Shannon Keller
Queen of the Night/ Double Bloom,
2020
Watercolor and Pencil on paper
22 x 30inches,
Nominated by Paula Izydorek
Statement by Shannon Keller www.shannonkellerart.com
My drawings question the very forms we inhabit; they delicately rework the makeup of our bodies by inlaying other anatomies, cross colonizing and hydridding these insides to form visual poems. I skin my studies to reveal their raw form and replace selections with flora and fauna, as well as anatomica. Using metaphor to select and craft my imagery, I recreate and redefine what is inside of us, allowing that to shine. I am guided by my curiosity of the animal kingdom and our kinship to it.
In my recent body of work, I am using watercolor and ink to map out the body and offer a fluidity to contrast my sharp detail. I have chosen red lead and watercolor because I feel deeply connected to reds, salmons and pinks as a color of life source.
Why I chose the particular artwork:
I have been fondly aware of Shannon Keller’s drawings for a long while and have two in my collection. Queen of the Night/ Double Bloom is both an evolution and a flawless continuation of her previous oeuvre. Keller's delicately use of watercolor compliments and contrasts her meticulous depiction of Queen of the Night botanical. Her signature feminine silhouettes overlaying to create multi forms and expand her visual; introducing nonrepresentational poetic narratives. Her delicate yet powerful imagery is alluring and I feel strongly that others will agree.