Kelli Connell

Carnival  by Kelli Connell

Philadelphia Photo Arts Center
1400 N American Street
Philadelphia, Pa.

Artist Lecture & Book Signing: Kelli Connell
Saturday, September 17th, 2011

Lecture: 6:00 – 7:00pm
Book Signing: 7:00 – 7:30pm


The Philadelphia Photo Arts Center is pleased to host a free lecture and book signing by photographer Kelli Connell. Connell is known for her well-crafted portraits that on first glance appear to be familiar scenes of two women caught up in tender, playful everyday moments. Upon further viewing it becomes apparent that these women are identical, and so perhaps sisters, who are engaged at times in such intimate positions as to create a sense of unease. Connell has actually been photographing one female model and then stitching together scenes which never actually occurred, where the model is twinned and interacting with her mirror image. Connell’s work moves beyond flawless Photoshop dexterity, though, and into a place of introspection about relationships, identity and “the multiple sides of the self in the overall human experience”.


Kelli Connell received an MFA from Texas Woman’s University in 2003. Her body of work Double Life has been included in numerous national solo and group exhibitions. Connell’s work is included in the collections of Microsoft, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Columbus Museum of Art, the Dallas Museum of Art, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Recent publications featuring her work include Auto Focus: the Self-Portrait in Contemporary Photography, Photo Art: The New World of Photography, and Vitamin PH: New Perspectives in Photography. Connell teaches at Columbia College Chicago.


Connell’s brand new monograph Double Life will be available for purchase at the Philadelphia Photo Arts Center.


This event is part of the Philadelphia Photo Arts Center free lecture series by visiting contemporary artists. Lectures are open to the public and serve the educational purpose of cultivating an active dialogue about photography.