Malella's photographs examine the harmony or dissonance of Our relationship to the land. He is interested in the marks we make, physically and psychologically, onto our planet and how those alterations shift geological, ecological, and sociological patterns during our tenure. Malella is not only visualizing the effects of human occupancy of Earth, but also succession of nature, despite the destruction we afflict on the landscape through our careless sense of ownership. He finds solace in nature's ability to adapt and reclaim its boundaries, but warns of the time it may take to do so; it is certainly on a geologic scale, rather than a human one. Malella is attempting to visually articulate a conversation between our world and his audience. He pays close attention to the subtle details around us that need voice in a fragile tipping point of our culture and relations to the world, be it social or environmental. These works attempt, not in vein, but with hope, to reconcile the disquiet and calmness of our current times.

According to the artist, the vast world around us is full of beauty, harmony, distinctness, dissonance, chaos, creation, destruction, and contradiction. These qualities cannot exist all at the same time in any given place, but many do. It is one of many ways our world remains diverse and can evoke emotions or states of happiness, sorrow, surprise, awe, anger, indifference, and sometimes the sublime. With Human's widespread utilization of the Earth's surface and core, the relationships between natural and unnatural components are becoming more and more complex. Human inter-species interaction has become more electronic and less personal, but also more universal, and our ability to unify across the globe is commonplace; yet one cannot help but feel a level of isolation in this techno-sociological shift. 

Kevin Malella is committed to visualizing the odd, yet entirely familiar, relationships and juxtapositions of converging elements; noting conversations that occur when people, places, the natural, and artificial meet in time.  Malella's photographs examine the harmony or dissonance of Our relationship to the land. He is interested in the marks we make, physically and psychologically, onto our planet and how those alterations shift geological, ecological, and sociological patterns during our tenure. Malella is not only visualizing the effects of human occupancy of Earth, but also succession of nature, despite the destruction we afflict on the landscape through our careless sense of ownership. He finds solace in nature's ability to adapt and reclaim its boundaries, but warns of the time it may take to do so; it is certainly on a geologic scale, rather than a human one.

Kevin Malella is a Colorado-based photographer and educator. He received his BFA in Photography at Central Washington University and MFA at Columbia College Chicago. Malella is a recipient of multiple grants, residencies, fellowships, and national awards for Photography. The JDC Fine Art Gallery, in San Diego, and Schneider Gallery Chicago, represent his work. His photography and aesthetics are diverse in nature, but always addressing socio/political and/or environmental concerns. Website: kevinmalella.com