Kelly Moody is a native of South Dakota, a self-taught artist who has developed his uniquely personal style throughout a life of varied travel and residence in America, Europe, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Over the past two decades his work has evolved, formally and thematically, within the context of two principal ideas; the beauty and mystery of nature and nature as a metaphor for the human condition. His evocative use of color, subtle utilization of tone, spare elementally ordered design and suggestive articulation of form heightens the viewer's awareness and appreciation of nature, and of man's curious kinship with and estrangement from it. As Jacqueline Hall, principal art critic for the Columbus Dispatch, wrote in a review: "One of the delights of Moody's landscapes is their still, silent quality conducive to contemplation, which pulls the spectator far beyond the limits of nature." Although his technique and style are very personal, his work reveals the influence of a variety of romantic and surrealist artists including Ralph Blakelock, George Inness, René Magritte, Albert Pinkham Ryder, and Maxfield Parrish.