X
c
Open Fridays 11am–6pm | Reserve tickets now
Contact Calendar Museum Store S
Asheville Art Museum

Asheville Art Museum

North Carolina museum exhibiting 20th century American art

Explore
D

Exhibitions

Collection

Learn

Calendar

Perspective Café

Museum From Home

Museum Store

Blog

About Us

Learn more about current and upcoming exhibitions.

EXPLORE EXHIBITIONS
>
Visit
D

Plan Your Visit

Tours

Perspective Café

Facility Rental

smARTguide

About Asheville

c

Museum Hours:

Open daily 11am–6pm. Late-night Thursdays until 9pm; closed Tuesdays. Pre-purchased online tickets are encouraged; walk-in tickets are also available.
m

Museum Location:

2 South Pack Square
Asheville, NC 28801
P

Museum Contact:

828.253.3227
mailbox@ashevilleart.org
Support
D

Membership

Gala 2023

Give

Collectors’ Circle

Volunteer

Careers + Internships

Museum Members receive 12 months of free general admission.
BECOME A MEMBER
>
Become A Member!
Home > Blog > Sister Resister by Keltie Ferris
Keltie Ferris, Sister Resister, 2017, oil and powdered pigment on paper, 40 × 26 inches. 2018 Collectors’ Circle Purchase from members Herbert & Kathy Patrick, Omari Simmons, Miller & Constance Williams, and an anonymous donor, 2019.06.01. © Keltie Ferris, courtesy the Artist and Mitchell-Innes & Nash, New York, photo Mark Woods.

Work of the Week

Sister Resister by Keltie Ferris

May 27, 2020

At first glance, I thought this was a painting of golden metal armor. But after examining it closer, I notice that it looked more like jeans and a dress shirt. The shape was made when the artist imprinted her own body onto the paper while wearing her studio work clothes. When I saw the title, Sister Resister, it all made sense to me. In my opinion this work represents the duality of being a woman and explores the concept of a community responding to a common cause, as implied by a sisterhood. I see her artist uniform—her day-to-day clothes—representing her as a normal person, but the intense orange and yellow speaking through the purple color makes it look like the armor that we put up in order to face women’s issues in society.

The idea to “perform” body prints came from the artist’s need to create something that was more personal than her other works. Ferris is known for her mostly large-scale canvases covered with layers of spray paint and hand-painted geometric fields, which she describes as “emotionally bombastic.” However, in this series she uses oil and powdered pigment on paper to create a literal mark, like a fingerprint. The imprinting process seems very complicated to a person with no art background, such as myself. Regardless, her concept is simple: a portrait of the artist, no props or other objects.

Another piece of evidence that this work represents an “armor” is that the body prints are part of a larger series by Ferris. They were on view in 2017 as part of an exhibition entitled M/A/R/C/H at the gallery Mitchell-Innes & Nash in New York City. She describes the collective works in the series as an army of bodies, and armies “march.” They also fight, protest, and resist power, reflecting the political issues that many communities are currently enduring.

~ Contributed by Development/External Affairs Assistant Sara Cruz.

^
Back
to top
Asheville Art Museum

Sign up for e-News!

f
t
i

Explore

  • Exhibitions
  • Collection
  • Learn
  • Calendar
  • Store
  • Blog
  • About Us

Visit

  • Plan Your Visit
  • Perspective Café
  • Virtual Visits
  • Facility Rental
  • Accessibility
  • Program & Event Tickets
  • About Asheville
  • Contact

Support

The Asheville Art Museum's vision is to transform lives through art.
  • Membership
  • Give
  • Benefit Events
  • Collectors’ Circle
  • Volunteer
  • Careers
  • Internships

Location & Hours

c

Museum Hours:

Open daily 11am–6pm. Late-night Thursdays until 9pm; closed Tuesdays. Pre-purchased online tickets are encouraged; walk-in tickets are also available.
m

Museum Location:

2 South Pack Square
Asheville, NC 28801
P

Museum Contact

828.253.3227
mailbox@ashevilleart.org
© 2023 Asheville Art Museum
For Press
>
Copyright Information
>
Contact
>