Interview: Keri Oldham

Keri Oldham is a New York based artist and curator working in watercolor, paper, and video. Her work investigates issues of identity, cinema, love, and death. Originally from Dallas, Texas, Oldham has exhibited her work throughout the country, including: The Dallas Museum of Art, Kirk Hopper Gallery in Dallas, Jen Bekman Gallery in New York, The Hardware Store Gallery in San Francisco, and The Reading Room in Dallas. She was a 2011 Central Track resident and has received awards including a 2010 New Media Fellowship with BRIC Arts in Brooklyn. Her work has been spotlighted and reviewed by Beautiful/Decay, Sick of the Radio, Gwaker Arts, Glasstire, D Magazine, San Francisco Weekly, and others.  Oldham is also co-founder of Field Projects

Interview Questions

What is the name on your passport?
Keriann Grace Oldham

Where do you live and make work? (How does living in your studio or having a studio separate from your home affect the way you think about making art?)
I recently just moved into a studio space after working at home for years.  I love it- it's changing everything!  I've been pulling out my older work and revisiting pieces.

What medium/media do you work in?
Watercolor on paper, home-made paper, paper pulp, and recently colored pencil. 

What is the subject matter of your work?
I'm interested in endings and good-byes in stories and film.  Usually animals symbolize death or our inner nature.

What's your favorite person, place, or thing right now?
The film Jodorowsky's Dune

Christian the Lion

What do you listen to in the studio?
I listen to podcasts, my favorite is How Did This Get Made? So hilarious!

How do you explain your career choice at family gatherings?
I have a small family that is very creative, they write, paint, garden- so it was an expected route in many ways.

Who are your favorite artists?

Philip Guston, Mike Kelly, Llyn Foulkes, Wes Anderson, Nick Cave, Lee Bontecou, Robert Crumb, Peter Greenaway, John Berryman, Sharon Needles, Flannery O'Connor and Southern Gothic writers.

How do you see yourself in 40 years?

Still working, retirement seems rather boring.

What do you hope people will think about when looking at your work?

The space of endings and good-byes, the lumpy nervousness of being a human.