Mike Kelley (1954-2012)

Created in 1988 for Mike Kelleys exhibition Half a Man, Wood Nymph is a striking work and an example of the artists celebrated ability to probe the boundaries between abstraction, representation, and meaning. Executed in brightly coloured felt, Wood Nymph is rich with energy, colour and verve. Vibrant fuchsia and burnished gold collide in a celebration of abstract form, suggesting the image of a woodland nymph, but also remaining undefined allowing for a variety of interpretations, in much the same way as the inkblot prints associated with the Rorschach method. A bold, colourful construction, the present work typifies Kelleys renowned balance between cultural authority and childlike humour which renders his work so subversive.