Matisse's Window

Machine pieced/hand quilted, used and new fabric
61" x 45", 2020

K atherine Keefer has been a ceramic sculptor since 1973 when she began studying handbuilding with Ben Sams in Seattle, Washington.  At UC Davis, she was liberated from the parameters of functional ceramics by Robert Arneson and David Gilhooly.  In 1986, she received an MFA in Ceramics and Sculpture from Washington State University, mentored by Patrick Siler.  As her vision developed she began to include other media in her sculpture: metal, wood, and fiberglass.  As her work became progressively larger in scale, she began working the public art sector incorporating steel, earthworks, granite, and glass.  Most recently she has been exploring the smaller scale arts of photography and quilting. A telescoping in.

Statement

I like public art because it is so big you can walk around in it.  A person can move through the elements, becoming part of the whole.  I like art that is strong, art that engages more than the mind.  Space that creates space.  Art that shifts the internal self. Art that helps you see in a different way.  In the wall quilts I have worked with the same principle on a more intimate scale, drawing one into a space using dye to give a sculptural feel to otherwise flat surfaces.

Katherine Keefer

2022