Endless Ascent
Kelly Olshan

Endless Ascent responds to the idealism and anxiety of infinite striving, grappling with a relentless fixation on a better elsewhere. Insurmountable staircases and overlapping portals defy spatial logic: rendered impossible to navigate, they provide false pathways to an unattainable world. 

The structures in these six new, large-scale paintings reference crystalline rocks, broken glass, and interconnected puzzle pieces. Bold, gestural marks hover amidst tumultuous skies; winding, calligraphy-like lines weave and emerge as if swimming underwater. 

Built up through soft, airbrushed gradients and thin washes of oil paint, the color palette is reminiscent of skyscapes, waterscapes, and distant horizons. Because of the way light scatters, faraway landscapes appear shrouded in a blue haze. Yet, once you close the gap between the near and the far—the present and the idealized— the color dissipates. Blue thus becomes the hue of an unreachable goal, leading us towards a place that will never arrive. 

About the Artist

Kelly Olshan is a Brooklyn-based visual artist and arts manager. Her 3D paintings, installations, and public art works invite the viewer to navigate towards an imagined landscape, and have been exhibited nationally. Solo exhibitions include the Garment District Alliance’s Space for Public Art (NY, NY), Earlville Opera House (Earlville, NY), and Ground Floor Contemporary (Birmingham, AL). Her work has been included in group exhibitions in NYC at Longwood Art Gallery @ Hostos, Artist Equity Gallery, and The Yard, among others. She is currently preparing for her first solo museum show at the Long Island Children’s Museum–forthcoming in January 2026.

She has been an artist in residence with Chashama (ChaNorth), and named an Emerging Leader by New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA). As a reviewer, she serves as a frequent panelist for NYC Percent for Art Program and on the NYC DOT Public Art Advisory Committee. She has given artist talks and guest lectures at School of Visual Arts (SVA), Rhode Island School of Art and Design (RISD), Residency Unlimited, Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center, and Columbia University, among others. She currently serves as a Program Officer, Career Advice and Training at NYFA, where she manages professional development programs for artists globally.

She graduated Valedictorian from UNC Asheville with a BFA in painting, where her work is part of the University’s permanent collection, and holds an MA in Arts Administration from Columbia University.

For more information on Kelly visit their website and follow them on Instagram.