The iconic artist Frida Kahlo began to paint at age 18 while healing bedridden from a horrific bus accident. Multi-talented multi-media artist Kerry Vander Meer is no beginner but during a recent period of recovery from surgery she adapted to her new physical parameters and worked on small drawings and etching plates. She had recently learned a new printmaking technique, a non-toxic method of creating gray tones on wood plates, and was eager to try something other than the traditional process that requires oil-based inks, toxic chemicals, metal plates, and acid baths.
Working on a small scale was new for Vander Meer but she says she fell in love with constructing plates by drawing and etching into the wood and applying different media to create tonal and textural variety and that not only the paper proofs but the plates themselves are interesting. Her imagery comes out of an ongoing practice, her Hybrids series of finding forms in past works to be the subjects and muses of new works.
The larger pieces in this exhibit were done before the “recovery period” and are also a continuation of her Hybrids series. They traveled with her back and forth between her studios in Mexico and Oakland being built up layer upon layer like an archaeological dig in reverse.
Kerry Vander Meer received her MFA in sculpture from Mills College. She has taught art in many venues including Creative Growth Art Center and gives mixed media workshops in various countries. Her work explores the natural world through multiple media from painting to printmaking, performance, and sculpture. Her diverse work has been presented at museums, galleries, universities, and honored with multiple residencies in Spain, Ireland, New York, California, and Mexico. Her works appear in collections in U.S., Germany, Spain, Ireland, China, and Japan.
SPECIAL EVENTS:
Saturday Oct 1, Opening Reception & Artist Talks, 4-6 pm
Oct 7, First Friday Art Murmur, 6-9 pm
Oct 20, Third Thursdays on 25th Street, 6-8 pm