Ken Little

Portraits – An Artist Statement:

The subject of my sculpture represents the view

of a character (emotive, intellectual, intuitive, etc.) perceiving an inner world and reconciling that with its environment. The personae that I use are either people or animals sometimes in combination with symbolic objects (beds, boats, houses, chairs, etc.). Each piece is a true portrait--exposing the subject beyond likeness.

Rather than only presenting the subject "at its best" (posed perfectly, blemishes removed) I celebrate the whole. In the process of working I try to find a balance--an integration of forces: reason and the irrational, form and content, beauty and the sublime. Found materials and traditional artist 1 s media are employed toward this end. Physically they are lifesized structures built from old shoes, bed covers, tin cans, rocks, antlers, mannequins, tree bark, blown-out tires, barbed wire, extension cords, pine cones, cheap western paneling, oil paint, clay, plaster, fiberglass, etc ..

A specific intention of my work is to present the equivalent experience of my relationship with the subject. As such, each piece becomes a self portrait to some extent.

Artist,
Ken Dawson Little

Ken Little received an MFA from the University of Utah in 1972. He has maintained an active national profile as an exhibiting and reviewed sculptor for over twenty-five years.

His work has been featured in over 35 one person exhibitions at prestigious venues such as: The Washington Project for the Arts, Wash. DC; The Nelson Gallery of the Univ. of California at Davis; The Forum for Contemporary Art, St. Louis; Diverse Works in Houston; The Honolulu Academy of the Arts; and many others.

Since 1993, he has maintained a studio in a warehouse building that he owns in downtown San Antonio. He is an advocate for contemporary art in south Texas, renting studio space to 8 other artists. From 1994 to 1999 he directed Rose Amarillo, a 1500 square foot alternative exhibition space showing the work of local and national artists. His work in various media has been shown extensively in south Texas at such venues as ArtPace, a Foundation for Contemporary Art in San Antonio where he was awarded a residency in the International Artist in Residency Program during 1995. From 1989 to 1995 he was a board member of The Blue Star Art Space also in San Antonio. His work is included in many public and private collections around the country. Collections include The Contemporary Art Museum, Honolulu Hawaii, The City of Seattle, The Nelson Gallery of the University of California at Davis, Microsoft Corporation, Seattle and many others.

This exhibition was produced and Organized by Quay Gallery, San Francisco.