Clay Ketter b. 1961

Clay Ketter's work is characterized by an uncompromising clarity, be it painting, sculpture or photographic work. Although following an evolutionary path which appears to be completely logical, Ketter manages to take the viewer by surprise again and again by a skillful combination of content and execution. His artistic career originates in Sweden, which has been his home since the late 1980's, while his work has been exhibited in numerous museums, art institutions and galleries around the world. Early on in his career, Ketter experimented with materials not normally associated with fine art: his Wall Paintings and Trace Paintings challenge the viewer as to the distinction between craftsmanship and art, often succeeding in the refutation of this distinction. Through the years, Ketter's art has evolved around more existential issues. Mankind's futile struggle for protection against natural forces as well as other inevitabilities can be seen as the thematic backdrop for the photographic series Gulf Coast Slabs as well as his claustrophobic assemblages of doll's houses. In these traces of human life and deconstruction, Ketter's art is outstanding in its ability to highlight the fragility of our existence.

Clay Ketter (b. 1961 in Brunswick, Maine) works in painting, sculpture and photography. Over recent years, Ketter has had solo shows in London, New York, Paris, and Copenhagen, as well as participated in group shows at Whitechapel Gallery and Saatchi Gallery, London, Lunds konsthall, Artipelag and Norrköpings Konstmuseum. In 2022-23, Ketter had a solo show at RAVINEN, Båstad. He is represented in numerous international collections such as Saatchi Collection, London, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Brooklyn Museum, New York, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, Perez Museum Collections, Miami, Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, and Prada Foundation, Milano. In a Nordic context, Ketter’s work is part of the collections at Moderna Museet, Malmö Konstmuseum, Göteborgs konstmuseum, Museum of Artistic Process and Public Art/Skissernas Museum, Lund, Uppsala Konstmuseum, Astrup Fearnley Museet, ARKEN Museum for Moderne Kunst and Louisiana.