Keira Kotler
KEIRA KOTLER/ARTIST
Keira Kotler is a visual artist whose work explores luminosity and the resonance
of color through reductive paintings, photoworks, videos, and monoprints. Keira's
work has been exhibited at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Di Rosa
Preserve, Berkeley Art Center, and the Palm Desert Museum. Her work is represented
by galleries across the United States and collected internationally. She received a BA
from Barnard College, Columbia University and a MFA in Painting from the San
Francisco Art Institute. She lives and works in the Bay Area.
ARTIST STATEMENT
If water derives lucidity from stillness, how much more the faculties of the mind.
The mind of the sage, being in repose, becomes the mirror of the universe, the
speculum of all creation. -Chuang Tzu
I am interested in visual and sensory perception and the possibilities that occur when one attends to the present moment. Using luminosity and the resonance of color, I create reductive objects and wall-based installations that engage the view though the subtle value shifts, chromatic complexity, and compositional movement.
While I work in a range of media, the common thread connecting them is light. Combining translucent materials, layering techniques, and color science, I create reductive fields that amplify form, light and geometry; spaces in which it is possible to see and penetrate. The results are experiential surfaces that shift with changing perspectives, lighting conditions, and architectural elements.
The work stems from a long-standing interest in the phenomena of light and color, as approached through through Buddhist philosophy and meditation. Color has the power to evoke internal sensations through perception, vibration, and cultural associations. Quieting the mind encourages these experiences to come forth. Much like standing before a vast ocean or flowing river, where water offers a sense of perspective, expansiveness and serenity; so too these pieces serve as spaces for reflection. They do not assert a point of view; rather they are invitations to explore one's internal, perceptive experience.
BIOGRAPHY
Born in Boston, MA
Lives and works in the Bay Area
EDUCATION
Public Art Academy, San Francisco 2010
San Francisco Art Institute, MFA, 2006
UC Berkeley, Interior Architecture, 2003
Barnard College, Columbia University, BA Honors, 1993
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2015 Luminous, Gallery NAGA, Boston, MA
2014 I Look for Light, Brian Gross Fine Art, San Francisco, CA
2013 Less, Davis and Cline Gallery, Ashland, OR
2012 I Look for Light, Lora Schlesinger Gallery, Santa Monica, CA Water,
UCSF Women’s Health Center, San Francisco, CA
I Look for Light, Gallery NAGA, Boston, MA
2010 Stillness, Chandra Cerrito Contemporary, Oakland, CA Keira Kotler, SFMOMA Artists Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2009 Lumina, Gallery NAGA, Boston, MA [in]sight, The Untitled Gallery, Sausalito, CA
2007 Keira Kotler, Chandra Cerrito Contemporary, Oakland, CA
2006 Luminas: Recent Photoworks, Brian Gross Fine Art, San Francisco, CA
The Language of Color, Donna Seager Gallery, San Rafael, CA
2005 Photoworks, Root Division, San Francisco, CA
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2016 SITE Unseen 9, SITE Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM
2015 Metaphysical Abstraction, Morris Graves Museum, Eureka, CA
The Physicality of Color, Museum of Art, UNH, Durham, NH
2014 Metaphysical Abstraction, Yuma Art Center, Yuma, AZ
Summer Exhibition, Lora Schlesinger Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2012 Small Paintings, Lora Schlesinger Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
SITE Unseen 7, SITE Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM
2011 Art Mere/Art Pere, LiveStrong Benefit, Los Angeles, CA
Lightspace, Chandra Cerrito Contemporary, Oakland, CA
Abstraction, Lora Schlesinger Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2010 Julian Dashper: It Is Life, Minus Space, Brooklyn, NY
Art Santa Fe, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
Unlocked: Art of Elysium Private Collection, Art of Elysium, Los Angeles, CA
SITE Unseen 6, James Kelly Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM
2009 Altered States, Di Rosa Preserve, Napa, CA
Metaphysical Abstraction, Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, CA
2008 Phenomena of Essence, Chandra Cerrito Contemporary, Oakland, CA
All Colors in Mind, Rosenbaum Contemporary, Boca Raton, FL
A Flavor of POP, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
SITE Unseen 5, James Kelly Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM
2007 Moon Proof Madness, Di Rosa Preserve, Napa, CA
Chroma, Gensler San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Still, Contemporary Quarterly Project Space, Systems + Transmutations, Root Division, San Francisco, CA
Purple Rain, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2006 Cream, From the Top, Arts Benicia Center Gallery, Benicia, CA
San Francisco Art Institute MFA Exhibition, Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA
SITE Unseen 4, James Kelly Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM
MOMENTUM, Southern Exposure, San Francisco, CA
2005 EMERGE! 2005, Gen Art, San Francisco, CA
San Francisco Biennial Exhibition, Herbst Exhibition Hall, San Francisco, CA
Considering Orange, Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2004 Considering Red, Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Art Chicago, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2003 Explorations, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
Inaugural Exhibition, Lendrum Fine Art, Los Angeles, CA
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Keira Kotler: “I Look for Light,” Barbara Morris, art ltd., January/February 2015
I Look for Light at Brian Gross Fine Art, Jonothan Curiel, SF Weekly, December 9, 2014
I Look for Light, Peter Frank, Fabrik Magazine, Issue 19, January 2013
Keira Kotler: Editor’s Pick, Cate McQuaid, The Boston Globe, March 15, 2012
Lightspace, Mary Anne Kluth, Art Practical, September 2011
‘Lightspace’ A Nod to Southern California, Kenneth Baker, San Francisco Chronicle, September 3, 2011
Lightspace, DeWitt Cheng, East Bay Express, September 8, 2011
Nothing to Declare at Cerrito, Kenneth Baker, San Francisco Chronicle, June 25, 2010
Preview: Keira Kotler Stillness, San Francisco Bay Guardian, June 01, 2010
Lyrical Representation of Sacred, Peter Selz, Berkeley Daily Planet, October 29, 2009
Confrontations with Becoming, essay, Daniel Coffeen, November 2009
Altered States, Sasha Paulsen, Napa Valley Register, October 28, 2009
Immanent Domain, DeWitt Cheng, East Bay Express, October 28, 2009
Fluent in Confluences, Cate McQuaid, The Boston Globe, September 23, 2009
First Friday 2008: A Year in Review, Piedmont Post, January 7, 2009
Leading Artists Raise Funds for CCBF, Yahoo Finance, September 8, 2008
Keira Kotler + Jenn Shifflet, Jakki Spicer, Artweek, February 2008
Keira Kotler + Jenn Shifflet, Critic’s Choice, East Bay Express, Nov. 14, 2007
‘Still Standing,’ Gay Dawson, The Bohemian, April 2007
‘Cream’ at Arts Benicia, Cherie Louise Turner, Artweek, October 2006
Simplest Art - Color Solo, Where Magazine, May 2006
New View: World through Different Eyes, San Francisco Chronicle, April 20, 2006
2005 Art in Review, Kenneth Baker, San Francisco Chronicle, December 2005
Surprises at ‘Emerge,’ Kenneth Baker, San Francisco Chronicle, November 2005
Explorations at Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, THE Magazine, April 2003
BOOKS + CATALOGUES
Westin Verasa Art Collection, Napa, CA, November 2008
Moon Proof Madness, Di Rosa Preserve, Napa, CA, November 2007
STILL, Chandra Cerrito Contemporary, Oakland, CA, October 2007
San Francisco Art Institute Master of Fine Arts catalog, San Francisco, CA, May 2006
Gen Art EMERGE, San Francisco, CA, November 2005
PUBLIC + PRIVATE COLLECTIONS
Art 1307 – Cultural Association, Naples, Italy
San Francisco Marriot, San Francisco, CA
San Diego Marriot, San Diego, CA
Cooly Manion Jones Kurowski, LLP, San Francisco, CA Chicago Park Hyatt, Chicago, IL
The Art of Elysium, Los Angeles, CA
Westin Hotels & Residences, Napa, CA
GWK, Inc., Boston, MA
Marshfield Associates, San Francisco, CA
Squawk Box Studio, Los Angeles, CA
Jensen Architects, San Francisco, CA
Weil Gotshal + Manges LLC, Redwood Shores, CA College of Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM
Yogaworks Studios, San Francisco, CA
Yogaworks Studios, Mill Valley, CA
AWARDS/HONORS
2013 Annual Guest Artist, Davis and Cline Gallery, Ashland, OR
2011 Curate NYC selected artist
2010 Eureka Fellowship nominee
2010 SECA Award nominee
2008-present, Affiliate Artist, Minus Space, Brooklyn, NY
2008-2010 Member, Board of Directors, Root Division, San Francisco, CA
2006-2012 Advisory Board, Root Division, San Francisco, CA
2005-present Cancer Resource Center, UCSF, San Francisco, CA
2004-2005 San Francisco Art Institute Curatorial Award, San Francisco, CA
1999 SITE Santa Fe Sponsored Artist, Monothon 13, Santa Fe, NM
1994 Maine Photographic Workshops, Artist Residency, Rockport, ME
