I’m Kali, a New York–based artist working primarily in oil painting and 35mm film photography. I grew up in Fairfield, Connecticut, constantly making things and exploring different mediums, from pottery and drawing to materials gathered from my backyard. I later studied Computer Science at Northwestern University, where an introductory painting course in 2023 brought me back to a creative practice and introduced me to oil painting.

My paintings are rooted in portraiture and an interest in emotional presence. I began with the human figure before turning toward animal portraiture, where I became particularly interested in the eyes and the subtle ways gaze, color, and expression can communicate individuality. My technique has evolved alongside my subjects, moving from heavier impasto and pronounced contrast toward more blended surfaces, nuanced color, and deliberate brushwork. I am now returning to the human figure and exploring how emotion can be communicated through gesture, posture, and expression.

Alongside painting, I shoot 35mm film, documenting landscapes, animals, and moments of human presence within the natural world. I’m drawn to the softness and unpredictability of film and to contrasts between intimacy and scale, movement and stillness, and the fleeting and permanent.

Across both mediums, my work begins with close observation. I’m interested in the moments, expressions, and relationships that make me stop and look, and in translating that feeling into something another person might stop and look at, too.