about
Chanelle is a New York based painter whose work explores identity, self-possession, and an elusive search for joy.
Her portraits center people from her world – subjects who are fully present, at ease, claiming space to be seen in their totality. As a first-generation Ghanaian-American, Kalfas is drawn to the interior lives of those navigating multiple identities and cultural fluencies. The work refuses singular categorization; the varied depth and warmth of each figure’s skin reflects the richness and complexity within.
Through bold color, intimate scale, and expressive brushwork, her work is an exercise in affirmative attention: choosing what – and who –deserves sustained looking, and rendering those lives with fullness and care.
Kalfas lives in Harlem with her husband and young son.