts Museum, Bellevue WA
I say: RADICAL you say: FEMINIST, Archer Gallery, Vancouver WA
2017 Outsiders, Art Primo, Seattle WA
Party Hat: The Art Show, Party Hat, Seattle WA
Joe Bar's 20th Anniversary, Joe Bar Cafe, Seattle WA
Saudade, Zinc Contemporary, Seattle WA
Out of Sight, 115 South Jackson St, Seattle WA
Living Together, Calypte Gallery, Seattle WA
Drawing Practice, Whatcom Museum, Bellingham WA
10 Year Anniversary Celebration, Smith Vallee Gallery, Edison WA
Paintings, or it didn’t happen!, The Factory, Seattle WA
2016 American Painting Today, V2, Seattle WA
2015 Rearranging Furniture, Glass Box Gallery, Seattle WA
Icky Body, Less Space, Oakland CA
=^._.^= (Cat Show), Velouria, Seattle WA
Threads, Smith Vallee Gallery, Edison WA
2014 Significant Objects, Toast, Seattle WA
Home: Through our Eyes, Whatcom Community College, Bellingham WA
Vignettes Love Party, LoveCityLove, Seattle WA
2012 Space Blanket Space Cadette, Corridor Gallery, Seattle, WA
Teenage Dreamsicle, Refrigerator Artspace, Richmond, VA
The Snake and the Beast Work Together, Noodleworks Studios, Seattle WA
INK, Spark: Museum of Electrical Invention, Bellingham, WA
2011 Selection of handmade artist books & poetry, Cullom Gallery, Seattle, WA
Everything Small, Viking Union Gallery, Bellingham, WA
Miniature Memories, DIGS, Bellingham, WA
Paper Kingdom, Good Shepherd Center, Seattle, WA
Winter Commission III, American Museum of Radio & Electricity, Bellingham, WA
2010 LIMBO!, One of One Gallery, Bellingham, WA
Standing Room Only, The Majestic, Bellingham, WA
Birds, Smith & Vallee Gallery, Edison, WA
Winter Commission II, AMRE, Bellingham, WA
2009 Bare Images, LARC, Mount Vernon, WA
2008 NOPE, Blue Horse Gallery, Bellingham, WA
2007 Composite, Lucia Douglas Gallery, Bellingham, WA

CURATORIAL
2014 - 2016 Founder & Curator, Two Shelves, Seattle, WA
2015 =^._.^= (Cat Show), Velouria, Seattle WA

AWARDS / RESIDENCIES
2023 PrideFest Artist Residency: Rockland Woods, Bremerton WA
2020 The Fellow Ship Artist Residency, Guemes Island WA
2019 Facebook Artist in Residence Program, Seattle WA
2018 Helen Frankenthaler Fellowship: Vermont Studio Center, Johnson VT
2017 Winter Art Walk Award, City Arts Magazine, Seattle WA
Summer Art Walk Award, City Arts Magazine, Seattle WA

COLLECTIONS / SPECIAL PROJECTS
2020 Facebook AIR Program x Overall Creative, Seattle 10
Starbucks, permanent collection
2019 Facebook AIR Program, mural
2018-2019 Advisory Committee for Victorian Radicals: From the Pre-Raphaelites to the Arts & Crafts Movement, Seattle Art Museum
2018 Cumulus, album cover

LECTURES / VISITS
2021 Artist talk: Advanced Drawing + Painting. Western Washington University, Bellingham WA
Artist talk: Arts Ecosystems Seminar. Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle WA
2020 Artist talk: Advanced Drawing + Painting. Western Washington University, Bellingham WA
Artist talk: Trowbridge Atelier. Gage Academy, Seattle WA
Artist talk: Methods of Illustration. Western Washington University, Bellingham WA
2019 Panel Discussion: Professional Development for Visual Artists. Gage Academy, Seattle WA
2018 Artist talk: Methods of Illustration. Western Washington University, Bellingham WA
Artist talk: Archer Gallery. Clark College, Vancouver WA
Artist talk. Gather Seattle, Seattle WA
Artist talk: Design Club. Western Washington University, Bellingham WA
2017 Artist talk: Advanced Studio Seminar. Western Washington University, Bellingham WA

PUBLISHED
Featured Artist. New American Paintings, Issue 175. January 2024
Featured Artist. Artistonish, Issue 47. June 2024: Page 26
Cover Art, The Stranger. February 2024
A Work of Art: Interview with Max Brown Artist Kelly Bjork. June 01, 2023
Hale, Corianton. Kelly Bjork’s Queer Joy. The Stranger. October 17, 2022
Keimig, Jas. The Stranger Suggests. The Stranger. October 06, 2022
Laurens, Morgan. Celebrating Pride: What June Means For LGBTQ+ Visibilty in the Arts. Not Real Art. June 15, 2022
Cover Art, PublicDisplay.Art. June-August 2022
Eberhardt, Jenna. Kelly Bjork’s Serene Spaces Advocate for Mental Health in Queer Communities. Not Real Art. May 25, 2022
Lounging Around, Northwest Leaf. Essential Issue: Page 42, February 2021
Featured Artist. New American Paintings, Issue 151. January 2020
Rothman, Julie. Every Body: An Honest and Open Look at Sex from Every Angle. Little, Brown and Company. Contributing Illustrator, 2020
Quinn, Bridget. She Votes: How U.S. Women Won Suffrage, and What Happened Next. Chronicle Books. Contributing Illustrator. 2020
Moyer, Suzette + Remmel, Tyler. 'It’s really hard to imagine this number’: In art and words, nine illustrators from across the country grapple with 100,000 lives lost to covid-19. The Washington Post. May 30, 2020
Ward, Jeff M. Did You Hear the One About the Art Show in a Fridge? Indianapolis Contemporary. 2020
Whimsical Paintings that Exude Positivity. Fubiz. September 2019
7 Prompts To Help You Find Your Creative Voice. Skillshare. September 2019
Why Every Creative Should Start A Writing Practice This Month. Skillshare. September 2019
Kelly Bjork Debuts @ Nancy Margolis Gallery NYC. Juxtapoz Magazine. August 2019
Clemans, Gayle. Coffee-shop art can get a bad rap. Seattle’s Joe Bar defies that, with shows by some of the most interesting artists around. Seattle Times. June 6, 2019
Illustrations Theme No.7: Feminism. Papier Magazine. Spring/Summer 2019
Spotlight on Kelly Bjork. Influencer Intelligence. May 9, 2019
King, Karen. Accent on: Artist and Illustrator Kelly Bjork. Accent Opaque. May 2, 2019
DeMelo, Juno. The Only New-Mom Hack is Money: Sleep is for the Rich, InStyle Magazine. March 22, 2019
Animated Interiors. +1 Magazine. Issue 2. 2019
Madrigal, Alexis. Instagram Man, Anxy Magazine No.4: The Masculinity Issue. January 2019
Kelly Bjork's "Gentle Cravings" in Seattle. Juxtapoz Magazine. May 2018
Pothast, Emily. Kelly Bjork: Gentle Cravings, The Stranger. April 2018
ZINC Contemporary presents "Gentle Cravings" by Kelly Bjork, King5 News, April 2018
Constant, Paul. Would You Rather, The Seattle Review of Books. March, 27, 2018
Ball, Elissa. More or Less. Cold Cube Press. Cover art and spot illustrations. 2018
Aperloo, Sandra. Beautiful illustrations by Kelly Bjork, ArtisticMoods. March 13, 2018
Depetris, Bruno. Kelly Bjork: Scenes of Ordinary Happiness, Picame Magazine. January 22, 2018
Moving Forward, The Washington Post. January 18, 2018
Featured Artist. New American Paintings, Issue 133. January 2018
Highliday Gift Guide, Northwest Leaf. Issue 90: Page 40, December 2017
2017 Artists of the Year, City Arts Magazine. November 27, 2017
One Sky: A collaborative project with almost 90 artists and one instruction: look up. The Women Who Draw. Topic. September 2017
Women Crushing It Wednesday: Kelly Bjork. Oiselle. August 20, 2017
Artist Spotlight: Kelly Bjork. BOOOOOOOM.com August 2017
Bellingham National: The Luck of the Draw, Cascadia Weekly. August 9, 2017
Cover Art, Seattle Weekly. July 26, 2017
Cover Art, Seattle Weekly. July 12, 2017
What We Loathe about Intermissions, The Washington Post. July 7, 2017
Picture Interview, Kollektiv Gallery. July 2017
Illustrations Of The Little Things That Makes Us Happy, Cultura Colectiva. July 5. 2017
Feature, Sukeban Magazine. June 21, 2017
Drawing Practice: Bellingham National Juried Art Exhibition and Awards, SAM Blog. June 20, 2017
Illustrations you should see when you think everything is dark, Cultura Colectiva. June 12, 2017
Spicy Metal, City Arts Magazine. May 25, 2017
Life is Tender (and a Little Awkward) in the Paintings of Kelly Bjork, Creators. May 28, 2017
Witnessing the Sweet Moments: An Interview with Seattle-based Painter Kelly Bjork, Juxtapoz Magazine. May 25, 2017
Funky Personas by Kelly Bjork, Upper Playground. May 25, 2017
ILLUSTRAZIONE: Le scene di vita di Kelly Bjork, Osso Magazine. May 2017
Kelly Bjork’s illustrations put a witty twist on personal moments and intimacy, We and The Color. May 2017
Seattle-based illustrator Kelly Bjork depicts languid ladies and neat interiors, It’s Nice That. May 2017
Feature, People of Print. May 2017
Interview, Ballpit Mag. May 2017
Cover Art, The Stranger. May 2017
Head Rest, City Arts Magazine. February 2017
Inside Witnesses (weekly column), McSweeny’s. October 2015 - October 2016
Portrait Looking Left, Sixth Finch. Fall 2016
Artist Spotlight: Kelly Bjork. BOOOOOOOM. June 2016
An [illustrated] Interview with Kelly Bjork. Dirty Laundry. June 23 2016
Cover Art, The Stranger. December 2015
Fresh Magazine. Issue 08. June 2015: Pages 16-18
A Taxonomy of Brunchers, Seattle Met Magazine. February 2015