(with cole brauer)
"The longing to experience the unknowable - from awe to terror - calls many to the sea."
from Kelsy Patnaude's journal
In one way or another, all of Kelsy Patnaude's work is about the sublime and gender in relation to the sea. A painter and yacht captain living in Newport RI, Patnaude explores awe, fear, and the role of women in the sailing industry in her work.
Her close friend, Cole Brauer, is the first American women to race solo nonstop around the world and the only female competitor in the 2023-24 Global Solo Challenge. When Brauer set sail at the end of October 2023, the two stayed in contact and Patnaude began painting the rigorous journey - texting at least a couple of times a week and keeping journals. The result is a 100-foot painting that tells the epic tale of a 29-year-old's 130 days at sea, while it was happening. It is accompanied by entries from Patnaude's journal of the epic voyage.
Patnaude uses the panorama, a nineteenth century form of mass media, (like Brauer's wildly popular Instagram posts) to tell a powerful story, transporting the viewers to a world - literally 'round the world - they may never otherwise experience. Together, Patnaude and Brauer integrate the feminine into this historically masculine seafaring space.
For Patnaude, it's the fear of the unknowable, for Brauer, it's conquering the unknowable, and for everyone watching it unfold in real time, it's the spectacle.
Dodie Kazanjian
ART & NEWPORT
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