| Dee Durkee | Fiber Art, Mixed Media |
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Biography:
| Sedona “Art in Public Places” participant. Awarded City of Sedona Arts & Culture Commission Emerging Artist Grant. President; Handmade Paper Guild; Kalamazoo, MI. Pharmacia & Upjohn Foundation Community Arts Grant; Kalamazoo, MI. Chair; Kalamazoo Institute of Art Annual Bronson Park Artfair; Kalamazoo, MI. Artist-in-Residence; ArtPark; Lewiston, NY. Best of Show-Fibers: Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival; Winter Park, FL. Best of Show-Fibers: Las Olas Art Festival; Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Assistant Train Manager and Artist-in-Residence, Michigan Artrain: Upper Midwest Tour. Bachelor of Fine Art: Painting; Wayne State University; Detroit, MI. Studies in Italy: Art School of the Society of Arts & Crafts; Detroit, MI. |
Statement:
| I am best known for my fiber-collage vessel/containers, but embrace many uses for fiber and paper. The tactile qualities of my contemporary fiber-art vessels and art-for-the-wall are a humanizing complement to architectural interiors, and offer acoustical advantage to any environment they inhabit. Fiber art allows people to touch, enjoy, and live with art in their daily lives.
In the past, the vessel/basket has been considered primarily a functional container. I explore the form and sculptural aesthetics of a container, which overshadows any call for the vessels to be functional. The fluidity of fabric or paper allows me to form configurations which might not be achievable in another medium. As an archetypal object suggesting a personal space or secret enclosure within, my vessel forms are more related to sculpture than utilitarian object. Creative legacies come from my architect father and seamstress mother and grandmother. Trained formally as a painter, I have also explored weaving, photo-screening, papermaking, and other techniques for surface design. I am influenced by the art of Isamu Noguchi, Sonia Delaunay, and Frank Stella. After completing my undergraduate studies, I supported myself as a full-time artist, accepting awards at major artfairs and exhibitions across the country with my screen-printed sculpture. Large commissions have been accomplished for libraries, hospitals, offices and museums, and my artwork is included in private and public collections. During my “interim career,” I worked as a Management Consultant in healthcare. My art is shown in select galleries, invitational and competitive art exhibitions. Since my husband/photographer and I moved to Sedona, I work full-time in my studio adjacent to our mid-century modern home. My current repertoire utilizes recycled materials, to include vessels, wall-art, jewelry, journals, and gouache sketches on handmade paper. Commissions are welcome. |
Contact:
 Dee Durkee 255 Madole Road Sedona, AZ 86336-4426 928.203.5702 E-mail: deedurkee@mindspring.com |
