Fly Over: Guest Curated by Amy Herritt-Merritt
Together, these artists articulate a vision of the American interior that is neither peripheral nor nostalgic, but intellectually engaged, materially sophisticated, and firmly situated within contemporary global discourse.
Kelly-McKenna Gallery presents FLY OVER, a group exhibition curated by Amy Herritt Merritt that foregrounds contemporary artists working across the space between America’s coastal art centers. Moving beyond mythology and “flyover” cliches, the exhibition bring together practices rooted in place yet fully engaged with a global present, presenting the interior West and Midwest as sites of invention, rigor, and lived complexity.
The participating artists are professionally represented with significant exhibition histories and institutional presence. Their work moves beyond narrow definitions of regional practice, reinterpreting Western and Midwestern visual traditions through a contemporary, globally conversant lens. Rather than enforcing a single theme, the exhibition prioritizes material intelligence and conceptual rigor across diverse practices.
Across media, the exhibition brings together a range of approaches to form, process, and meaning. Dallas-based artist Du Chau presents contemplative porcelain installations shaped by memory, repetition, and ritual, unfolding through quiet, iterative gestures. Also based in Dallas, Robert Jessup pursues pure form and painterly presence through improvisational abstraction, foregrounding the immediacy of the act of painting, while Catherine MacMahon explores liminal space and repetition through sculpture and works on paper, examining systems, codes, and the constructed language of the “feminine.”
From the Southwest, Santa Fe–based artist Jenny Day contributes mixed-media and sculptural works that trace time, decay, and nature’s regenerative cycles, blending organic materiality with layered temporal narratives. Ruth Borum-Loveland, based in Oklahoma City, works with earth pigments derived from soil color studies, translating wandering and direct engagement with landscape into restrained, elemental abstractions. Tulsa-based artist Natani Notah brings narrative and portrait-based works centered on contemporary Native American experience, articulated through an Indigenous Feminist framework that challenges historical representation and authorship.
The exhibition also includes work by Dick Wray, a seminal figure in American abstraction whose gestural, calligraphic canvases and propulsive use of color bridge regional modernisms and a broader postwar vocabulary. Together, these artists articulate a vision of the American interior that is neither peripheral nor nostalgic, but intellectually engaged, materially sophisticated, and firmly situated within contemporary global discourse.
About Our Guest Curator
Amy Herritt Merritt is a curator, advisor and founder of AHM Conceptual. Her background spans commercial galleries and nonprofit institutions, including David Zwirner and Jane Lombard Gallery in New York and ongoing work with Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center. Her vision for FLY OVER highlights the Midwest and interior West as vital contributors to national and international art discourse.
About Our Gallery Partner
Deborah Colton Gallery has long been recognized for its commitment to historical and visionary contemporary art, as well as for its role in championing Houston artists within a broader national and international context. Founded in Houston in 2000, the gallery has consistently fostered cross-cultural exchange while also investing deeply in the preservation of the city’s artistic history. Its participation in Fly Over, presented at Kelly-McKenna Gallery is a natural extension of that mission, bringing important regional voices and histories into conversation with new audiences in New Jersey. Kelly-McKenna Gallery is sincerely grateful for Deborah Colton Gallery’s partnership and generous contribution to the realization of this exhibition.
About Our Sponsors
Kelly-McKenna Gallery is grateful to acknowledge that this exhibition was made possible through the generous support of PURE Insurance and HUB International. Their support helped bring this presentation to life, and we are pleased to recognize both companies for their partnership. PURE Insurance is a specialty property and casualty insurer serving high-net-worth individuals and families, with coverage that includes fine homes, jewelry, art, and other collections. Through PURE Art Services, the company also offers collection-focused support such as valuation management, legacy planning, installation coordination, and guidance informed by specialists with backgrounds in museums, galleries, auction houses, and conservation. That deeper engagement with the needs of collectors makes PURE a natural and meaningful supporter of exhibitions like this one.
HUB International is a leading insurance brokerage and financial services firm offering business, personal, and specialty insurance solutions across North America. Its connection to the art world includes fine art insurance for private collectors as well as insurance solutions for arts and cultural organizations, including museums and performance venues. HUB specifically describes long-standing partnerships across the sector and provides coverage designed to protect collections, programming, audiences, and institutions alike.
We are deeply appreciative of PURE Insurance and HUB International for their generous support and for the ways in which their work intersects with the care, stewardship, and continued visibility of art. Their partnership has played an important role in making this exhibition possible.
Events
Opening Reception
Thursday, May 21 @ 6-7:30 PM
The opening reception for Fly Over introduces a group exhibition that reframes the American West and Midwest as sites of invention, rigor, and contemporary relevance. Guests are invited to gather at Kelly-McKenna Gallery for an evening of conversation and viewing beyond regional cliché.
