Kelli Maeshiro is a Japanese-American artist currently working between Manila, Philippines and Honolulu, Hawaii. Her works are characterized as delicate and introspective, creating an inviting atmosphere that portrays themes of longing, memory, and ennui. She received her BA from Willamette University in Oregon. She is a Carson Grant Fellow, and was an artist in residence at the Vermont Studio Center and Women’s Studio Workshop. Selected exhibitions include: National Museum of the Philippines, Hallie Ford Museum of Art, Honolulu Museum of Art, Artery Art Space, Mono8 Gallery, Vinyl on Vinyl Gallery, West Gallery, Gedok Berlin, and Blanc Gallery.

My relationships, fictional narratives, and the ephemeral drive my body of work. I work in both paintings and installation creating works that convey a sense of the super-melodic, serene, and forgetting. The works incorporate drawn, dyed, and geometric elements that build up in layers to create a softness or glazed effect. The work derives from my position of an adopted person who in youth is trying to ascertain who I am.