Artist Bio

Mary James Ketch is a contemporary American artist living in Norman. Her narrative paintings are a visual distillation of scenes of everyday life, in which the figures seem to inhabit a lyrical, dream-like world. She draws on memories from childhood, family life, and the surrounding landscape. Mary attended the University of Oklahoma before receiving her M.F.A. from the University of Southern California School of Cinema-Television. She says she paints the world she wants to live in – dreamy, beautiful, and evocative.

“I am a self-taught artist, and my painting process is very intuitive,” she says on her website. “Just as we instinctively know whether a place makes us feel comfortable or not, we know whether we are attracted to a painting or not. The highest compliment I receive is when someone tells me a painting I did makes them feel something.”

Piece Description

“For me, the AAA valve is all about connection,” she says. “As a valve it literally connects things, of course, but it is also a connection to the past and a history of innovation. It reminds us that what we create and leave behind is also our connection to the future. With its ability to regulate pressure, it also serves as an example of how we may come together in community and connect to one another. Ultimately, I believe we, and everything in this universe, are connected in some fashion, and when I feel that is when I am most at peace.”