Biography
William Keyser is a contemporary artist based in Victor, NY who has over 60 years of experience creating dynamic artworks at the intersection between painting, sculpture, and furniture design.
Resume
Born
1936
Education
2006
MFA, Painting and Sculpture, School of Art, Rochester Institute of Technology
1961
MFA, Furniture Design, School for American Crafts, Rochester Institute of Technology
1958
BS, Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University
Recent Exhibitions (selected)
2023
68th Rochester-Finger Lakes Exhibition, Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, NY, juried
2022
Spellbound: The Art Of Mystery, Oxford Gallery, Rochester, NY, invitational
2021
Art in Craft Media 2021, Burchfield Penney Art Center, Buffalo, NY, juried
In A Different Light, Oxford Gallery, Rochester, NY, invitational
2019
William Keyser - Painting and Sculpture, 2009 - 2019, University Gallery, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester NY
Art in Craft Media 2019, Burchfield Penney Art Center, Buffalo, NY, juried
2018
Ode To Joy, Oxford Gallery, Rochester, NY, invitational
61st Chautauqua Annual, Chautauqua, NY, juried
2017
Doubles & Dopplgangers, Oxford Gallery, Rochester, NY, invitational
60th Chautauqua Annual, Chautauqua Institute, Chautauqua, NY, juried
Art in Craft Media 2017, Burchfield Penney Art Center, Buffalo, NY, juried
2016
Hunter/Gatherer-Mead Collection, Gallery R, Rochester, NY
Archiving Western New York, Mead Collection, Marion Gallery, SUNY Fredonia, Fredonia, NY
Myth & Mythologies, Oxford Gallery, Rochester, NY, invitational
Points of View, Kristine Bouyoucos and William Keyser, Oxford Gallery, Rochester, NY, invitational
Collections
Represented in the collections of over a dozen museums, universities and corporations including the Museum of Art and Design (NYC), Art Park, Carnegie Mellon University, Eastman Kodak, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, Memorial Art Gallery, Nazareth College, Rochester Institute of Technology, Sheldon Museum of Art (NE), SUNY Brockport, SUNY Geneseo, University of Rochester and a great many private and ecclesiastical collections.
Awards & Honors
2003
Award of Distinction, The Furniture Society
1998
Merit Award, Carnegie Mellon University
1997
Elected to College of Fellows, American Craft Council
1986
Grand Prize, Modern Liturgy Visual Arts Awards Competition
1978
Distinguished Alumnus, Rochester Institute of Technology
1975
National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship
1952
Fisher Body Craftsman’s Guild Second National Award
Publications
Cooke, Edward S., Jr., Gerald W.R. Ward and Kelly H. L’Ecuyer. The Maker’s Hand: American Studio Furniture, 1940-1990. Boston: MFA Publications. 2003
Fairbanks, Jonathan L. and Elizabeth Bidwell Bates. American Furniture 1620 to the Present. New York: Richard Marek. 1981
Jacobus, John L..The Fisher Body Craftsman’s Guild: an Illustrated History. North Carolina: McFarland. 2005
Johnson, Bebe, P. and Warren Eames Johnson. Speaking of Furniture, The Artist Book Foundation, New York. 2013
Koplos, Janet and Bruce Metcalf. Makers: A History of American Studio Craft. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press. 2010
Lovenheim, Barbara. Breaking Ground: a Century of Craft Art in Western New York. Rochester, NY: Hudson Hills. 2010
Meilach, Dona Z.. Woodworking: The New Wave. New York: Crown. 1981
Nordness, Lee. Objects: USA. New York: Viking Press. 1970
Stender, Thomas, ed. The Penland Book of Woodworking. New York: Lark. 2006
Connection to Western New York
William Keyser taught Woodworking and Furniture Design in the School for American Crafts from 1962 to 1997. His home and studio is in Victor, NY.