Kelsey Klibansky earned her Masters of Arts in Teaching Visual Art with summa cum laude distinction from Salem State University in 2019. She graduated from Northeastern University in 2013 with magna cum laude distinction where she completed a pre-law program focused on social movements in response to systems of oppression through the pursuit of her Bachelor of Science degree in Cultural Anthropology and Law/Public Policy. Prior to that, she was awarded the coveted ‘Studio Art Award’ given to one student upon graduation from the Pingree School in 2008.

More notable than her formal education and training as it appears on paper, however, is her personal background. Kelsey survived a near death experience following a violent ejection from the passenger seat of a vehicle barrel-rolling at 85mph down a backroad in rural Maine in 2010. (Go ahead and Google her name if you’re curious!) Defying odds in record time at every turn of her recovery process, she overcame paralysis shortly after she awoke from a 3-day sedative coma and deeply healed from many significant bodily injuries including those that compromised both of her hands. Her first thought when she awoke from a coma to observe her own unresponsive body wrapped in bandages was, “I’m an artist. What am I going to do?” She dedicated her life to answering this question; her will to create and translate her unique perspective through her hands is what drove her healing and continues to fulfill her in practice to this day.

She worked as an international freelance commissioned artist, independent contractor, and designer for years under the name “Max” before expanding her career to include teaching high school visual art (hence the name “Kelsey Max.”) Her growing collection of work is born from the philosophy that engaging in the creative process in any medium is an expression of pure gratitude for life. With a history that reflects a lifelong love for humanity and adventure in the natural world that we share, Klibansky currently works from her home art studio and teaches high school visual art on the northeast coast of Massachusetts. Her work can be found in private collections in Ireland, Scotland, Guatemala, the Netherlands, Germany, Estonia, Colombia, Peru, Nicaragua, Canada, and throughout the United States of America.