John Kelly was born in Bristol in 1965, but his family emigrated to Australia the same year, and he grew up in Sunshine, a suburb of west Melbourne, one of seven children.

He obtained a BA (Visual Arts:Painting) at RMIT University, Melbourne in 1985 where he also completed an MA in 1995. As winner of the Anne & Gordon Samstag International Visual Arts Scholarship that year, he travelled to London, and studied as an Affiliate Student at the Slade from 1996 – 1997.

His first solo exhibition in Australia was at the Niagara Galleries, Melbourne in 1988 and in the UK at Piccadilly Gallery, London in 1995. He has participated in group exhibitions worldwide including ‘Les Champs de la Sculpture’ Champs-Elysees, Paris 1999, ‘Parade des Animaux’ Monaco 2002, ‘Guangzhou Triennial’ China 2008, and the ‘Goteburg International Biennial, Sweden 2011.

His work is held in numerous museums, including the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the National Gallery of Art in Canberra.

John currently lives and works in West Cork, Ireland with his wife and son.