Keith Kostecki
Born: 1969, Joliet, IL
Lives and works in Chicago
Education
2003 MFA, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
1992 BFA, University of Illinois, Champaign/Urbana
Exhibitions
2008 Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago, IL
1997 Tidbit Gallery, Portland, OR
Artist Statement
I would like my work to reflect some sense of the awe and wonder I have toward the visual world around me, especially the tiny, fragile oddments that easily go unnoticed. I obsessively collect bottles, candy, bits of string, toys, fragments of rusty metal, dead insects, bones, teeth, feathers, pieces of old wood, rocks, etc. The art I make is an attempt to pay homage to the mystery and beauty these objects hold for me.
To do this I am compelled to spend extreme amounts of time and effort on what I make. The process necessarily involves meticulous control of the tools I use: very sharp crayons, pencils, or X-acto knives. I begin a piece by working on one small area until it is complete. I gradually move out from that point, intuitively completing small adjoining areas. The composition slowly and self-consciously evolves. The piece is finished when all the space is filled.