KELSEY K. CONNER, AN ARTIST BASED IN INDIANAPOLIS
About
the expression of rejection and comfort
I depict and communicate the emotional weight of seeking comfort in a society and body that offers rejection in return. These forms serve as a window into the loneliness inherent in traditional Midwestern domesticity, exploring the loss, loneliness, and joy of being part of a marginalized community. The emotions are raw and strip away the romanticization associated with sadness. Intentional material choices highlight the soft and hard experiences of community and rejection.
BIOGRAPHY
Kelsey K. Conner is an emerging multi-media artist and curator in Indianapolis, IN. She specializes in paper, fibers, and installation. Kelsey is in her senior year at the Herron School of Art & Design, where she will earn her BFA in Sculpture in May of 2026. Kelsey earned her Book Arts Minor in May of 2025.
Kelsey was awarded as one of the top 100 students of IU Indianapolis in 2025, along with being nominated as an Outstanding Student Achievement Award in Contemporary Sculpture through the International Sculpture Center. She plans to pursue an MFA in Sculpture and become a professor.
EXHIBITIONS
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS:
2025 Materiality in Sculpture: A Dialogue Between Substance and Form, The Evanston Center, Chicago Sculpture International, Chicago, IL
2025 Malleability of Time and Space, An Internation Exchange, The Eskenazi Fine Arts Center, Indiana-University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN
2025 The Art of Protest, Parkside, Indianapolis, IN
2025 Making Books Across the Big Pond, Academy of Fine Arts, Leipzig, Germany
2025 Making Books Across the Big Pond, Herron School of Arts & Design, Indiana University, Indianapolis, USA
2025 College Art Invitational 2025, The Indianapolis Art Center, Indianapolis, IN
2025 SPLINTER, A Student Exhibition, The Eskenazi Fine Arts Center, Indianapolis, IN
2025 Inauguration Day, Herron School of Art and Design, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN
2024 Best of You, Garfield Arts Center, Indianapolis, IN
2024 Art & Sports Day Summer Fest, Ninety-Four Forty, Indianapolis, IN
2024 Big Gay Gallery, Mystery Fun Club, Indianapolis, IN
2024 Tarot: The Art of Fortune, The Washington Pavillion, The Schultz Gallery, Sioux Falls, SD
2024 Fanzineiest Vienna Art Fair, Vienna, Austria
2024 Herron Wearable Art Show, Eskenazi Fine Arts Center, Indiana University-Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN
2024 Waves, The Holy Art Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2024 Expanding Print, Eskenazi Fine Art Center, Indiana University, Indianapolis IN
2024 Ninety-Nine Forty Magazine, Indianapolis, IN
2024 Connecting Distances: Virtual Global Exchange International Exhibition, Co-curator, Marsh Gallery, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN
2024 Art and Sports Day, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN
2024 Femininity, Murphy Arts Center, Indianapolis, IN
2023 NASAD 10 Year Review, Eskenazi Fine Arts Center, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN
2023 Indy Gay Market, The Amp @ 16 Tech, Indianapolis, IN
2023 Touch Me: Art Beyond Sight, Eskenazi Fine Arts Center, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN
2023 What’s The Commotion (It’s Stop Motion), The Amp @ 16 Tech, Indianapolis, IN
2022 Herron Winter Market, Herron School of Art and Design, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN