Tasja Keetman

profile

bio summary | ENGLISH

Artist and photographer Tasja Keetman is recognized and appreciated for the fierce visual force, supreme technical agility and vigorous physical energy with which she shapes images and forms of people and things. She harnesses her subjects with her seeing - at once, compelling the static into orbit while inviting equilibrium to the discordant. Either way, Keetman commands stuff into visual being with artful skill, authority and grace.

Keetman’s projects have been published and exhibited in Europe and the USA, including: the Martin E. Segal Center at The City University of New York; Ernst Hilger Gallery at the Contemporary Art Fair in Palm Beach; the International Graphic Art Biennial in Split; the Börse München in Munich; the Börse Central in Stuttgart; the Inetrnationale Foto Tage in Heidelberg; and Gigantic Art Space in New York; among others. Her series Longitude was published by Felix Schoeller and awarded the prestigious Kodak Prize. Her work is included in private and public collections, including the renowned Fotomuseum in Munich.

Keetman’s dynamic photographic style and exuberant personal energy have also made her a sought after photographer in New York City’s avant-garde performance arena. There, she has worked on dozens of projects as both collaborator and documentor with acclaimed experimental music, theater and dance performance companies, including WaxFactory and XØ Projects Inc.

Combining her passion of photography with her love for the three dimensional, she has been expanding her artistic practice to include paper sculptures and installations, which then become subject of her photography again. These intimate as well as large scale pieces have been widely exhibited nationally and internationally. She created a large land art project for the International Land Art Symposium in Germany, which was honored as an Outstanding Achievement. Her recent installation Greater Good shown at the Site and Architecture Workshop, Philadelphia was graced with the Excellence Award. Her work has been shown amongst others at the Foundry Art Centre, St. Charles; at the Rhonda Shaller Gallery in New York; on Roosevelt Island, New York.

Keetman was raised to shape her world through a camera’s viewfinder by her father, Herr Jan Keetman, one of Germany’s most recognized editorial and advertising photographers. As a young adult, she spent much of her time in the darkroom of her uncle, Peter Keetman, the eminent German art photographer, whose images can be found in museums and notable collections worldwide. Ms Keetman considers her uncle as a strong influence amongst others that helped develop her individual style of concept, composition and technique.

Tasja Keetman was born and raised in Munich, and currently lives and works in New York City.

-- Nathan F. Elbogen

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BIOGRAPHIE | DEUTSCH

Tasja Keetman ist geballte Dynamik. Sie überzeugt durch die visuelle Kraft, technische Flexibilität und unermüdliche Energie, mit denen sie sich Zugang zu Menschen und Dingen verschafft. Ihr fesselnder Blick zähmt ungeordnete Bewegungen in die Statik und erweckt Statisches zum Leben. Tasja Keetman befehlt in bildhafte Existenzen, künstlerisch, autoritär und anmutig zugleich.

Frau Keetman hat in den vergangenen drei Jahren mehrere Fotoprojekte realisiert. Besonders ambitioniert sind ihre Arbeiten Hymns (hektische New Yorker Straßenlandschaften im Großformat) und Longitude (Hunderte von Füssen, die sie überall auf der Welt fotografiert hat). Für ihr Projekt Tantrum hat sie Menschen an Flughäfen im Stil einer Überwachungskamera abgelichtet; diese Schnappschüsse wurden unlängst für die öffentliche Kunstsammlung des neuen US-Heimatschutzministeriums in Washington angekauft.

Mit ihren dynamischen Bildern ist die gefragte Fotografin ein wichtiger Bestandteil der avantgardistischen New Yorker Kunstszene. Vergangenes Jahr hat sie mehr als ein Dutzend Projekte international bekannter, experimenteller Tanz-, Theater- und Musikensembles dokumentiert, u.a. J Mandle Performance, SensProductions, WaxFactory, Yanira Castro + Company und XØ Projects Inc.

Parallel zu ihren persönlichen Projekten arbeitet Tasja Keetman für den legendären New Yorker Star- und Modefotografen Albert Watson. Watson entdeckte Keetman 1997, als sie ihm bei einem Foto-Shooting in Deutschland assistierte. Seit 1999 sind die beiden ein ständiges Team. Kofi Annan, Hillary Clinton, Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman und Paul Simon sind nur einige der vielen Persönlichkeiten, die Keetman in Watsons New Yorker Studio fotografiert hat. Als Watsons first-assistant photographer leitet sie internationale Fotokampagnen für Unternehmen wie DeBeers, JP Morgan, Mercedes-Benz, Armani und Estee Lauder; als seine seconddirector of photography macht sie Kurzfilme und Werbesports für Levis, Showtime und andere.

Keetman hat von klein auf gelernt, in der Linse ihre eigene Welt zu entdecken: Ihr Vater Jan Keetman ist ein bekannter deutscher Presse- und Werbefotograf. Als Jugendliche verbrachte sie viel Zeit in den Studios und Dunkelkammern ihres Onkels Peter Keetman, dessen Kunstfotografien in Museen und angesehenen Sammlungen auf der ganzen Welt vertreten sind. Dem starken künstlerischen Einfluss des Onkels ist es zu verdanken, dass Tasja Keetman einen fotografischen Stil entwickelt hat, der in Konzeption, Gestaltung und Technik einzigartig ist.

Tasja Keetman lebt und arbeitet in New York City

-- Beatrice Uerlings

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education

1990 intl. summer academy salzburg

with jiri schalamoun

1990 - 93 philosophy studies

at the ludwig maximilians university,

munich

1993 artist residency at bmw, munich

1994 - 97 student at the akademy

for photography and design, munich

1995 - 98 student at the university augsburg

photography and design

2000 - 06 first assistant photographer

to albert watson,

photographer + director, new york

lives and works in new york

soloshows . selected

2007 “lorem ipsum”, earlville operahouse, ny

2007 “flora”, baden.-wuert.kunstverein, stuttgart

2006 “haus 4f”, roosevelt island, new york

2006 “perform”, martin segal theatre, new york

2005 “object of desire”, xo projects, new york

2005 “uberance”, cuny graduate center, new york

2005 “hymns”, 7. intl. phototage, heidelberg

2005 “hymns”, intl. fotosommer, stuttgart

2005 “wax montage”, cankarjev dom , ljubljana

2005 “hymns”, intl. graphic art biennial, split

2004 “hymns”, stochexchange munich

groupshows . selected

2007 “desiderata”, dumbo art festival , ny

2007 “corporeance”, tower gallery, philadelphia

2007 “crysalis”, viridian gallery, new york

2007 “crysalis”, saaw, philadelphia

2007 “haus 4f”, foundry art centre, st.charles

2007 “shutters+blinds”, foundry art centre, st.charles

2007 “shutters+blinds”, rhonda schaller gallery, ny

2006 “tantrum 6”, ernst hilger gallery, vienna

2006 “haeute”, lake chiemsee landart, germany

2006 “mirror portraits”, 404 gallery, new york

2005 “tantrum 2”, ernst hilger gallery, palm beach 3

2004 “exchange routes”, indonesia (all major cities

2004 “longitude”, gigantic art space, new york

2003 - 04 “future tense” at royal park, copenhagen

anthology film archives, new york

galeria de poste

at museu arte contemporanea, sao paolo,

kunstfoeringen gallery, copenhagen

1997+98 “deutsche fototage”, frankfurt

awards + residencies . selected

2007 women’s studio workshop +

national endowment for the arts studio residency grant

2007 “exellence award”, saaw, philadelphia

2007-2002 the (oa) can factory residency, new york (ongoing

2007/8 taliesin artist residency + partial grant

2007+8 vermont studio center residency + artist grant

2007 anderson center residency

2007 i-park artist residency

2007 jentel artist residency

2006 “outstanding achievement award”,

intl.landart symposium, germany

2006 weingarten manor fellowship, germany

2004 intl.kodak photo prize gold

2004 intl.calender prize gold

1993 bmw artist residency

publications . selected

2007 “flora” in designer’s digest, germany

2006 “chiemsee landart”

2005 “tasja keetman - longitude, at home abroad”

2005+07 “fotosommer”

2004 “tasja keetman - hymns - 40.45n 74.00w”

1998 + 97 “deutsche fototage” book

collections . selected

photo museum munich, national collection Washington d.c, stockexchange munich, museum traunstein, private collections

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