About
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Artist Statement
We humans are now so urbanized that it is difficult to imagine the lives of animals. When we succeed we usually have 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 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 at its most outlandish! These and other old stories are part of my inspiration because they are so visually rich and 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. In A Grimm’s Fairy-tale the witch’s warty nose is the lock on the golden cage where she keeps young girls and turns them into birds. Chicken Little? A star around her neck, clouds around the legs, the moon at her feet tells us that the sky has fallen. In the natural world of a farm in Southern France, Constantine Christofides and I lived for ten years among dogs, rabbits, mice, foxes, wild boars snorting under the almond tree at 3AM, cicadas, praying mantis, bats, rats, snakes, toads, owls, glowworms, lizards, millipedes, and the ghosts of dinosaurs. Even when we moved to New York City, early one morning the most pre-historic, gigantic dragonfly flew in our apartment window. Old tales and such lived experiences led to a Modern Medieval Bestiary presented at Gallery IMA, Seattle, in 2016, ceramic sculptures, paintings, and an artist book, The Year of The Goat Coloring Book. Such interests continue on inspiring a Faux Functional Table Setting for Dining Outdoors with Animals Most Humans Try to Avoid, and a new series of drawings in progress: You Have Had a Very Scary Day. 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. In 2007, inspired by the book Never Marry a Woman With Big Feet by Mineke Schipper (Yale 2004), her work turned to proverbs about women from all around the world. A Modern Medieval Bestiary (2016 Gallery IMA/Seattle) returned her focus to the natural world, where it remains today. 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 2024 Ceramics +: Drawing Into Sculpture Curated by Matt Nolen LIC-A Art Space - The Factory Long Island City, NY December 13, 2023 - February 7, 2024 2020 The Twenty-Third San Angelo National Ceramic Competition Juried by Jo Lauria San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts San Angelo, TX April 17 - June 28, 2020 Other (world)ly: Larry Calkins, Koren Christofides, Kathleen Skeels and others Gallery IMA, Seattle, WA 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) Awards 2022 Hiroe Hanazono Award Slipcasting Greenwich House Pottery New York, NY 2006 Bookbuilders West, San Francisco 36th Annual Book Show Certificate for Excellence for book design and images Fables of La Fontaine Illustrated Christofides & Christofides University of Washington Press, Seattle/London 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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