Lady Kathleen E. Ferguson-Huntington

Biography:

There have been many highlights in the creative 25-year career of Lady Kathleen E. Ferguson-Huntington. This year she will have two one-person exhibitions. Both of these involve the most recent works, titled "Move Over Fabergé". This series of twelve ceramic and mixed media sculptures are about eggs and very humorous in flavor. Her first challenge of working with eggs came in 1988 when she was invited by the Reagan White House, along with other american artists to create eggs as "works of art" in conjunction with the annual Egg Roll. Her creation was a bronze egg called "Rose Garden Hatching", a tongue-in cheek tribute to Fabergé. The egg was displayed at the Smithsonian and is now part of the Reagan Archives.

Beginning November 1, 1996, Ferguson-Huntington will have a year-long, online virtual show at The Gallery of Storytelling Through Visual Images at Hyperbole Studios in Seattle. The works themselves will be exhibited at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, the month of March, 1997.

The Angels Gate Art Center in Los Angeles and the Sun Cities Museum both gave Ferguson-Huntington one-person shows in the 90's. In the 80's her shows were numerous and include one-woman shows at: J.B. Speed Louisville, Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art Winston-Salem, and the High Museum in Atlanta. Lady Kathleen's exhibition history goes back to a 1969 group show at the University of Wisconsin.

Press and media coverage has over the years been plentiful: The New York Times, Washington Post, Atlanta Journal and Constitution to name some. Major art periodicals have reviewed the works as well and are as follows: Art in America, Art News, Arts Magazine and New Art Examiner.

Ferguson-Huntington's last commission was for the Honeywell Corporation in Minneapolis. She has received a number of grants and awards over the years, the most recent of which was a fellowship from the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation in Taos, New Mexico. This fellowship prompted the move from southeastern U.S. to the southwest.

Kathleen holds an M.F.A. from Rhode Island School of Design and a B.F.A. from Layton School of Art after starting out in the fashion department of Stephens College. "I took my first sculpture class and that was it for fashion illustration," said Kathleen.

One's place in the physical world has always been important to Ferguson-Huntington. Her childhood experiences in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin have had a profound influence on all her creative endeavors. She has said that her kindergarten teacher was the first ecologist she ever knew. Great reverence for the physical world was and still is one of the most important influences in her art works.

Statement:

History

The works produced in my 25-year career reflect the influences of nature. Since childhood I have had a deep and abiding love of nature. This was instilled in me by my physical environment and parental guidance back in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Those early experiences still affect me profoundly. These feelings manifest in my work as biomorphic abstractions and things from the world of nature.

An underlying theme present in all my works is paradox and contradiction. Materials range from rubber to bronze, clay, aluminum, plaster and brass. Periods of explicit representation alternate with periods of abstraction; whimsy and humor have supplanted the macabre and horrific.

Philosophy

Mental and spiritual development are central to my artistic and personal concerns. These inner realms are where growth takes place and creative frontiers are crossed. External manifestations in my art (form, color, style, medium, skill, etc.) seem to fall neatly into place where the inner working of the mind and spirit are attended to first.

I feel dismayed looking around at what contemporary art looks like these days. For me much of it is empty, meaningless, and without joy or humor.

Joy and humor should be a part of all of our lives. Sadly for some it is not. I have chosen in the last year to give what I am able to Adopt-a-Grandparent ("AGP"), a non-profit organization. This organization assists elderly Native Americans in South Dakota. AGP will receive 5% of all my sales made through the Internet. If interested you may learn more about them on the Internet at web site: http://www.soulzone.com/commzone/nonprofi/agp/

Career Highlights

Career highlights for me have been four major one-person shows in museums and/or art centers. The first was at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia in 1986; second was at the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 1987; and the third, a room environment commissions by the J.B. Speed Museum in Louisville, Kentucky. My last one-woman show was at the Angels Gate Art Center in Los Angeles (I 994). In 1997 I will have a one-woman show at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design.

The works have been reviewed in the following newspapers and periodicals: Art in America, Arts Magazine, Art News, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, The Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun Times, The Long Island Press, Courier-Journal (Louisville), The New York Times, Soho Weekly News, Village Voice, Washington Post, and Washington Star to name some.

Present Series

These works in progress are called "Move Over Fabergé". They are painted ceramics stage sets for vignettes in the life of eggs. Humor, paradox and contradiction give these works animated life and spirit and remain consistent with my 25-year history.

To inquire about art purchases, or anything else, Lady Kathleen may be reached at hunting@taos.newmex.com