About

Short Bio

Tracey M. Kessler, b. in Huntington, New York, obtained her BFA from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. She then pursued painting conservation and restoration at the Instituto de Conservacion y Restauracion de Bienes Culturales in Madrid, Spain. Tracey began her architecture and interior design career in New York City and has spent 25 years working on commercial, residential, and retail projects on both coasts. In San Francisco, she established her interior design company, TKID tkid-sf.com. Feeling the need for a second career. She decided to pursue her passion for art full-time. Over the past few years, Tracey has been developing new art collections in New York and has since relocated back to the Bay Area in 2010. Tracey's art exudes the serenity she experiences daily with acquaintances, friends, and family. Despite being influenced by the tumultuous times of our modern era, her art has a calming, organic feel that echoes her California lifestyle. Tracey draws inspiration from renowned artists such as Sillman, Tapies, Frankenthaler, Mitchell, Polke, and Burri. Her artistry uses a diverse range of media, including oils, acrylics, inks, charcoal, gesso, and natural pigments, giving her artworks a unique voice. Please see www.tkid-sf.com for ceramics, surface pattern design, interiors, lighting and textiles. Tracey can now be found working in her indoor/outdoor studio on Varda Landing in Sausalito. www.sausalitohistoricalsociety.com/saus… www.thesausalitofoundation.com/varda

Statement

I approach my work in a process-driven and experimental way, striving to blend turbulence and joy. Drawing inspiration from nature, history, and design elements, I explore themes, colors, and objects in my mixed-media creations.

For me, the act of creating art and being fully immersed in the process is often more important than the finished product. My ultimate goal is to be creative without worrying about the end result. As time goes on, my layered abstractions come to life and transform into something unique. I use a variety of media, textures, and gestures to explore different aspects of life, giving my compositions a sense of vitality and motion. By hand-molding and merging layers of material, my pieces slowly reveal their beauty.

The source of creativity remains a mystery, but I feel grateful to be a vessel for it.

Resume / CV

Born in: Huntington, New York
Lives in: Sausalito, CA

Education
1995 Bachelors of Fine Arts (FIT, New York) Internship-Painting Conservation-Madrid, Spain

Selected Exhibitions
2023 Friendly Tides, Marin Civic Center - 2/6-5/18
2022 Green Change, Earth 2050, Fiber art installation 4/24/22
2022 Marinship Studios-Artists of Varda Landing 4/2/22
2021 "Earthly Antinomies" Solo show:Oct-Nov. PALLAS Gallery- SF, CA
2020 "Duality" Virtual on-line exhibit- 9/1/30 - 12/30/20 Tarjan Center at UCLA - CalArts
2020 "Telephone" An international art experiment -
www.nytimes.com/2015/04/19/art...
2019 BayAreaMade - MarinMade event on Gate 5 Road - 6/15/19
2019 NIAD, There’s Reality, and Then There’s California, 6/1/2019- Richmond, CA
2017 Open Studios - Beyond The Wave Gate - Sausalito, CA
2017 Carbondale Arts – Correspondence (Mail Art) – Carbondale, CO
2017 Sarah Swell Gallery - Sausalito, CA
2016 Winter Open Studios – Beyond The Wave Gate – Sausalito, CA
2016 “Terrain- Navigating Landscape” 9/10-10/10 The Midway-San Francisco, CA
2016 Selected for 1st Artist Residency program at The Midway-San Francisco, CA
2016 Private Corporate Commission – San Francisco, CA
2015 Winter Open Studios – Beyond The Wave Gate—Sausalito, CA
2015 Spring Open Studios –Beyond The Wave Gate-Sausalito, CA
2014 Studio Visit Magazine – Volume#27- Carl Belz juror- Rose Art Museum
2014 Six works in the Flat Files at Pierogi Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2014 DiPietro Todd Events- Solo Show- Pacific Heights-San Francisco, CA
2013 SF Writers’ Grotto- Two person show “Random Bloomers” San Francisco, CA
2013 Artspan Open Studios- Big Umbrella Studios Group show-San Francisco, CA
2013 O’Hanlon Center for Art – Symbols- Group show-Juror- Gregory Wiley Edwards
2013 Mill Valley Public Library- June Solo show “Dhyan” Mill Valley, CA
2013 O’Hanlon Center for Art. BOLD -Juror-Robert Green Mill Valley, CA
2013 ArtHaus Gallery, “Abstract Notions” Jan. 9th-March 30th San Francisco, CA
2012 New House Gallery- Solo show “In the Canyon” Oct. 26th-Nov.26th Ross, CA
2012 O’Hanlon Center “Bay Area Women Artist” Mill Valley, CA Juror Donna Seager
2012 National Juried Exhibition Marin MOCA Curator Lucinda Barnes-Berkeley Art Museum
2011 “Artisan Series w/Rush Philanthropic”, 5 Claude Lane, San Francisco, CA
2011 “Girl Group” Art Haus Gallery Juried show Oct.-Dec.
2011 Art Span Fall Open Studios, San Francisco, CA
2011 “A Sense of Place”, Arc Gallery For NCWCA, San Francisco, CA
2011 Art Explosion, "Spring Open studios” Group Exhibition, San Francisco, CA
2011 POOL Art Fair @ The Gerswhin Hotel - March 4-6th, New York, NY
2010 “A Book About Death”, CW Post Campus, Stonybrook, NY
2010 “Swimming Up & Down Stream” Jak Home – Spring- San Francisco, CA
2010 “X-Initiatives”, Old DIA Museum Space - 24hr show, New York, NY
2010 The Brooklyn Art Library - Sketchbook project - Brooklyn, NY
2009 The Fine Art of Designers, Art Haus Gallery, San Francisco, CA Winter
2009 Gracie Square Art Show - Carl Schurz Park, New York, NY
2009 Gensler Art Auction- New York, NY - Summer
1995 Art Initiatives, ‘Maximum capacity’, New York, NY – Group Show
1995 Soho 20 Gallery, ’Real Life Show’, New York, NY – Group Show
Awards/Grants
2022 - Creative Capacity Fun - Grant recipient, San Francisco, CA
2020 - UCLA- Tarjan Center - Grant recipient
2020 Safety Net Fund - Grant recipient
2011 Creative Capacity Fund @ CCI, San Francisco, CA
2006 International Design Awards (IDA) Los Angeles, CA

Selected Private, Public and Corporate Collections
2018 Private Commission, San Francisco, California
2016 Parkside Headquarters, San Francisco, California
2012 Yamana Gold Headquarters, Toronto, Canada
2010 Brooklyn Art Library, Brooklyn, NY