William Keyser - Painting and Sculpture, 2009 - 2019

William Keyser (b.1936), Professor Emeritus, taught Furniture Design at the School for American Crafts at Rochester Institute of Technology for thirty-five years while also creating commissioned furniture for residential, commercial, ecclesiastical and public applications. Keyser stopped teaching in 1997 after he awoke from a dream with a feeling that there was something very important he needed to do next in his career, although he didn’t know what. Soon after this revelation he began a gradual transition from furniture to sculpture and fine art, discovering a love of painting along the way. This exhibition features his work since 2009, representing the most recent intersection of experience and passion that defines Keyser.

“I’m obsessed with unfamiliar shapes, patterns and forms that take me to places I’ve never been. My art often begins with a remnant. I welcome debris, detritus, the accidental, the surprise, the abandoned and chance. These become the first mark on the blank canvas of my imagination. I’m always looking for that eureka moment! Current work suggests future work. Earlier pieces often become remnants to foster the next generation. Ideas beget ideas. I work to chase after these ideas in the continuum that is my life.”