Mike Kelley

(American, 1954–2012)

Mike Kelley was an American artist regarded as one of the most influential members of the Conceptual Art movement. Concerned with abjection, youth, class, and the divide between high and low culture, Kelley’s work was often both playful and grotesque, using found objects like stuffed animals, knickknacks, and child-like drawings in its skeptical investigation of societal norms. Working across disciplines in installations, sculpture, drawings, paintings, and videos, Kelley’s career was both eclectic and prolific. “I think they’re really standardized kinds of repressed things in the culture—embarrassing things, like sexual dysfunction and the scatological,” he once said of his subject matter. “I started seeing throughout my work that a lot of these traditional, low comedy forms and subject matters were operating. I wanted to start to deal with that in a more conscious way.” Born on October 27, 1954 in Wayne, MI, the artist studied at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor where he formed the band Destroy All Monsters with fellow visual artist Jim Shaw. His interest in politics and performance carried over into his graduate work at the California Institute of the Arts in the late 1970s, where he studied with John Baldessari and befriended Tony Oursler. Suffering from depression throughout his life, the artist committed suicide on January 31, 2012 in South Pasadena, CA at the age of 57. In 2012, the posthumous retrospective “Mike Kelley: Themes and Variations from 35 Years” opened at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, and travelled to the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, MoMA PS1 in Queens, and finally the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Today, Kelley’s works are held in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, the Goetz Collection in Munich, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, and the Art Institute of Chicago, among others.

Mike Kelley News

Art & Exhibitions

Best in Show: Here Are the 5 Buzziest Museum Exhibitions Everyone Is Talking About in Paris

Best in Show: Here Are the 5 Buzziest Museum Exhibitions Everyone Is Talking About in Paris

Art & Exhibitions

Too Cute! An Upcoming Show in London Will Unpack the Power of Cuteness With Works by Juliana Huxtable, Wong Ping, and More

by Richard Whiddington

Too Cute! An Upcoming Show in London Will Unpack the Power of Cuteness With Works by Juliana Huxtable, Wong Ping, and More

Hauser and Wirth Announces Its New Paris Gallery's Inaugural Show and Its Debut Director

by Eileen Kinsella

Hauser and Wirth Announces Its New Paris Gallery's Inaugural Show and Its Debut Director

Mike Kelley Artworks

Mike Kelley (787 results)

Garbage Drawing no. 42, 1988

Mike Kelley

Garbage Drawing no. 42, 1988

Sale Date: February 13, 2013

Auction Closed

Blood and soil (from pansy metal/clovered..., 1989

Mike Kelley

Blood and soil (from pansy metal/clovered..., 1989

Sale Date: December 17, 2012

Auction Closed

Hypnosis Map (Monkey Island) (3 works), 1982–1983

Mike Kelley

Hypnosis Map (Monkey Island) (3 works), 1982–1983

Sale Date: December 11, 2012

Auction Closed

Garbage Drawing n.18, 1988

Mike Kelley

Garbage Drawing n.18, 1988

Sale Date: December 8, 2012

Auction Closed

Master Dik Yall (Banner), 1989

Mike Kelley

Master Dik Yall (Banner), 1989

Sale Date: November 11, 2012

Auction Closed

Satan's Nostrils (Banner), 1989

Mike Kelley

Satan's Nostrils (Banner), 1989

Sale Date: November 11, 2012

Auction Closed

Street Sign, 2004

Mike Kelley

Street Sign, 2004

Sale Date: November 17, 2012

Auction Closed

Universe, Frog and Mouth Full of Food (from..., 1982

Mike Kelley

Universe, Frog and Mouth Full of Food (from..., 1982

Sale Date: November 16, 2012

Auction Closed

Bad Acting, 1983

Mike Kelley

Bad Acting, 1983

Sale Date: November 15, 2012

Auction Closed

3-Part Progression (in 3 parts), 2005

Mike Kelley

3-Part Progression (in 3 parts), 2005

Sale Date: November 15, 2012

Auction Closed

Nostalgic Depiction of the Innocence of..., 1990

Mike Kelley

Nostalgic Depiction of the Innocence of..., 1990

Sale Date: November 14, 2012

Auction Closed

Bowling Ball, Bag, Shirt and Catalog (set of , 1991

Mike Kelley

Bowling Ball, Bag, Shirt and Catalog (set of , 1991

Sale Date: November 1, 2012

Auction Closed

Head Dish, 1983

Mike Kelley

Head Dish, 1983

Sale Date: September 27, 2012

Auction Closed

A trip with the teacher, 1975

Mike Kelley

A trip with the teacher, 1975

Sale Date: September 11, 2012

Auction Closed

Extracurricular Activity Projective..., 2004–2005

Mike Kelley

Extracurricular Activity Projective..., 2004–2005

Sale Date: September 21, 2012

Auction Closed

More Love Than Can Ever be Repaid, 1990

Mike Kelley and Bob Flanagan

More Love Than Can Ever be Repaid, 1990

Sale Date: September 21, 2012

Auction Closed

Untitled #1; Untitled #5 (2 works), 1996

Mike Kelley

Untitled #1; Untitled #5 (2 works), 1996

Sale Date: September 21, 2012

Auction Closed

Fresh Acconci (portfolio of 15 works) (+..., 1995

Paul McCarthy and Mike Kelley

Fresh Acconci (portfolio of 15 works) (+..., 1995

Sale Date: July 16, 2012

Auction Closed

Bowling Ball, nylon case and shirt, 1991

Mike Kelley

Bowling Ball, nylon case and shirt, 1991

Sale Date: June 9, 2012

Auction Closed

Runway, 1999

Mike Kelley

Sale Date: June 2, 2012

Auction Closed

Animation 6 (Baby) (20 works), 2007

Mike Kelley

Animation 6 (Baby) (20 works), 2007

Sale Date: May 11, 2012

Auction Closed

The big day (in 2 parts), 1980

Mike Kelley

The big day (in 2 parts), 1980

Sale Date: May 10, 2012

Auction Closed

Manipulating mass-produced idealized objects, 1990

Mike Kelley

Manipulating mass-produced idealized objects, 1990

Sale Date: May 10, 2012

Auction Closed

I have decided opinions, 1983

Mike Kelley

I have decided opinions, 1983

Sale Date: May 10, 2012

Auction Closed

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