Appropriations

Miriam Keeler

Curated by Judy Southerland


April 22nd - May 16th, 2026

Appropriation in art occurs when an artist purposely borrows or copies images by another artist to make or enhance the borrowing artist’s meanings. For this exhibition I borrowed mostly portraits, but also several still lives and a narrative work to further my own stories. All are paintings and photographs that have long had distinctive places in my heart.

Take, for example, the Modigliani portraits of Chaim Soutine. originally painted in the early twentieth century. These portraits spoke to me in a special way long before I had any idea who Soutine was. They spurred me to study his life and works to such an extent that he became an imaginary friend. Picasso’s “The Lovers” has been a favorite too ever since I saw it in the National Gallery many years ago.

In my borrowings, exactitude is not an objective. I change colors or slightly alter compositions to better integrate the work into my own painting. Hopefully the copy is true enough that a viewer familiar with the work would recognize it immediately.

In addition to providing a vocabulary for visual expression, appropriation furthers dialogue with art history and other artists, often deceased, as well as an opportunity to dive even more deeply into art works one loves.