Connelly explains, "My paintings are a distillation of perception and memory, where color and light convey a world psychologically and spiritually charged. Interior space is presented as a chamber for mediation, evoking memories or daydreams of a beloved solitary place."

Influenced by the interiors of Vermeer, Bonnard, and Hopper, Connelly maintains an active studio practice in Denver, Colorado, where she is a professor of art at the University of Colorado at Denver.

During 2007, Connelly's work appeared in the group exhibition, the 11th International Open at Woman Made Gallery. The juror for the exhibition, Chicago artist Audrey Niffenegger, selected Mary Connelly's work to receive first prize. As a result of this designation, Connelly was awarded a solo show at Woman Made Gallery.

Connelly received her BFA in painting at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri in 1983 and she earned her MFA in painting in 2000 from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. Connelly's work was featured in an invitational four-person exhibition at the SFMOMA Artists Gallery in San Francisco in January 2008. -- www.womanmade.org