We All Count, Baby, 2010, 
Painted and Engraved wood with photographs and text,
36 1/4" x 22 1/4"

Maureen Kelleher's art deals in direct communication- sincere, straightforward, and at times unexpurgated. The work may present the artist's point of view, a strong reaction to a societal situation, or even a foray into philosophizing. While intensely personal and sometimes conversational, it has nothing to do, however, with the self- consciously ironic statements found in much contemporary art. Indeed, some of Kelleher's subjects are deadly serious- literally so, since many are based on historic injustices against the African-American community. They include the horrifying past practice of lynching, as well as the current lack of proper legal representation for African-American defendants in today's South.

Kelleher comes to the latter subject through her earlier and continuing profession-a private investigator, with emphasis on criminal and post-conviction capital defense work. Originally from New Orleans before relocating to New Jersey due to hurricane Katrina, Kelleher seeks information for defense lawyers for clients in prison and. sometimes on death row. in two cases, Kelleher discovered facts and new witnesses that helped to prove the innocence of individuals wrongly convicted and facing execution. Despite having no formal training in art, her personal experiences and interest in the history of the African-American experience motivated her in 2000 to start creating art to express her thoughts and reactions to this subject, among others. Thus arose works like Going to an Execution and Rock Paper Scissor: Prison Industrial Complex, based on contemporary events, and The Burial & Flight of Louro Nelson, dealing with a lynching in Oklahoma in 1911.

Balancing these subjects are works based upon individuals who represent significant achievements by African-Americans, whether cultural (the writer James Baldwin and the painter Beauford Delaney) or societal (the abolitionist Harriet Tubman). The presence of such works underscores the sense of decency and hope that Kelleher strives to maintain in her attitude, as reflected in the exhibition's title "Tender Strength All Around Me."

Although Kelleher's art frequently delves into important social issues, it is by no means restricted to such fraught fare. There are works that revel in pure imagination, revealing a quirky sense of humor. Among these is Cousin Klimt "break from the sometimes stuffy and so, so serious art world," in Kelleher's words-that constructs a wacky fable about the upbringing of the Austrian artist Gustav Klimt. Some works are thoughtful and witty meditations on one's personal trip through, and even into, life-such as Ovum Infinitum, about which Kelleher wonders "what made my egg so special that I turned into a zygote...?" Creating a near polar opposite to much of her subjects and techniques, Kelleher also has worked in the 'soft' and 'domestic' medium of quilts, even producing quilts for babies with images of smiling sock monkeys.

As befits the subjects of much of her art, Kelleher's usual chosen materials and techniques. complement the often harsh and gritty stories. Instead of canvas, Kelleher uses scrap wood as a support-discarded shipping pallets, boards, and such. Words and lines are incised directly into the wood surfaces with routers or other implements that afford a raw visual immediacy. Most of the realistic imagery is presented via photographs or other printed media that are applied to the wood, fixed with the same varnish that finishes the surfaces. Other areas are painted with words, or streaks. and squares of color. Despite the physical and emotional roughness of these works, the compositions are arranged with a controlled dynamism, sometimes through the use of grid-like patterning. Written narrative plays a vital, sometimes central role, in Kelleher's art, and may dominate the overall image. The profusion of the artist's thoughts and need to record such thoughts permanently has led her develop "note boards, small auxiliary wooden plaques filled with words that accompany many pieces. The artist has dedicated this show "to Herman Wallace, who spent 42 years in solitary confinement at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, aka 'Angola’”