Katherine Keltner’s works incorporate various materials - oil, acrylic, and spray paints; charcoal; ink; and found objects – to examine ideas of residue and emergence, and the relationship between what is imposed and what naturally occurs. Her process combines a deliberate investigation of material properties with intuitive responses to their emergent forms. By juxtaposing found and organic shapes with hard-edged lines as systems of control, she establishes a visual dialogue between chaos and structure.
Keltner was born in Oklahoma City and raised in New York City. She earned a BA from Dartmouth College, majoring in English and critical theory, minoring in studio art and art history, then continued to Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture and later to American University, where she earned an MFA, spending one intermediary semester at Brooklyn College to study with Elizabeth Murray. Her works have been exhibited in the US and Europe, including at The Katzen Arts Center, American University Museum of Art, Field Projects, and A.I.R. Gallery. Awards include fellowships at the Vermont Studio Center, Ragdale Foundation, and the Chautauqua Institution.
In addition to Murray, Keltner has found strong and diverse mentors, including the art critic and historian Barbara Rose and the conceptual artist Martha Rosler. She is active in the art world: she was an early member of the collective tART, has taught and lectured at multiple institutions, and writes occasional reviews for POV Arts. She is working on a study of Rose’s critical writings in conjunction with Les Archives de la critique d’art.