Vicki Chelf
Vicki Chelf was raised in Louisville, Kentucky. In her 20’s she moved to the Laurentian Mountains to a small town of artisans and hippies in the Provence of Quebec, where she lived for thirteen years. There, she wrote what she believes is the first vegetarian cookbook published in French. This provided her the means to attend the Ringling School of Art and Design, where she graduated with a degree in Fine Art. Proceeding cookbooks allowed her to pursue fine art painting. Vicki also studied classical drawing with Charlie Miano at the Southern Atelier.
She has had one person shows in Sarasota, Florida, Fairfield, Iowa, Paris, France and Val-David, Quebec. Her work has been shown in the Galerie Martine Moisine in Paris, Meridian Gallery in London, Swanson Contemporary in Louisville. She worked for The Ringling Bros. Circus as a foam carver and scenic painter, and was the assistant to bronze master Jeff Marks, who cast the work of super realist Duane Hanson.
Vicki Chelf did still lives of antique toys, selected and arranged to tell a story. Toys reflect the love and aspirations adults bestow on their children in the form of objects that are meant to entertain and amuse. As time passes, what once was cute becomes a bit creepy in a way that is easy to see but hard to explain.
Collecting, selecting and placing the toys in the still life arrangement is as important to the artwork as the execution of the painting which is done in a style of painterly realism. When the still life is complete, the background is sometimes spontaneously decorated to set the stage for the viewer. Like one-frame plays, these paintings evoke issues Vicki feel strongly about, such as animal rights, the environment or sexual politics. This is accentuated by titles, such as “Moma, Where does Bacon Come From,” “What is a Bee,” and “Little Miss Sunshine.”
Vicki is the creator of the “Bug People Project,” a series of children’s books with illustration and audio, as well as a dozen cookbooks published in both English and French. She hosted and co-hosted a radio show on WSLR in Sarasota for several years. Vicki lives in Sarasota, Florida, where she has organized art-based community fundraising events for Second Heart Homes and for Ukraine. She is represented by Paul Sykes at Art Avenue.
Women of Resistance project
In a recent visit to France, Vicki Chelf discovered a trove of beautifully illustrated vintage newspapers published by the Catholic Church dating from 1912 to 1959. To Vicki, it was like discovering a creative goldmine. Inspired by the haunting images, she wanted to use them in her art. After visiting a Resistance Museum, Vicki knew she wanted to pay homage to the women who so bravely worked to fight the evil of Hitler’s regime. The Resistance Museum was founded and run by a local woman whose mother had been a resistance fighter. This series will continue with portraits of strong and rebellious women from the era’s represented by these newspapers. There are enough papers for several years of paintings. Contemporary women heroes are to follow.
Art to Heart to Action
Inspired by art, Vicki Chelf and her team are creating a stage performance that will inspire and empower others through telling the incredible stories of the women who were the heroes of WWII through visual art, music, narration and dance.
Women of Resistance (WOR) tells the amazing, little known, stories of seven heroic women who helped the Allies defeat Fascism during WWII. Their roles were diverse, ranging from radio operators and spies to guerilla fighters and more. Some were leaders in the entertainment industry, and others, hairdressers. They came from diverse cultures and backgrounds, but they all saw the horror of Nazism and vowed to do everything in their power to stop it. These are stories that inspire and empower. They are told through music, words, dance and images in short vignettes linked together and ended with a celebratory finale.
WOR began as a series of portraits, inspired by a visit to a museum of the Resistance in a small French village. There, artist, writer and co-producer Vicki Chelf learned about the role of women in WWII and was overcome with a desire to pay homage to these brave women. The paintings became a one-person gallery show. Viewers were intrigued by the paintings but wanted to know the stories behind the images. The idea of a stage production with music, storytelling and dance came to Vicki in a meditation and she called her friend Warren Slim Williams to see if he was interested in creating the music. Slim said he was on board, and they haven’t looked back. This was in 2021. Since then, they have created a non-profit, brought on eight accomplished choreographers, workshopped our ideas and built the show from scratch, starting with performances in the art gallery.
On Friday April 4, 2025, at 7:30 pm and April 5 at 2 pm and 7:30 pm, Vicki and her team will have their first 90-minute performance at the Manatee Performing Arts Center, 502 Third Ave. West in Bradenton, FL.
Art Avenue at UTC Mall Sarasota
e-mail: Vrchelf@hotmail.com
Websites:
Women of Resistance Project:
Women of Resistance Facebook Page
The latest book:
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