Amy Kim Keeler: Five Skies

5 - 31 August 2021
  • Amy Kim Keeler

  • I remember as a child hearing tales of wanderers in the desert, lost and near death, spotting a sparkling oasis in the distance, their prayers answered after desperately trudging through vast nothingness knowing their end was near only to find it was just more sand. A hopeless illusion.

  • Amy Kim Keeler
    The Beginning of Winter, 2020
    Cotton thread on corrugated cardboard
    8 x 10 in
    20.3 x 25.4 cm
  • Despite the advent of the Internet, with endless information so easily accessible, this seems to be the idea most people...
    Amy Kim Keeler
    The Nature of Friendship, 2021
    Cotton thread on corrugated cardboard
    8 1/4 x 9 1/2 in
    21 x 24.1 cm

    Despite the advent of the Internet, with endless information so easily accessible, this seems to be the idea most people still carry of the place I now call home, the Mojave Desert, as it largely remains one big illusion. On the surface, it does appear that there’s nothing out here but sand and oppressive heat, deeming the place utterly uninhabitable by pretty much anything. Yet, following my move here, I was immediately met with striking evidence of the exact opposite being true.

    • Amy Kim Keeler, Five Skies, 2021
      Amy Kim Keeler, Five Skies, 2021
    • Jc7
  • Amy Kim Keeler, Animal Voices, 2020

    Amy Kim Keeler

    Animal Voices, 2020
    Cotton thread on corrugated cardboard
    7 x 10 in
    17.8 x 25.4 cm
    • Jc1
    • Amy Kim Keeler, Sunsets with Les, 2021
      Amy Kim Keeler, Sunsets with Les, 2021
  • Amy Kim Keeler, A Thursday in May, 2021

    Amy Kim Keeler

    A Thursday in May, 2021
    Cotton thread on corrugated cardboard
    8 1/2 x 9 3/4 in
    21.6 x 24.8 cm
  • Never have I lived in a place so close to nature, with what feels like boundless animal and plant life that has found a way to thrive amid the harshest conditions with such grace and beauty. The harmony it has all been able to achieve is astounding upon taking a step back and observing it for a bit, which is exactly what I’ve been able to do. A true ecosystem, flourishing in breathtaking ways for anyone willing to give it an honest look.  

     

    My work and perspective have been charged and infused with new energy, a tremendous gift from a place that is incredibly generous if one is willing to accept everything else that comes along with it. The physical and commercial luxury of my previous life has been exchanged for the luxury of time and space to examine an utterly different way of life – a life removed from modern motion, noise, and artificial light. Diving deeper into stillness, color explorations, light studies, distance gradients, and wildlife tracks and patterns have consumed my life and work most recently.

    • Amy Kim Keeler, Never Say Never, 2020
      Amy Kim Keeler, Never Say Never, 2020
    • Amy Kim Keeler, The Portrait, 2020
      Amy Kim Keeler, The Portrait, 2020
    • Amy Kim Keeler, Imaginary Love, 2020
      Amy Kim Keeler, Imaginary Love, 2020
    • Amy Kim Keeler, Everything is Connected, 2019
      Amy Kim Keeler, Everything is Connected, 2019
    • Amy Kim Keeler, Newly Night, 2020
      Amy Kim Keeler, Newly Night, 2020
  • Amy Kim Keeler, Somewhere in the Middle, 2019

    Amy Kim Keeler

    Somewhere in the Middle, 2019
    Cotton thread on corrugated cardboard
    15 x 18 1/2 in
    38.1 x 47 cm
  • Having just scratched the surface, my hope is that this is only the beginning of a life-long relationship with the...

    Having just scratched the surface, my hope is that this is only the beginning of a life-long relationship with the wonderful and mysterious California desert and seeing the ways in which it chooses to guide my work.

  • Artist portraits by Jay Carroll