Art Works Richmond - Artist K. B. Basseches

K. B. Basseches - Artist and Art Educator

Artist Statement:

I grew up in Washington, DC. Because of a lifetime of living in a city at the center of politics, my work is influenced by an awareness of how public events shape the lives of private citizens. I began the series of works on display in my studio as a response to the tragedy of 9/11. While the media I use to make many of the artworks in the series are literally mixed media collages, as I was developing the images, I began to think of them as "post photographic abstractions" - many are photographs that do not require a camera. They are darkroom-generated with the addition of collaged or sewn fabric and found paper. I combine the visual matter into compositions to reflect an organized formal aesthetic. Some images are designed with a focus on balance; others on dynamism and still others present sinuous curves linking the parts of the composition together. The current images differ from the work that I had been generating for at least a decade before. The earlier objects were highly representational and I focused on demonstrating the technical acumen indicative of a museum and event photographer. In contrast, the current images you see displayed are rendered as highly abstracted objects with rough edges and uneven borders. While parts of the image have representational qualities, the overall intent is to transcend common imitations of the known visual world or emotions. My experience of 9/11/2001 required me to react in this new way to express the personal vulnerability I felt in response to the national, international and public events. I hope to make visual statements that go beyond my personal sight to comment and reflect on contemporary society.

Biography 2005

K. B. Basseches is an artist and an art educator. Currently an assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University in the School of the Arts, Department of Art Education, Basseches had served as an Assistant Professor of Art at Shepherd University, Shepherdstown, WV. Prior her position in West Virginia, Basseches was an instructor at the University of Maryland, College Park, where she earned her doctorate in art education. Basseches has also received an M. Ed. in art education, an MFA in painting and an undergraduate double major in studio art and developmental psychology. Basseches has been a practicing artist and photographer for many years. She served as a Staff Photographer at the Smithsonian Institution in the Portrait Gallery of Art, Washington, DC immediately following her MFA. Basseches has exhibited throughout the mid Atlantic region and in the Los Angeles area. In addition to showing at Art Works Studios and Galleries, Basseches is represented by Art by Crim Fine Art and Custom Framing Gallery in Clarksburg, WV (http://artbycrim.com/). Recently, Basseches' work was selected for the American Art Collector Juried Competition of New Work Volume 1, Book 4 -Southern States, a compendium of works by a spectrum of artists. Her work can also be found in the Washington Project for the Arts/Corcoran 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 Directories. In addition to her work as an artist, Basseches is sought after to jury exhibitions for professional, post-secondary and school age student venues, and enjoys seeing a broad range of artists' work.

Contact K. B. Basseches at Art Works, Inc. in Richmond, Virginia. (804) 291.1400 or click here to go to her website.