Night Fortress

Keri Oldham
August 25-September 22, 2018
Extended until October 20
Opening reception Saturday, August 25, 6:00-8:00 pm
Artist will be in attendance

Deadly Night Fortress, 2017, watercolor, graphite, paper pulp on paper 47" x 43"

Kirk Hopper Fine Art is pleased to announce our upcoming solo exhibition for artist Keri Oldham entitled Night Fortress. Night Fortress, Oldham's newest series, depicts haunted-house looking fortresses and female warriors that draw on medieval art, folk stories and quilting traditions.

Keri Oldham's paintings often depict chained citadels, a cross between castles, crime scenes and haunted houses. These structures are storybook like and act as metaphors for fear and our often haunted past. The artist is interested in storytelling and draws on a variety of folk stories, symbols and biblical illusions including the Tower of Babel, Judith and Holofernes, Bluebeard, and tarot.

In particular, the show explores traditions forged by women and their influence on communal histories especially in the form of quilting. As quilts took time to make, were often created in social groups, and were passed down to family members both as objects and techniques, they have a particular resonance with the establishment of home and tradition. Many of the paintings in this series include quilt-like borders to represent homemaking, healing, and protection.

Biography

Originally from Dallas, Keri Oldham has exhibited her work throughout the country, including the Dallas Museum of Art, Kirk Hopper Fine Art, Lazy Susan Gallery in New York, Jen Bekman Gallery in New York, Honey Ramka Gallery in Brooklyn, Helmuth Projects in San Diego, and the Whatcom Museum in Bellingham, Washington. She has received awards including a 2010 fellowship with BRIC Arts in Brooklyn and a residency with Central Trak in Dallas.

Oldham also co-founded Field Projects, a project space and gallery in Chelsea. Her work has been spotlighted and reviewed by the New York Times, the Dallas Morning News, Paper City, Texas Monthly, Beautiful/Decay, Gawker Arts, Bad at Sports, Glasstire, D Magazine, San Francisco Weekly, KERA Art & Seek and others.