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Bradley Keys - As The Crow Flows |
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May 20 - 26 |
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Artist Statement |
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An amazing thing happens when you step into a river, you become instantly aware of where you are in the world. You look up stream and let your mind wander around the far bend and ponder where this endless flow of water originates. Then carefully you turn and follow the river to the horizon and can’t help but envision its meandering journey through the landscape to some distant sea. As you stand precariously on those slippery rocks you realize that through the river you are a part of the land and are connected to all the lives that the river will touch. It is this moment, that first step into a river with fly rod in hand, from which I drew the inspiration for “As the Crow Flows”. As an avid fly fisherman, you explore a river in a very personal and specific way in order to find the places that look like they will hold fish. You quietly and patiently look out over a river and begin to read the water looking for a prime seam or a nice pool. You listen to the rustle of the dry prairie grass at your feet and weave your way through the branches of trees and shrubs. Through necessity you develop a very close relationship with the rocks in a river and you realize that it is the rocks that hold all the information about the life in that river. When you turn a river rock over you are confronted with a teaming microcosm of life and it is through this small window that you can see what the trout will be dining on that day. If there is no life under a rock then there will be no trout. If there is no trout then there will be no osprey or otters or bears. Ultimately it is we ourselves that are undeniably connected to that rock, as the river brings life upon it so too does it bring life to us. Whether we are drawn to the water to cast a line, throw a stone, or simply to listen and contemplate, rivers are the ribbons that hold everything together. As you stand in a flowing river you are instantly bonded to the time and place and cannot help but realize the incredible power of moving water. It pushes, carves, transforms, and connects everything it flows through. 2010
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With his trademark touch of whimsy, Bradley examines the kindred intersections of nature, humans, and our connections to place.
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Education:
1992-1994 Alberta College of Art and Design (BFA with Distinction).
1990-1992 Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.
1985-1989 University of Calgary, B.Sc. in Zoology.
Solo Exhibitions: 2010, As The Crow Flows, Willock & Sax Gallery, Banff, Alberta Selected Exhibitions Group: 2010, Clay 2010, Alberta Foundation for the Arts and the Alberta Craft Council Travelling Exhibition 2004, Clay Creates Culture, Alberta Potters' Association, VAAA Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta, Honourable Mention. 2003, Mugs and Jugs, Vessels of Libation, Alberta Craft Council Gallery, Edmonton 2002, Art vs Craft, The Great Debate,
Alberta Craft Council Gallery, Edmonton 2000, Artwalk 2000, Eclectibles, Calgary,
AB. 1999 Vanishing
Icons, Provincial Museum, Edmonton, AB, travelling
1998 Clay
Invitational, West End Gallery, Victoria, B.C.
1997 Artwalk
97, Provenance Gallery, Calgary.
1996 Vessels
in Celebration, APA 25th Anniversary Show, Glenbow Museum, Calgary,
travelling.
1995 Treetop
Art Walk, Invermere, B.C.
1995 Earth
Shines, Sunlife Plaza, Calgary.
Awards:
1994 The Board of Governor's Award, Nominee; Louise
McKinney Post Secondary Scholarship, Nominee; 1993 Louise McKinney Post
Secondary Scholarship for Academic Excellence; Culpepper and Mile-Hi
Ceramics Prize; Dr. J. C. Sproule Memorial Scholarship; 1985 Alexander
Rutherford Scholarship.
Publications:
2010, "Clay 2010", Alberta Craft Council. 2005, “Making Marks”, Robin Hopper, KP Books 2004, “ Profiles, Alberta Craft, Culture in the Making," January 2000, “Contemporary Potters”, Rockport Publishing.
1999, “Where Magazine”, Rocky Mountain Edition, Summer 1999. 1998, The Best Of Pottery 2, Rockport Publishing, U.S.A
1995, “Defining Design”, City Scope, March/April.
1993, “Throw and Altered”, Contact Magazine, by Bradley
Keys, Autumn 1993, No.94.
Conferences
Attended:
2002, NCECA Conference, Kansas City, Mo.
2001, 1000 Miles Apart, Alberta College of Art and Design, Calgary,
AB.
1995, Calgary Ceramics Seminar, Calgary, Alberta. 1994, NCECA Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana. 1993, Calgary Ceramics Seminar, Alberta College of Art. Professional Organizations:
2000-2002 Member of the Board of Directors of the Alberta Craft Council. Bradley is represented in the Art Collection of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts as well as many private collections in Canada, the United States, Australia, England, and parts of Europe.
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"Terra Sigilatta is a very fine clay slip. Red and Black Greek pottery is the best known historical example of the use of this material....Terra Sigilatta's are applied to surfaces in thin layers using processes such as painting and spraying." Greg Payce. Vase to Vase Greg Payce. Lethbridge: Southern Alberta Art Gallery, 1995
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"Maybe when they're holding something, a mug or a little pot or something, to notice this couldn't have been made in a mold, it really can't be mass produced, which is kind of one of the things I try to go for." (Bradley Keys in "Ceramicist sees fundamental shifts in social interactions" by Dominique Carrier (Rocky Mountain Outlook, 28 August 2008).
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©Willock and Sax Ltd. Gallery 1999-2008. All
rights reserved |