Blake Kessel
PO Box 495, Forest Park, IL 60130
blake@blakekessel.com
I'm
a process person - the doing is as important as the outcome. Doing art
is very focusing, like meditation. Sometimes the focus is calming, other
times it is stimulating; either way it is an exciting experience, always
intensely personal, and usually just a lot of fun. Being challenged in
the expression of an idea forces me to seek alternatives and thereby grow
in unexpected ways. Being an artist means being a problem solver, ever
learning, ever evolving. All media is fair game: whatever's at hand, whatever
I'm in the mood for, whatever suits the piece. I like to listen to the
chanting of Tibetan monks while I work.
Between being raised in a feminist household and studying political theory the University of Maryland, my life and therefore my art are informed by a political sensibility. This sensibility is expressed sometimes as anger, sometimes as compassion, and often as humor. I frequently incorporate language into my pieces.
My art education consisted of growing up with artist and poet parents and only recently a couple of painting classes at community colleges. Although I grew up in the woods of northern California, I've lived in the Chicago area since 1999 and think it's an extraordinary place to be a creative person.
Group Shows:
The Art House, Oak Park, IL - "Best Alternative Exhibition Space," Chicago Artists' Coalition
Censored - or Would Be, January 2006
The Visual Word, December 2005
Exquisite Corpse, October 2005
What the Heck Is That, September 2005
Prisons of Your Own Device, July 2005
Landscapes & Mindscapes, June 2005
Fine Wine, Fine Art, Fine Friends, March 2005
Man, a Well Hung Show, January 2005
Accessories, December 2004
Day of the Dead, October 2004
Politically Incorrect, September 2004
Bikers, Babes, & Brushes, August 2004
Fantasy of Dreams, June 2004
Big Fat Wiccan Wedding, May 2004
Death and Taxes, March 2004
Love, Chocolate, & Stilettos, February 2004
In Spirit, Dec 2003
High Risk Gallery, Chicago, IL
My Favorite Things, December 2005
The Pursuit of Art, October 2005
In the Mood, April 2005
Abstraction III, February 2005
Childlike but not Childish III, December 2004
The Funky Java, Villa Park, IL
Portraits from the Edge, February 2005
Oak Park Library, Oak Park, IL
Best of the Art House, November 2004