Jon P. Keenan

Professor
School of Arts & Sciences
Sonja C. Davidow ’56 Endowed Chair of Fine Arts
Joyce J. Kolligian Distinguished Professor in the Fine and Performing Arts
jkeenan@colby-sawyer.edu
603.526.3667

Jon P. Keenan

Professor Keenan joined the faculty in 1990 and teaches all aspects of ceramics, East Asian art history, First-Year Experience and Wesson Honors Program courses, along with online courses in visual art studies. In conjunction with his faculty role, he serves as the Director of William H. and Sonja C. Davidow ‘56 Fine Art Gallery, which presents four to five major exhibitions each year.

Active internationally, his studio work explores Raku and high fired glazed ceramics, along with anagama wood-fired functional and sculptural clay work. Professor Keenan has led students on earthquake relief and field study trips to Nepal for the Wesson Honors Program and in 2015 was a Fulbright scholar in the craft/ceramics department of the Tokyo University of the Arts.

Professor Keenan was named the Joyce J. Kolligian Distinguished Professor of Fine and Performing Arts in 2009 and awarded the Sonja C. Davidow ’56 Endowed Chair of Fine Arts in 2015. He is the recipient of fellowships from the Fulbright Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Marion and Jasper Whiting Foundation, the New England Foundation for the Arts, and the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts. He has presented and exhibited his work widely in the United States and abroad.

Areas of Expertise

Studio ceramics
Ceramic history
East Asian art history
Japanese language and culture

Professional Experience

  • Professor of Art and Art History, School of Arts & Sciences, Department of Fine and Performing Arts, Colby-Sawyer College, 1991-present (Served as department chair 1997-2006 and 2011-2018)
  • Fulbright Fellow, Tokyo University of the Arts, Department of Ceramics, Tokyo, Japan, Fall 2015
  • Sonja C. Davidow Endowed Chair of Fine Art, Department of Fine and Performing Arts, 2015-present
  • Visiting Professor, University of California Los Angeles, George and Gerry Gregory Laboratory for Solid State Materials, Fall 2013
  • Joyce J. Kolligian Distinguished Professor of Art, Department of Fine and Performing Arts, Colby-Sawyer College, 2009-present
  • Fulbright Fellow, Kyoto Seika University, Kyoto, Japan, Departments of Art & Anthropology, Summer 2009
  • Visiting Research Professor, Department of Art, University of North Carolina, Asheville, 2007-08 (academic year)
  • Visiting Professor, University of California Los Angeles, Department of Chemistry, Exotic Materials Institute, 2005-06 (sabbatical year)
  • Instructor, Penland School of Crafts, Bakersville, NC, Intensive Summer Course-Clay Session II, Summer 2006
  • Visiting Artist, Dartmouth College, Ceramics Program, Fall 2004-Winter 2005
  • Visual Artist Fellowship Review Panelist, Ohio State Arts Council, Fall 2003
  • Visiting Artist, Currier Museum of Art, Concord, NH, All State Arts Program Artist, 2000-2002
  • Visiting Artist, Federal University of Brazil, Department of Fine Art, Natal, Brazil, Summer 2002
  • Presenter and interpreter in Japanese language and culture for the Young President Organization (YPO) Global Conference participant: “The Paradox of Japan”, Osaka, Japan, Fall 1999
  • Visiting Artist, University of Leeds-Bretton Hall, England, Summer 1997
  • Visiting Artist, Hampshire College, Art Department, Winter 1990 & Spring 1993

Select Exhibitions, Presentations & Publications

  • Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts, Solo Exhibition, Ojai, California, fall-winter 2020
  • Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts, Ceramic Workshop Leader, fall 2020
  • University of California, Visiting Professor, George and Gerry Gregory Laboratory for Solid State Materials, University of California Los Angeles, fall 2020
  • Florence School of Fine Arts, Visiting Artist, Florence, Italy, rescheduled for summer ‘21 from 2020
  • William H. and Sonja C. Davidow ‘56 Fine Arts Gallery, Art + Design Faculty Art Exhibition, Fall-Winter 2019-20
  • Living Pots: The Art of Vivika + Otto Heino, Studio Potter Journal, Fall 2019
  • William and Sonja C. Davidow Fine Art Gallery, Coming Home: The Ceramics of Vivika and Otto Heino, curator and author of catalog, Summer-Fall 2019
  • William and Sonja C. Davidow ‘56 Fine Art Gallery, Liam O’Gallagher: This Was the Future, Spring 2019
  • Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts, Solo Exhibition + Workshops for community members and art students of the Besant Hill School of Happy Valley, Ojai, California, Spring 2018
  • Mugar Art Gallery, Colby-Sawyer College, Breaking the Mold: Collaborative Exhibition of Ceramics with Tokyo University of Art, Fall 2016
  • Tofuku-ji, Taiko-an, Four--Person Exhibition, Kyoto, Japan, Summer 2016
  • Encountering Gorkha, Nepal: Before and After, Wesson Honors Publication, Summer 2016
  • Kyofu-Ryu Ikebana: Japanese Flower Arrangement Through the Four Seasons, Ikebana and the Art of Japanese Flower Arrangement, Summer 2015
  • On to Nepal: Project Maya and the Way of Kindness, Wesson Honors Publication, Spring 2015
  • Baum House Gallery, Three-­‐Person Exhibition, New York, NY, Fall 2015
  • The Kitano New York, Ikebana Ten, New York, NY, Fall 2015
  • Friends and Fellow Travelers: A Tribute to Gerry Williams, Group Exhibition, League of New Hampshire Craftsmen, Concord, NH, Summer 2015
  • Metropolitan Museum of Art, Japanese Art Gallery, Ikebana Exhibition and Demonstration, New York, NY, Spring 2015
  • Kosei-in, 2-Person Exhibition, Kyoto, Japan, Fall 2013
  • Alliance for Visual Art (AVA Gallery), Four-Person Show, Lebanon, NH, Summer-Fall 2013
  • Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Tsushima Festival Photo Essay, Pavilion for Japanese Art, Winter-Spring 2012
  • The Fells: John Hay Estate, Sculpture and Nature, Group Exhibition, Newbury, NH, Summer 2011
  • Mugar Art Gallery, Colby-Sawyer College, Co-Curator, “Gerry Williams: A Life in Clay”, Retrospective Exhibition, Fall 2011
  • Kosei-in, Solo Exhibition, Kyoto, Japan, Spring 2010
  • John Molloy Gallery, New York, NY, “The Studio Potter Collection”, Spring 2009
  • Project Sunshine, “Art with a Heart”, Two-Person Show, New York, NY, Spring 2009
  • McGowan Fine Art, “Unearthed II”, Group Exhibition, Concord, NH, Spring 2009
  • Mudfire Gallery and Art Center, “Asheville in Atlanta”, Invitational Three-Person Exhibition, Decatur, GA, Fall 2008
  • Barro Sin Plomo, Group Exhibition, Dartmouth College-Sculpture Fest, Woodstock, VT, Summer 2008
  • University of North Carolina-Asheville, Tucker Cooke Gallery, Faculty Review Art Exhibit, Asheville, NC, Fall 2007
  • ArtSpace, Group Exhibition: Time-Based Animation and Ceramics, Raleigh, NC, Fall 2007
  • Celadon Gallery, Three-Person Show, Watermill, NY, Summer 2007
  • Machiya, Solo Exhibition, Kyoto, Japan, Summer 2007
  • Speaking in Clay Sutras: The Ceramics of Vineet Kacker, Studio Potter Journal, Fall 2007
  • The Studio Potter Collection Exhibition, Mugar Art Gallery, Colby-Sawyer College, Group Exhibition, Fall 2006
  • The Kimball Jenkins Estate, Paintings and Ceramics, Two-Person Show, Concord, NH, Fall 2006
  • Penland School of Crafts Gallery, “Ethos: Craft and Social Conscience”, Penland, NC, Summer 2006
  • Kosei-in, Solo Exhibition, Kyoto, Japan, Fall 2005
  • Alliance for Visual Art (AVA), Two-Person Show, Lebanon, NH, Fall 2005
  • The Fells: John Hay Estate, Two-Person Show, Newbury, NH, Summer 2005
  • Celadon Gallery, Two-Person Show, Watermill, NY, Summer 2004
  • Kosei-in, Solo Exhibition, “Recent Work in Porcelain and Clay” Kosei-in - a Buddhist temple and exhibition space registered as an important Kyoto cultural treasure; Summer 2004
  • Currier Museum of Art, Ceramic Artists of New England Invitational, Summer 2004
  • Colby-Sawyer College, Marian Graves Mugar Art Gallery, Art Faculty Review Exhibitions, 1991-present
  • Dartmouth College, The Barrows Exhibition Rotunda, Solo Exhibition, Hopkins Center, Fall 2003
  • Colby-Sawyer College - Ceramics, Empty Bowls Projects, 2003-present
  • Gallery Chizu, Solo Exhibition, Kyoto, Japan, Summer 2003
  • Presentations on art, craft and aesthetics at Tokyo University of the Arts, School of Visual Arts, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Corcoran Gallery, Renwick Gallery, Sackler-Freer Gallery of Art, Mint Museum, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA; Currier Museum of Art, Portland Museum of Art (Maine), Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2003-present
  • Visiting Shigaraki, Potters’ Valley, Studio Potter Journal, Winter 2002
  • Gallery Konishi, Solo Exhibition, Kyoto, Japan, Summer 2001
  • Holderness School, Edwards Gallery of Art, Three-Person Exhibition, Holderness, NH, Spring 1996
  • Machiya, Solo Exhibition, Kyoto, Japan, Fall 1996
  • Peabody Essex Museum, Group Exhibition, Salem, MA, Summer 1995
  • Harvard East Asian Program, Boston Children’s Museum, Solo Exhibition, Boston, MA, Spring 1990
  • Brattleboro Museum and Art Center, Japanese Crafts - New England, A two-year traveling invitational exhibition to New England museums: Worcester Museum of Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, MA; Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI; Museum of Art, Bates College, Lewiston, ME, 1987-89

Recent Activities

  • Adventures in Learning, Colby-Sawyer College art gallery presentations, 2017-present
  • Colby-Sawyer College, Workshops on the Art and Craft of Raku Firing for John Stark High School art students, Spring 2017-present
  • Colby-Sawyer College, Adventures in Learning, From Kearsarge to Kathmandu: Updates on Cross Cultural Engagement and Service Learning, Fall 2017
  • Tales of Nepal: The Maya Project, Fall 2015 and Spring 2016
  • School of Visual Arts, New York, NY, Presentations at the Liberal Arts and the Education of Artists Annual National Conference, Fall of 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2015, 2016
  • Festivals and Nature in Japanese Art, Faculty Colloquium, Colby-Sawyer College, Spring 2014
  • Phillips Exeter Academy, Japanese-English Translation for Ken Matsuzaki, Ceramic Artist, Spring 2010
  • Kyoto Cumulus 2008 Conference Presenter, The Greening Studio: A Model for Creativity, Sustainability and Community, Kyoto, Japan, Spring 2008
  • Gordon Research Science Conference, Solid State Chemistry, Colby-Sawyer College, Summer 2007
  • Stanford East Asian Studies Center, Kyoto, Japan, Winter 2005-06
  • Workshop presenter: The American Embassy School, New Delhi, India, Winter 2005-06; International School of Bangkok, Bangkok, Thailand, Winter 2005-06
  • Currier Museum of Art, Clay Demonstration, Manchester, NH, Summer 2004
  • Metropolitan Museum of Art, Japanese Art Gallery, New York, NY, Spring 2004
  • Dartmouth College, Ceramics Workshop, Winter 2004

Education

Kyoto City University of Arts, Graduate School, Kyoto, Japan, 1983-86, Ceramics and Art History, M.F.A. - C.A.G.S.
University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, 1978-1982, East Asian Studies, B.A.
Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan, 1980-81
Associated Kyoto Program (AKP), Carlton College
UNH Elliot Fellowship recipient for junior year study of Japanese language, art and culture