Asheville in Atlanta 2008
Jon Keenan

Jon Keenan Artist Statement

I was first exposed to the art and craft of clay as a boy living in New Delhi, India. Village Sikh potters from outside the capital visited my school to demonstrate their throwing abilities using primitive hand powered wooden wheels. The technical virtuosity and creative spirit of these potters had a profound impression on my work and future path. Years later, studying ceramics and art history in Kyoto, Japan provided the technical training and the aesthetic sensibility evident in my work.

My ceramics are both functional and sculptural, echoing the interaction between nature, culture, and the experience of everyday life. I mix my own glazes and clays with natural materials, which contain the subtle hues of nature itself. My current work concentrates on anagama wood-fired natural ash glazes ceramics. I am attracted to the spontaneous and expressive qualities achieved through firing an anagama semi-subterranean wood-fired kiln. Exploring the expressive possibilities of porcelain and stoneware provides for unlimited opportunities to communicate subtle and nuanced ideas. I feel fortunate to be able to work with friends and in a place that offers natural beauty, inspiration and the space necessary to create.  

Jon Keenan Artist Resume

Education

Kyoto University of Fine Art Graduate School Kyoto, Japan
Dual Major in Art History and Ceramics
Graduate Diploma, 1983-1986

University of New Hampshire Durham, NH
East Asian Studies and Studio Art, BA, 1982 Doshisha University Kyoto, Japan

Associated Kyoto Program, Carlton College
Elliot scholarship recipient for junior year study of Japanese art, language and ceramics, 1980-1981

Professional Experience

Professor, Colby-Sawyer College, Department of Fine and Performing Arts, 1990- present, (Chair, 1997-05)

Visiting Research Professor of Art and Associate Director of the Craft Campus, University of North Carolina Asheville, 2007-2008

Visiting Professor, University of California Los Angeles, Department of Chemistry; Exotic Materials Institute, 2005-06 (sabbatical year)

Instructor, Penland School of Crafts, summer session II, 2006

Visiting Artist, Dartmouth College, fall 2004-winter 2005

Visual Artist Fellowship Review Panelist, Ohio State Arts Council, fall 2003

Visiting Artist, Currier Museum of Art, All State Arts Program Artist, 2001-2002

Visiting Artist, Federal University of Brazil, Department of Fine Art, Natal, Brazil, summer 2002

Presentations on Art and Craft, Aesthetics and Art History at: The National Gallery of Art, Renwick Gallery, Sackler-Freer Gallery of Art, and Phillips Collection, Washington DC, fall 1999

Lecturer and interpreter of Japanese language for the Young President Organization (YPO) Global Conference: "The Paradox of Japan", Osaka, Japan, fall 1999

Visiting Artist, University of Leeds - Bretton Hall, England, summer 1997

Visiting Artist, Hampshire College, Art Department, Hadley, MA. winter 1990 & spring 1997

Guest Lecturer, University of New Hampshire, Art Education Program, 1990-92

Instructor, Exeter High School, Art Department, Exeter, NH. 1988-92

Visiting Artist, Holderness School, Plymouth, NH. March 1987 and fall 1996

Teaching Assistant, Kyoto University of Fine Art Graduate School, 1984-86

Adjunct Lecturer, Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan, Taught English composition to undergraduates, Department of Economics, 1983-86

Selected Recent Exhibitions

Barro Sin Plomo, Group Exhibition, Organized by Dartmouth College and Sculpture Fest, Woodstock, Vt, summer 2008

University of North Carolina Asheville, S. Tucker Cooke Gallery, Faculty Review Art Exhibition, fall 2007

ArtSpace, Group Exhibition - Time Based Animation and Ceramics, Raleigh, NC, fall 2007

Celadon Gallery, Three-Person Show, Watermill, NY, summer 2007

Machiya, Solo Exhibition, Kyoto, Japan, summer 2007

The Studio Potter Collection Exhibition, Marian Graves Mugar Art Gallery, Colby-Sawyer College, Group Exhibition, fall 2006

The Kimball Jenkins Estate, Two-Person Show, Concord, NH, fall 2006

Penland School of Crafts Gallery, "Ethos: Craft and Social Conscience"; and Instructor Exhibition, summer 2006

Kosei-in, Solo Exhibition, Kyoto, Japan, fall 2005

Alliance for Visual Art (AVA), Two-Person Show, Lebanon, NH, fall 2005

The Fells: John Hay Estate, Two-Person Show, Newbury, NH, summer 2005

Celadon Gallery, Two-Person Show, Watermill, NY, summer 2004

Currier Museum of Art, Ceramic Artists of New England, Invitational Exhibition, summer 2004

Kosei-in, Solo Exhibition, "Recent Work in Porcelain and Clay" Kosein - a Buddhist temple and private exhibition space registered as an important Kyoto cultural treasure; summer 2004

Colby-Sawyer College, Marian Graves Mugar Art Gallery, Faculty Review Exhibitions, New London, NH, annually from 1990 - 2008

Dartmouth College, The Barrows Exhibition Rotunda, Solo Exhibition, The Hopkins Center, fall 2003

Gallery Chizu, Solo Exhibition, Kyoto, Japan, summer 2003

Kimball Union Academy, 2-Person Show, Meriden, NH, fall 2002

The Art Gallery, New Hampton School, Two-Person Exhibition, New Hampton, NH, winter 2002

Gallery Konishi, Solo Exhibition, Kyoto, Japan, summer 2001

Library Arts Center, Group Exhibition, Newport, NH, summer 2000

The River Valley Club, Two-Person Exhibition, Hanover, NH, summer 2000

Salve Regina University, Group Exhibition, Newport, RI, fall 1999

Gallery Sesshudo, Solo Exhibition, Kyoto, Japan, May 1999

New England College, Gallery of Art, "Translations", Two-Person Exhibition, Henniker, NH, fall 1998

Newport Library Arts Center, Group Exhibition, Newport, NH, summer 1998

The New Hampshire Institute of Art, "New Hampshire Wood-Fired Ceramics", Manchester, NH, summer 1997

Old York Historical Society, "Forms and Function," York Harbor, Me, summer 1997

Holderness School, Edwards Gallery of Art, Two-Person Exhibition, Holderness, NH, spring 1996

Machiya, Solo Exhibition, Kyoto, Japan, fall 1996

Peabody Essex Museum, Group Exhibition, Salem, Ma, summer 1995

Gallery Tsukasa, Solo Exhibition, Kyoto, Japan, summer 1994

Colby-Sawyer College, "The Year of American Crafts", Marian Graves Mugar Art Gallery, New London, NH, winter 1993

Ten Arrow Gallery, Group Exhibition, Cambridge, MA. Fall 1992

Manchester Institute for Arts and Sciences, Group Exhibition, Manchester, NH. November 1990

Gallery Tsukasa, Solo Exhibition, Kyoto, Japan, fall 1990

Planet Blue Gallery of Art, Solo Exhibition, Kobe, Japan, fall 1990

Harvard East Asian Program, Boston Children's Museum, Solo Exhibition, Boston, MA, spring, 1990

Brattleboro Museum and Art Center, "Japanese Crafts - New England" A two-year traveling invitational exhibition to New England Museums: Worcester Museum of Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, MA; Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI; Museum of Art, Bates College, Lewiston, Me, 1987-89

Ann Winston Gallery, Group Exhibition, New York, NY, December 1988

University of New Hampshire, Art Gallery, League of New Hampshire Craftsmen's Juried Exhibition, Durham, NH, October 1988

"Living with Crafts Exhibition," Group Exhibition, Sunapee, NH, 1988 & 1989

Currier Gallery of Art, "New Artists - The Gloria Whitcher Invitational," Manchester, NH, November 1987

League of New Hampshire Craftsmen, "Featured Artist," Exhibits at Exeter and Manchester Galleries, October and December 1987

Gallery 33, Solo Exhibition, Portsmouth, NH, July 1987

Art Space Torokugo, Solo Exhibition, Kyoto, Japan, July 1986

Tachikichi Invitational, Group Exhibition, Kyoto, Japan, April 1986

Kyoto City Museum of Art, Graduate Student Exhibition, Japan, March 1986

Gallery Beni, Solo Exhibition, Kyoto, Japan, November 1985

Seikado Gallery, Group Exhibition, Kyoto, Japan, June 1985

Takashimaya, Daimaru and Isetan Department Stores; Ceramics displayed with Tsuruya Yoshinobu confectionery, Tokyo, Japan, June 1985

Gallery Origino, Group Exhibition, Kyoto, Japan, April 1985

Gallery Katou, Three-Person Exhibition, Kyoto, Japan, December 1984

The Gallery, Solo Exhibition, Portsmouth, NH, September 1983