Margaret Keelan (softcover)

This book explores the life and works of trompe l’oeil master, Margaret Keelan. For the past few years, Keelan’s sculptures have been glazed, stained, fired, then glazed, stained and fired again to give the surfaces the look of disintegrating paint over weathered wood. This softening and reduction of form so that its essential nature is revealed is a metaphor Keelan uses for life being lived, her exploration of the process of growing up and growing older. Her latest small sculptures recall the “Santos” figures of Mexico and Central America and incorporate a reproduced 19th century doll head. Although her figures echo contemporary concerns, the borrowing of earlier styles gives them more of an ageless quality. Linda Gastrom, Professor of Art and Design at Fort Hays State University, states Keelan’s subject “…conveys a sweet sentimentality twisted into melancholy that touches [her] emotional core and helps [her] to remember the complexities of childhood and life”.

Authors: Susannah Israel, Allen Yi

137 pages, 120 color plates