Keith Kostecki

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.