Nancy VanKanegan
Artist Nancy VanKanegan doesn’t want to give away any answers about her work, only more questions.
VanKanegan grew into her artistic curiosity in Wonder Lake, Illinois. Her small community didn’t boast much in terms of culture and excitement, so the artist spent most of her time outdoors. Her exploration of nature lead to artistic studies, as well as a life long connection to all things natural. Her schooling at Illinois Wesleyan University (BFA in Studio Art, 1976) and subsequent move to Houston, Texas, expanded her creative world, which she took on headfirst.
VanKanegan always seeks out diverse spaces in whatever city she resides. Along with sharing her neighborhood with other artists, her home base always provides a constant palette of interesting food, music, religion and languages. Her environment lets her experience the larger world, and inspires her work in subjects like myth, legends and ritual. Her contemporary explorations let her tell stories motivated by mysterious forces.
VanKanegan has balanced out her artful existence by studying (Masters in Interdisciplinary Arts, Columbia College, Chicago, 1993) and teaching a wide variety of creative topics at universities and commercial schools in Illinois and Texas. Color strategy, 2D design, philosophy and the practice of yoga, fashion design as well as performing and visual arts are just a few of the topics she explores with her students. She is upbeat about the state of the arts in Chicago because of her pupils. This is because she witnesses first hand art’s cyclical nature through the work the students create and display. It reminds her of the robust art scene she took part in after her own schooling. Over the past three decades, VanKanegan’s work has appeared in galleries such as Mana Contemporary, Womanmade and ARC galleries. She’s received grants and residencies from Columbia College, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and the Ragdale Fondation. She thrives on collaborating with other artists, and continues to suss out spaces to exhibit.
Yoga is yet another extension of VanKanegan’s creative practice. It appears in her works on paper as well as in her performance art and in clay. The mind control, unity, nature and egalitarian aspects of it have flowed into everything she touches. She finds that harnessing her internal energy and taping into her deeper conscience of self helps her in all of her other mediums.
VanKanegan landed at Lincoln Square Pottery Studio – Learning Center a few years ago and plunged right into a project combining her hand-made paper with slab and coil-build ceramic lamps sculptures. The artist has come back to clay (after working with it on-and-off since college) because she finds it to be such an active medium. The physical manipulation satisfies her need to create unique work and is perfect for her flow of constant ideas. The aspect of ceramics that involves earth, water and fire also draws her in. For her, the medium is a constant evolving process as well as a sheer delight.
VanKanegan doesn’t keep herself confined to just one medium, which means she is always looking to incorporate found objects, fabrics, paper and clay into her finished works. This helps her explore each subject more deeply, as well as giving it more visual impact. One (of many) of her upcoming projects will meld her many ceramic masks (created at LSPS-LC) into an active installation. It will feature a giant canvas labyrinth, which will help the viewer explore the concept of ghosts becoming the manifestations of the subconscious. It’s projects like these that the artist rejoices in as well as tapping into her preference for open metaphors and whimsical exploration. Above all, she uses her artwork and creative insight to process life around her. Whatever the viewer takes away from her pieces is a fitting tribute to her evolution.