Biography

Kim Keats holds a BFA from Augusta State University, pursued graduate studies in fibers at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts and received an MFA from Georgia Southern University. Keats has professional experiences as both teaching artist and arts administrator. She has been on the South Carolina Arts Commission’s Approved Artist Roster for over 20 years.  Kim’s fiber works have been exhibited in museums including the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, SC, the Museum of York County in Rock Hill, SC, the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia, and the Orlando Museum of Art in Florida. Her works were included in the traveling exhibits Palmetto Hands, Craft of the Carolinas and Material Objects. She has received merit and best of show awards in a number of juried exhibitions. Her sculptures are in the Mark B. Coplan Collection of Art at the South Carolina State Museum and the Medical University of South Carolina's Contemporary Carolina Collection at the Ashley RIver Tower. Over the years, her work has been represented by galleries in Columbia, SC, Atlanta, GA, Winston Salem, NC, Southampton, NY, Washington, DC, San Francisco, CA, and Sante Fe, NM.

Artist Statement

The objects that I make are intended to honor or memorialize the origin of the materials from which they are made. I primarily use bark from trees, a vital and noble material that houses the wood and provides sustenance along with protection from life’s destructive elements. Over time the tree has become an icon in my personal vocabulary of imagery. My forms often follow the plight of trees and are architectonic, totemic or vessel-like. Harvesting bark is a considerable part of the overall process and is seasonable and laborious. I prefer to salvage trees not savage them and look for ones that have fallen as a result of natural disaster or slated for removal. I rely on the use of basketry interlacing techniques to construct my forms. The bark is manipulated while wet and then sewn or woven together with waxed linen thread or palmetto root. The surfaces are refined through sanding and finished with oil or stain. I utilize additive techniques to incorporate found natural elements such as twigs and bones that provide contrast. Objects are also constructed and added to create areas of emphasis, which support the visual concepts. My work reflects the influences of a number of indigenous cultures that have a tradition of using bark as a dominant medium and the tree symbol as an important icon and metaphor for life. Sharing in this celebration of material and imagery has made me feel as though I am part of a universal heritage.