About
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Artist Statement
A Modern Medieval Bestiary We humans are so urbanized now that it is difficult to imagine the lives of animals. When we succeed we have usually an anthropomorphic view of them. It is our natural way of recognizing their uniqueness and their innate powers that, deep in our psyche, still have such a hold on our mind. The Fables of Jean de La Fontaine speak of that human-animal relationship brilliantly, while keeping a sharp eye on the real nature of things. In Ovid’s Metamorphoses humans who try to match wits with the gods are often turned into animals of all sorts. Proverbs about women, especially with regard to animals, reveal the human imagination thinking and saying outlandish things! These and other old stories are a part of my inspiration because they are so visually rich and still resonate so deeply in human nature that I find them irresistible. One humorous or intriguing line is enough to spark an entire sculpture; albeit with signs and symbols. A Grimm’s Fairy-tale? Just the (warty) nose of the witch is the lock on the golden cage where she keeps young girls and turns them into birds. Chicken Little? A star around the neck, clouds around the legs, the moon at her feet tells us that – the sky has fallen. In the natural world Constantine Christofides and I did live for ten years on a farm in Southern France. We had dogs, rabbits, sheep, mice, foxes, wild boars snorting under the almond tree at 3AM – cicadas, bats, snakes, toads, owls, glow-worms, lizards, magpies, millepedes and ghosts of dinosaurs. And speaking of other eras, the most pre-historic, gigantic dragon-fly flew at 5am in our apartment window in New York City. The wolf eel is a memory from my scuba diving days in Puget Sound. While humans have been making depictions of animals for at least 35,000 years, Webster defines Bestiary as a medieval treatise or artistic representation of animals, real or legendary. Those bestiaries were full of wildly imagined creatures. Mine not so much until my Year of the Goat Coloring Book. As early morning and evening light would cross ceramic pieces on my drawing table, entirely odd and rather fabulous beasts would emerge that I knew I hadn’t put there. Drawings in this menagerie represent new stories that these vessels have to tell. Biography Koren Christofides, born in Kansas, grew up in Seattle Washington. She received her BA Art History, BFA Painting and MFA Printmaking from the University of Washington where she studied with Jacob Lawrence. An extensive traveler her work has long been informed by world mythologies. Upon moving to France (1997-2009), where she was an artist in residence for the Maryland Institute College of Art (at the Institut Américain Universitaire, Aix-en-Provence) she organized an international, traveling exhibition of 100 artists from the USA, Europe and Asia on the Fables of La Fontaine (Aix-en-Provence, Rome, Seattle and Baltimore). A selection of fables and images from this exhibition resulted in a new edition of Fables of La Fontaine Illustrated published by the University of Washington Press Seattle/London, 2006. This widely reviewed book, including Le Monde (Le Monde des Livres, September 8, 2006) and the Journal of Folklore Research (May 2007) was awarded the Certificate of Excellence for book design and images by Bookbuilders West, San Francisco, 36th Annual Book Show. While working on the Fables book Koren Christofides turned her attention to the Contes (erotic tales) of La Fontaine. In 2005 she exhibited 50 paintings based on a single conte, ‘‘The King of Africa’s Bride,’’ at the Centre d’Art et de Culture, Aix-en-Provence. Since 2007 her work has turned to Proverbs, specifically about women, from all around the world. Solo Exhibitions 2018 Needle and Thread and Paperclay Thomas Hunter Project Space, Hunter College, New York, NY 2016 A Modern Medieval Bestiary Gallery IMA, Seattle, WA 2012 Fashion, Fables and Proverbs, Embroideries, Ceramics and Paintings Gallery IMA, Seattle, WA 2005 ‘La Fiancée du roi de Garbe’, un conte de Jean de La Fontaine –retold Centre d’Art et de Culture, Aix-en-Provence, France 2000 Tree Mythology, Part 1: ‘Where is Inspiration?’ Foster/White Gallery, Seattle, WA 1999 Peintures et Dessins: 1989-1999 Institut Américain Universitaire, Aix-en-Provence, France 1997 Morocco Paintings and Drawings Foster/White Gallery, Seattle, WA 1994 Junglescapes from the Jardin des Plantes, Paris Foster/White Gallery, Kirkland, WA 1992 Old Stories, Reverberating Voices Foster/White Gallery, Seattle, WA 1991 The Artist and Muse and other Musings on Archaeology Art Center Gallery, Seattle Pacific University, Seattle, WA Selected Group Exhibitions 2019 Queer + Peculiar Craft The Clemente’s Abrazo Interno Gallery Curated by Fred Frelinghuysen Presents and Andrew Cornell Robinson New York, NY 2018 MYTHOS Ceramics Exhibition Featuring: Koren Christofides, Sam Chung and Gunyoung Kim Gallery IMA, Seattle, WA August 2018 2017 L’ Atelier Buffile, 70 Ans de Céramique à Aix Expositions – Pavillion De Vendôme – Musée Du Vieil Aix Gallerie Marcelin/ Gallerie Camille Moirenc 24 Juin - 1er Octobre 2017 Aix -en-Provence, France Catalogue de l’exposition L’Atelier Buffile,70 Ans de Céramique à Aix co-edité par la Ville d’Aix-en-Provence et l’Atelier Buffile OFF CENTER International Ceramic Competition Juried by Robert Brady and Sandra Simon Blue Line Arts, Roseville, CA Narratives in Clay Gallery IMA, Seattle, WA 2016 Invitational Ceramics Gallery IMA, Seattle, WA 10th Anniversary Group Exhibition Gallery IMA, Seattle, WA 2013 AS | AP Dumbo Studios Front Street Brooklyn, NY 2012 SKIN, curated by Matt Nolen Thomas Hunter Project Space, Hunter College, New York, NY 2011 A Pattern of Warmth: Artists Rugs and Related Works, curated by Layne Goldsmith Gallery IMA, Seattle, WA 2010 Core & Mantle, curated by Jill Conner M55 Art, Long Island City, NY 2008/2007 The Heroes Show, curated by Laura Sharp Wilson & Elin O’ Hara Slavick LUMP Gallery, Raleigh, NC; Bryce’s Barbershop & Room 30, Olympia, WA 2007 Stand. Artists’ Designed Rugs, curated by Layne Goldsmith Gallery IMA, Seattle, WA 2003 COLORing words, Color visuals for 10 Color Poems and Photographs by Madeleine Marie Slavick and Zheng Danyi. 2/f fringeclub, Hong Kong 1991 Collaborators, Pleas & Thank yous, retablo paintings, Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA and several US cities (1991-1994) Collections Private Collections US, UK, France, Belgium, Greece, Austria 2008 University of Washington Press, Seattle. 1999 Institut Américain Universitaire, Aix-en-Provence, France. 1992 Meany Theater for the Performing Arts, University of Washington, Seattle. |
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