We Rocked the Boat with Kelly Breez
On April 12, Commissioner chartered a boat to sail into the sunset with artist Kelly Breez and it was magical. The evening started with Tito’s Handmade Vodka cocktails on Biscayne Bay, followed by a group photo, postcard writing, and the big reveal of the artist’s piece commissioned by and for Commissioner Collectors. Plus, Kelly’s Boat Jams right here.
Though her playful personality kept the vibes light, the thought that Kelly put into her art, titled The eggs are a symbol, and the simple act of writing postcards together, really hit it home.
About the Art, Titled The eggs are a symbol
The following is an artist statement prepared and read by Kelly Breez. We wish we had a recording of it, it was epic. It’s been only very slightly edited for clarity.
I decided to write this down and go full golden globes on it because I know I would forget 95 % of it if I didn’t. So there.
The title of the piece I made for all of you is: The eggs are a symbol. Which they are, for many reasons, especially the frying pan.
I have been thinking a lot about symbols in every day life and how they apply to me and the art that I make.
The eggs in the frying pan are a symbol for working class type stuff. It feels personal to me.
It’s from a place where I came from, where I worked for a long time in my teens and 20s.
A lot of nightmare breakfast spots, people yelling at me about bagels and how they want their eggs cooked at 7 am on a Saturday, and them mostly not giving a shit who I was or what I was really about. Someone would turn around at the counter to leave and I would bust out a little note pad and continue doodling and writing down ideas. For years, I was thinking about things like what we’re doing right now and trying to manifest.
THIS may seem a little off topic but I promise its not: I am totally enamoured with orange construction cones.
Not only do most of them boast a really great color palette, but they stand for so much more than - “use caution while driving and please do not run me over.”
It stands for people putting in WORK. For industrial stuff and ingenuity and people that clock in and out every day and back braces and sweating and handling it. It reminds me of driving around with my Dad going to his different construction sites after school to check in on the progress.
These are objects that you may not ever think twice about but I implore you to take a stronger gander the next time you see some laying around. Think about the people handling these things: a construction worker and their cones and tool; a short order cook who is an expert pancake maker and his skillet.
These symbols and objects are at the core of the work force culture that’s so braided into life in South Florida, a huge inspiration to me and what I make.
[As it relates to the artwork pictured above]. The placement of the eggs in skillet on the wood material is indicative of something on a wall in an old school diner on an off-road. Kind of like a lineup of plaques in a bowling alley, showing off its local champions.
[What I envision is] the whole building is this old aesthetic and time capsule that no one touched for years. That’s more than likely been full of salt-of-the-earth type people the whole time. My kind of spot.
Bringing this back to Commissioner, this all fits in with collecting things and being a collector because the piece reminds me of an antique. Something you’d look up from your plate and see hanging at an unscathed diner.
It will be amongst many things that you will all collect, objects and art, for a very long time because you’re here and that shows an innate interest. Which is half of the battle.
Just don’t tip into hoarding territory. You don’t want to see the section of my studio with all of the cardboard, that I JUST KNOW IS GOING TO COME IN HANDY SOMETIME SOON.
So, to bring my whole Don Draper egg speech to an end: A skillet is something that collects history. It doesn’t get washed with soap. It inherits years of grease to make it more substantial and seasoned. Which is kind of the perfect metaphor for all of you and what we’re all doing here today.
PLUS - it is pleasant to eat eggs. No one is ever mad while they’re eating an omelet. There are so many things at play in this piece: history, love and appreciation, collecting, and working hard for the things that you want.
And if you’re vegan don’t take it personally: eggs are a symbol of life and dietary restrictions don’t apply to art. And sometimes, in moments of sheer hunger, exhaustion and desperation you eat them hard boiled while you’re driving.
About the Postcard
There are many ways to celebrate things in this life that don’t get enough attention and are under appreciated, which I aim to slowly chip away at. This is why I came armed with a bunch of postcards that I made.
These are the types of things that you may not think about on a day to day basis. Little things that you can depend on for niceties. When you get a postcard in the mail, unless you are literally a shitty person, you feel a kind of joy knowing that someone was thinking of you far away and wanted to let you know.
Those are things that I think need more highlighting nowadays. So I hope whoever gets your postcard looks at it every day and it reminds them to spread some good vibes and open their eyes to little things like slightly sarcastic postcards sent with good intentions.
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Relive the night with a look back through images captured by the incredible Andrea Lorena, aka FuijiFilm Girl.
