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KASEY KEELER
ARTIST STATEMENT
The images I make, inspired by the landscape of my family's ranch in central Wyoming, are not simply accurate records of a specific geographic location. The act of painting with wax-a slow, methodical, contemplative process-also encourages me to uncover and interpret the qualities that I believe are the true bones of a place: Stories. Traditions. Ideas. Connections. Such varied influences often accumulate to create a tangled mess of information that at first is hard for me to decipher. It is harder still to decide what kind of imagery might be the most concise way to represent all of the subtle complexities of a place. Working in the studio allows the ideas to mix, sort, condense, and eventually to distill into something pure. Consequently, the end results of this process of looking, thinking and painting are often quite minimal and abstract.
Years ago I read a short article on the painter Agnes Martin that described her typical day and made a beautiful analogy between the quiet thoughtfulness of her paintings and the near monastic-like quality of her life and studio practice. Early to rise, several hours in the studio, a short walk to eat lunch at her favorite small diner (always the same order and always with a glass of water), back to the studio to sit and look and think about the work she had done that morning, early to bed. Similarly, I think, read, walk and look out the window as much as I paint. These activities are the tools I use to both decide what to make and how to understand it once it has been finished.
SELECT PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2009 Guest Artist Lecturer, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID
2009 Guest Artist Lecturer, Spokane Falls Community College, Spokane, WA
2008 Assistant, Saranac Art Projects, Spokane, WA
2007-2008 Guest Artist Lecturer, Whitworth University, Spokane, WA
2006-2010 Independent Preparator, Spokane, WA
2005 Guest Artist Lecturer, University of Wyoming at Casper College, Casper, WY
2005 Guest Artist, Grand Valley State University, Grand Rapids, MI
2004-2006 Registrar/Preparator, Nicolaysen Art Museum, Casper, WY
2004-2005 Drawing and Painting Instructor, Sheridan College Outreach Center, Buffalo, WY
2003 Substitute Teacher, Montana State University-Billings, Billings, MT
2002 Research Paper Presenter, Montana State University-Billings, Billings MT
2002 Teacher's Assistant, Montana State University-Billings, Billings, MT
1999-2004 Assistant Preparator, Yellowstone Art Museum, Billings, MT
1999 Art Teacher, Woods Elementary School, Powell, WY
1998-1999 Gallery Assistant, Northwest College, Powell, WY
1997 Art Teacher's Assistant, Gertrude Burns Elementary School, Newcastle, WY
1995-Present Farm and Ranch Hand, Meike Ranch, Kaycee, WY
EDUCATION
M. F. A. 2006 Drawing & Painting
Art Institute of Boston, Boston, MA
B. A. 2002 Studio Art (Extended) in Drawing, Painting & Art History Montana State University-Billings, Billings, MT
2000 Studio Art
College of Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM
A.A. 1999 Studio Art
Northwest College, Powell, WY
EXHIBITION RECORD (*DENOTES SOLO SHOW)
2010 Eye Heart Paint, Lewis-Clark State College, Lewiston, ID.
2010 Invitational Exhibit & Benefit Art Auction, University of Idaho Prichard Art Gallery, Moscow, ID
2009 Up On The Wall, 6 Painters From The West, University of Idaho Prichard Art Gallery, Moscow, ID
2009 *Bones Hunger Home, Spokane Falls Community College, Spokane, WA
2008 War on Want, Spokane Falls Community College, Spokane, WA
2008 Areas of Expertise, Visions West Gallery, Livingston, MT
2008 We Are One: MAM'S 36th Annual Benefit Art Auction, Missoula Art Museum, Missoula, MT. Invitational.
2008 40th Annual Art Auction, Yellowstone Art Museum, Billings, MT. Invitational.
2007 Big Names Small Works, Toucan Gallery, Billings, MT. Invitational.
2007 39th Annual Art Auction, Yellowstone Art Museum, Billings, MT. Invitational (catalogue).
2006 M.F.A. Thesis Exhibition, Art Institute of Boston, Boston, MA. Student curated (catalogue).
2006 Anything Goes, Toucan Gallery, Billings, MT. Invitational.
2006 Old Friends/New Work, Society of Arts & Crafts, Boston, MA. Invitational.
2004 Wyoming Governor's Capital Art Exhibition, Wyoming State Museum, Cheyenne, WY. Invitational. Juror: Gerry Riggs.
2004 25th Annual Southeast Montana Juried Exhibit, Custer County Art and Heritage Center, Miles City, MT. Invitational. Juror: John Giarrizzo.
2003 North Dakota Museum of Art Annual Auction, Grand Forks, ND. Invitational (catalogue).
2003 Art of the New West, Dahl Art Center, Rapid City, SD. Invitational. Juror: Theodore Waddell.
2002 ANA 31, Holter Museum of Art, Helena, MT. Invitational. Juror: Gerald Peters.
2002 Montana State University-Billings Art Student's League Annual Auction, Billings, MT.
2002 *5 Shares, St. Vincent's Women's Center Gallery, Billings, MT. B.A. Senior Exhibition.
2001 Small Works Auction, Yellowstone Art Museum, Billings, MT. Invitational.
2001 The Little Picture Show, Custer County Art Center, Miles City, MT. Invitational. Juror: Jane Deschner.
2000 Women's Work, College of Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM. Student curated.
2000 A Healing Environment, Deaconess Hospital Anderson Gallery, Billings, MT. Invitational.
1999 US, Northwest College Student Gallery, Powell, WY. Student curated.
1999 4x4, Northwest College Gallery, Powell, WY
SELECTED PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES AND HONORS
2006 Joan Mitchell Foundation M.F.A. Grant Candidate, New York City, NY
2005 Cover painting provided for The Cartographer's Melancholy, poems by David Axelrod. Winner of the 2004 Spokane Prize for Poetry.
2004-2006 Member, Wyoming Arts Council
2003 Honorable Mention, Art of the New West Exhibition, Rapid City, SD
2002 Holter Museum of Art & Helena National Forest Resident Artist, Helena, MT
2001 Special Project Research Grant Recipient, Montana State University-Billings, MT.
2001 Honorable Mention, Montana State University-Billings Student Exhibition, Billings, MT
1999 Trustee's Purchase Award, Northwest College, Powell, WY
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