kelly carámbula

FEATURED SHOWS

Escape
ELEANOR HARWOOD GALLERY | JULY 13-AUGUST 26, 2023

1275 MINNESOTA ST #206, SF, CA 94107

“Escape” is a group show celebrating the transformative nature of summer. Whether we stretch our toes in the sand, go on a road trip, spend time daydreaming and creating in the studio, we all escape a bit, and more so in summer. The days are longer and our imaginations and ranges are larger. The expansive nature of more daylight prods our desires to get out, to explore.  

Kelly Carámbula uses ceramics and bold colored glazes to create the new body of work in “Escape”. Her works frequently serve as a means to work through complex emotions. Her pieces Feelings Bundle and Meditation on Love and Chaos are good examples of Carámbula’s desire to integrate disparate materials, shapes and textures into sculptures that work as whole, each element adding interest and meaning to the others. Her work is a metaphor for the intricacies in her own family where difficult elements must come together.  

Moving Past
ELEANOR HARWOOD GALLERY | JUNE 25-AUGUST 6, 2022

1275 MINNESOTA ST #206, SF, CA 94107

In her current show, Moving Past, Carámbula confronts what it’s meant and felt like to live through a pandemic with two small children, one of whom has special needs. Her work is about resistance and acceptance. She has a resistance to what is expected, to the easy way, to conformity. Her work is a metaphor for her parenthood, and also is a manifested acceptance that things take time, are rarely perfect, or what we expect them to be.

Sometimes we suppress feelings and emotions just to get through difficult moments. What happens when we go back, acknowledge deep feelings, and set them free? We get to move the past out of our bodies and move beyond. And then we can see the beauty in our pain. Her work is how she processes, and we get to see the result in Moving Past.

Balancing Act
LEGION PROJECTS | APRIL 2-30, 2022

711A HEALDSBURG AVE. HEALDSBURG, CA 95448

For the past year, Carámbula has been exploring themes around traditional “women’s crafts”—sewing, quilting, and weaving—and how those things keep us safe, warm, and comfortable. These practices have allowed women to express themselves artistically in ways that weren’t always achievable in the art world. In the same light, she has been exploring contradictions between materials as a way to express the dichotomies of motherhood and the balance of mothering two very different children. Carámbula remarks, “It leaves me wondering, can the hard things—both literal and physical—be turned into something that feels good and gives comfort?” The artist’s latest body of work explores the contrasting dynamics of materials and textures using clay and fiber.

Sometimes Things Come Together
ELEANOR HARWOOD GALLERY | JANUARY 9 2021- FEBRUARY 21, 2021

1275 MINNESOTA ST #206, SAN FRANCISCO

After a year like no other, this show represents the light at the end of the tunnel. Or at least a feast for the eyes in an otherwise bleak
moment in time.. Photographs by @shaun.roberts.photo

LEGION SF MARCH 7, 2020-MARCH 31, 2020

808 SUTTER STREET, SAN FRANCISCO CA

Connected by the ideas of play and acceptance, the work created for Perfectly Imperfect dives deep into letting go of perfection and strives to show the beauty in the imperfections of life. 

A YEAR OF COLOR & FORM, SEPTEMBER 21, 2018-NOVEMBER 5, 2018

RARE DEVICE, 600 DIVISIDERO SAN FRANCISCO CA

The process and product of a year spent rediscovering creativity through two simple ideas: color & form. Artist Kelly Carámbula spent a year exploring these ideas across media including paper, clay, wood, and metal. The result is a show— and a practice—demonstrating that these basic concepts have no end.