Kelly O'Brien
Painter · Muralist · Lives and works in Los Angeles
Deaf visual artist working in acrylic, oil, charcoal, spray paint and metal leaf. Expressive, large-scale paintings shaped by the American West, horses, landscape and human experience, across studio work, public live painting and commissions.
Exhibitions
2026
Serpent's Ritual, Ravens Gallery, Echo Park, Los Angeles (opening Oct 9)
Def/Deaf Art, group exhibition for Deaf Awareness Month, La Matadora Gallery, Joshua Tree, CA
Space Cowboy, Ravens Gallery, Echo Park, Los Angeles (from Aug 21)
Western Revival, Kelly O'Brien Atelier, Downtown Los Angeles (Aug 6)
Eastern Gallery, Eastern Columbia Building, Los Angeles (July)
Kelly O'Brien Atelier Grand Opening Exhibition, Downtown Los Angeles (May)
Braly Continental, Downtown Los Angeles (May)
Palm Royale Art Exhibition, The Atrium, Braly Continental, Downtown Los Angeles. Featured in The Signature Collection (Apr 2)2025
CONTEXT Art Miami, with Fabric Projects, Miami Beach, FL (Dec)
Blackbook Art, Beverly Hills, CA (Jun–Aug)
Murals & Live Painting
2026
Live horse mural, The Braly Gallery, DTLA Art Night. A 21-foot wall painted live in about three hours; video of the work has more than 1.5 million views
Live painting, private event, Park City, UT (Jan)
Studio
2026
Founded Kelly O'Brien Atelier, studio and exhibition space, Fashion District, Downtown Los Angeles
Commissions
Painting and mural commissions, from intimate charcoal and mixed-media works to large-scale paintings and site-specific murals. Subjects include Western life, horses, landscape, portraiture and the figure.
Selected Works
Sin Miedo (2026), Sovereign Flame, Emerald Defiance, Cobalt Reign, The Parting Stillness, High Voltage Rodeo, The Ride to Reckoning, Moonlit Camaraderie, The Cost of Silence, Shadow of Return, Mood Indigo, Divine Empathy (diptych)
Press
2025
"Check Out Kelly O'Brien's Story," Voyage LA, interview (Dec 8)
Archive Stewardship
2024–
Tree Guides, the Robert O'Brien botanical illustration archive. Stewarding and developing public access to more than 6,000 botanical illustrations by her late father, illustrator Robert O'Brien