Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Keri Rosebraugh. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Keri, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

The project that has been most meaningful to me has been one based on the Theory of The Sublime in nature. In a nutshell, I was up in the high arctic, sailing around the north pole in an artist residency on an old viking boat with 25 other artists for three weeks. We each had a project in mind: mine was studying the meaning of “Home.” We weren’t able to get emails or internet nor leave the boat as we were in the middle of the Arctic Ocean, but somehow an email bounced off some satellite dish and popped into the captain’s computer, which was addressed to me from my father. The email stated that he had found my sister dead in her house and to get in touch with him in three weeks after I re entered civilization. There I was, working on a project about the meaning of home, interviewing people on their idea of home, being thousands of miles away from home and all I wanted to do was return to my parents home to help them “fix” this tragic event. Without going into details, over the next two and a half weeks my project focused on the reasons why people try to fix things, human smallness compared to nature’s vastness, and the strength that nature and people have while at the same time both are very vulnerable and fragile. I created an artist’s talk on the subject as well as two artist videos on the Theory of The Sublime: to inspire connections with the earth and our alignment with nature – encouraging communication with our surroundings while gaining insight into our stories – past, present and future.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I can remember drawing and coloring since I was very young – and I suppose around those years when adults start asking you the famous question, “What do you want to do when you grow up?”(age 10ish?) is when I knew I wanted to become an artist. For me, artwork has taken many twists and turns. I began as an editorial illustrator, which morphed into large scale murals and paintings, then in the last 9 years I have concentrated on my own sculptural pieces, paintings, videos and installations. The catalyst for creativity…..hmmm. For me it comes from strong emotional responses to my surroundings. A feeling of awe while in the middle of nature, sadness from losing loved ones, happiness when I’m in love, excitement when learning something new or anxiousness during a pandemic – these all have powerful energies that affect me. Creating artwork is how I respond to such intense emotions. In general I have always expressed myself more gesturally rather than verbally.
Since 2014, my artwork and focus seeks connections between humans and examines how those parallel our relationship
with the environment.
In 2016, my work was accepted into 3 group exhibitions in City Hall (2nd arrondissement) in Paris, France in conjunction
with the International Summit on Climate Change. My work is part of the Permanent Collection
of the Museo de Arte Contemporanea di Florina in Greece and the Hermann Nitsch Museum in Naples, Italy.
My art has been installed into the Natural History/State Darwin Museum in Moscow, Russia for an exhibition on
ecology titled “Now & After,” and in 2020 was included in an exhibition titled “Corona and Climate Crisis” at the Group Global
3000 Gallery for Sustainable Art in Berlin, Germany. In 2021 I exhibited in Milano, Italy at the Galleria Jardino
In October 2022 my sculpture titled “Lovers” was included in the “Save The Oceans” exhibition in
Escondido, California. Currently I have a solo show at the Royal Nebeker Gallery in Astoria, Oregon focused on human’s relationship with the natural world.
My artist residencies have included sailing the Arctic Circle, Assistant Resident at the Museum of Glass
in Seattle, Washington, creating work based on the importance of water at the Scuola Internazionale di
Grafica in Venice, Italy, studying water from the River Seine at the Camac Foundation in Marnay Sur Seine,
France, as well as water research in Naples, Italy in collaboration with the Hermann Nitsch Museum.
I have created public art pieces in Los Angeles, California, Svalbard, Norway, Astoria, Oregon,
Baker, Oregon and Paris, France. Currently I am the co director of L’Expressoir Artist Residency in
Marnay Sur Seine, France.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I believe the best way for society to support artists is by letting artists have a voice – which in turn lets us support the communities. I believe most artists create artwork which reflects their surroundings, their inner thoughts, and the way they see the world. If communities are open to supporting the arts, they actually are bringing us more together by sharing and honoring diverse views about the one world that we all live in.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

As an artist, my greatest duty for my artwork and viewers is…..well… I think if by creating a piece of art I can make a viewer think differently about something – see something in a new way, or spark a new thought or idea – if even for a minute or two, that takes one into a different place in his or her head – then I am happy.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kerirosebraugh.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kerirosebraugh/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/keri.rosebraugh/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerirosebraugh/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=keri+rosebraugh
• Other: https://vimeo.com/search?q=keri%20rosebraugh