Layers of Her: Portraits by Mari Keeler Cornwell

On view at The Living Room at Full Circle

The Living Room at Full Circle is proud to present Layers of Her, a solo exhibition by New Paltz-based artist Mari Keeler Cornwell. Through vivid color, expressive texture, and intricate pattern, Cornwell’s portraiture honors the complexity of female identity, strength, and cultural memory.

Raised in Caracas, Venezuela and now rooted in the Hudson Valley, Mari draws inspiration from the women who shaped her—particularly her grandmother, Venezuela’s first female pilot, and her aunt, a visual artist. Her work reflects this lineage of resilience and creativity, layering traditional figuration with bold, contemporary design.

In Layers of Her, figures often appear to merge with richly patterned backgrounds, evoking how identity is shaped by family, place, and the shifting environments we navigate. Each piece is a meditation on movement, memory, and the courage it takes to be seen fully.

We invite you to experience this powerful collection of portraits that speak to heritage, womanhood, and the beauty of becoming.

Where: The Living Room at Full Circle @297 Bruynswick Rd. Gardiner, NY 12525

When: Saturday, July 19th; 5-8pm

Mari Keeler Cornwell is a Venezuelan-born artist whose creative practice is shaped by a lifelong immersion in art, storytelling, and cultural memory. Raised in Caracas and later Princeton, NJ, she brings together influences from her Latin American heritage, formal training in fine arts, and professional experience in design and advertising.

After earning a BFA in Painting and Drawing with a minor in Graphic Design, Mari spent years exhibiting work in New York City while building a parallel career in the visual communications world. Now living in New Paltz, NY, she weaves her roles as artist, educator, and mother into a multidisciplinary practice that examines identity through the lens of portraiture.

Her paintings are known for their expressive use of color, richly layered patterns, and the interplay between subject and background. Drawing on personal and collective histories, Mari explores how cultural narratives, memory, and lived experience shape—and sometimes blur—the boundaries of the self.