Alison Keenan

Alison Keenan lived in Burma before returning to England to complete her art education and later lived in Egypt and Italy. Her travels led to an avid interest in tapestries because apart from serving a practical purpose and providing an outlet for artistic expression, they lend themselves to making personal or political statements and reflect history. Her tapestries were exhibited nationally and internationally.

She was later inspired by the paintings of Gordon Smith, particularly his interpretations of landscapes. Consequently, after investigating the effects of extreme weather, including storms, Keenan produced a series of paintings that illustrate their impact on trees and forests.

In 2008, Keenan graduated from Emily Carr University and began a series of drawings and paintings reflecting her observations on how the daily struggle against rain and snow alters the effect an individual's behaviour has upon others. How groups and individuals behave in extreme weather in public
led her to reflect on the role of the artist in representing subconscious behaviour.

Her recent work includes a close examination of fossilized trees and debris swept
ashore along the Vancouver coastline.Keenan's latest exhibition, with Phyllis Schwartz, InCamera the Working Dancer, includes painting, photography and ceramics and can be viewed at Queen Elizabeth Mezzanine Gallery in Vancouver.

This is a collection of intimate observations of working dancers confronting their own artistic boundaries.

Her portfolio includes collaborative exhibitions, curating group shows, an online
catalogue as well as artist's talks and editing a gallery catalogue.