Kelly Kirkby is a Phoenix-based painter whose work looks at the relationships we form with other living beings. The stories we bring to them, and the ways they seem to look back. Through large-scale figurative paintings of animals and the natural world, she explores presence, instinct, and the quiet power of what is often overlooked. Her work considers how we might witness rather than possess, and what it means to meet the living world on its own terms. Kirkby is currently completing her BFA in Painting at Arizona State University to be completed in spring of 2026.