Keeshan’s compositions function as visual excavations of the subconscious, where imagery emerges and dissolves through an intuitive process of layering, erasure, and gestural mark-making. Recurring pictographic forms—horses, cats, celestial bodies, fragmented figures, and abstracted landscapes—populate her canvases, serving as signifiers of memory, transformation, and psychological depth. The artist’s approach to color, at times saturated and exuberant, at others restrained and spectral, reinforces an emotional immediacy that recalls the psychological charge of Die Brücke and the chromatic intensity of Fauvism.
Keeshan’s practice is deeply invested in material exploration and process-based discovery. Her approach to layering, at times additive and at others subtractive, creates a rich interplay between surface and depth, concealment and revelation. The artist’s engagement with painterly intuition—allowing form to emerge through action rather than predefined structure—reinforces the performative and time-based nature of her compositions.
Keeshan channels raw movement and psychological urgency through the depiction of motions outlined in electrified strokes of color. In Fiery and Untamed at Midnight, the rhythmic dynamism of the brushwork, combined with the heightened contrast of form against an atmospheric ground, speaks to the artist’s engagement with movement as an expressive force, aligning with the gestural energy of early Expressionism. In Reclining Mermaid presents a liminal figure suspended between the terrestrial and the celestial, her body fragmented into organic, flowing contours that merge with an ethereal backdrop. The work’s distortion of anatomy and fluidity of form recalls the Surrealist impulse to reconfigure the human body as a site of transformation, reflecting broader explorations of femininity, identity, and mythology.
The figures, composed of layered textures and overlapping gestures, recall the mythological tradition of composite creatures as embodiments of duality and the unknown. Chimera (2017) introduces a hybridized being, assembled from disparate anatomical and abstracted elements, reinforcing the painting as a site of psychic reconstruction. The concept of the chimera, which extends beyond mythology into science and genetics as a metaphor for multiplicity and hybridity, underscores Keeshan’s broader interest in the interwoven nature of perception, identity, and artistic process. In Untold Stories of Yesterday, the past is reframed through a vibrantly hued interior tableau, where familiar childhood objects—a rocking horse, an oversized vase, a glowing lamp—appear within a skewed, surreal space. By employing a flattened perspective and high-contrast chromatic relationships, the work recontextualizes ordinary objects into symbolic markers of nostalgia and the distortion of memory.
Keeshan’s paintings frequently incorporate spiritual and mystical symbolism, placing her within a tradition of artists who use visual language to channel otherworldly forces.Earth Angel (2023) introduces a central winged figure standing in a radiant environment populated by floral motifs, glowing orbs, and a secondary figure embedded within the composition, evoking Metaphysical Surrealism’s engagement with transcendence and existential duality. The interaction between figuration and abstraction, tangible form and ineffable presence, underscores Keeshan’s ability to create a visual language that is both intimate and universal.
Originally from Houston, Texas, Keeshan’s artistic trajectory has been shaped by the vast landscapes and luminous color fields of the American Southwest, later refined through formal training at Texas State University and an immersive study of European modernism in Barcelona. The influence of Miró, Picasso, and El Greco remains evident in her approach to nonlinear composition, intuitive mark-making, and symbolic storytelling. Relocating to New York in 2001, Keeshan has continued to develop a distinct visual language rooted in the convergence of personal mythology, collective archetypes, and an unfiltered engagement with material and process.
Curated by fellow painters Jared Deery and JJ Manford, Mixed Magic presents an expansive view of Keeshan’s practice, foregrounding the depth of her visual language and conceptual concerns. Their curatorial approach emphasizes the importance of artist-led exhibitions. Mixed Magic presents a cohesive yet expansive view of Keeshan’s work, positioning her within a lineage of artists who engage with painting as an act of psychological excavation, symbolic reconstruction, and intuitive discovery. Whether navigating cosmic dreamscapes, unraveling the syntax of memory, or engaging with abstraction as a mode of expression, Keeshan’s paintings exist in a space of perpetual transformation, where form remains fluid, meaning remains open-ended, and the unknown is always within reach. The eyes, celestial symbols, and hybrid creatures that populate her paintings evoke an esoteric quality, aligning with movements in which artists reclaim spirituality as an intuitive, self-empowering practice.
Judi Keeshan’s work communicates through energy, vibrancy, color, shape interaction, and expressive, direct brushstrokes. Her fantastical subject matter shifts between worlds—landscapes, figures, and abstraction. She considers each piece a discovery, bringing something into existence through the act of painting. Her work captures time much like an intimate recording of ideas and emotions.Judi’s aesthetics reflect her wide range of interests, including mystical practices, mythology, travel, magic, art history, dance, and psychology. Process is central to Judi’s practice. Her paintings evolve through layering, adding, subtracting, and collaging. She merges different artistic styles, materials, and techniques to create new visual experiences. Often, she lays images side by side, examining their interplay in the pursuit of artistic alchemy.
Born in Houston, TX, Judi was deeply influenced by the vast Texas landscapes, pink sunsets, warmth, and bold colors, which shaped her fascination with the interplay between reality and fantasy. Her passion for art began early, frequently visiting museums in Texas before earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts with honors at Texas State University. She also studied painting in Barcelona, where artists like Miró, Picasso, and El Greco profoundly influenced her. Later, she moved to New York to attend the School of Visual Arts, earning her Master of Fine Arts in 2001.
Judi’s work has been exhibited in New York, Los Angeles, and Miami. She has had two solo shows at One River School and is part of collections across the U.S. and internationally.
