DEBORAH KELLER-RIHN
Deborah Keller-Rihn is an artist, teacher, curator and cultural organizer in San Antonio, Texas. Her personal artwork is at the center of all of these creative endeavors and is a way of expressing her spiritual and philosophical interests.
Her interest in Eastern spirituality began in earnest in 2001 and her spiritual process was the subject of her master's thesis called Symbolic Transformations: The Creation of a Personal Mythology. This project features photographs that were created as rituals inspired by her spiritual and psychological readings. Her studies further led her to create the 21 Aspects of Tara, based upon Tibet’s most popular goddess who represents compassion and virtuous, enlightened activity as well as many mandala inspired art works and performances. In 2006, Deborah sponsored Tibetan artist, Rabkar Wangchuk to come to America to collaborate on this exhibition and to collaborate on educational projects involving the Tibetan art forms primarily the mandala tradition practiced by Tibetan monks. In 2012, she went to India to document the kolam tradition practiced by the women there which is a women's art similar to the mandala. Kolams are a geometric art form that has been practiced by the women of South India for millennia, predating the mandala tradition. Since her return she has created several shows inspired by her travels including Personal Journey at Northwest Vista College, The Many Faces of India at the San Antonio Health Science Center Library, Namaste at Highwire Arts in San Antonio and Works by Three at St. Mary’s University. The show at St. Mary’s features kolam photographs that are hand colored and enhanced with an encaustic technique. The Personal Journey show featured portraits in altar boxes and also works by other local artists about their own journeys whether internal or external. The show at Highwire Arts, called Namaste was an installation of 30 portraits in hand painted altar boxes within an environment made to resemble a Hindu Temple with kolams drawn on the floor as well as Indian music and dancing. Deborah also had a show at Gallery 20/20 for Fotoseptiembre in 2017 called Traces of Perception: Glimpses of a Life Divine. The images of India were superimposed in Photoshop and then printed on handmade paper from the Sri Aurobindo Papermaking Studio and handcolored with watercolors and pencil colors. Satchitanda was created to show in the Upstairs Studio area outside of her studio in 2020. The images were meant to convey the idea of Sat (Truth) + Chit (Consciousness) + Ananda (Bliss), the subjective experience of the ultimate unchanging reality in Hinduism called Brahman. The show is meant to represent the artist's aspirations of spiritual growth and personal realization. The artist plans to return to India to study at the Sri Aurobindo Centre of Advanced Research and her project is called Fine Arts in the Evolution of Human Consciousness: Research in Light of Sri Aurobindo's Yoga and Philosophy. The project involves writing a book and producing art work as well as educational programs involving art and spirituality.
The artist has a studio and gallery in the Blue Star Arts Complex called Keller~Rihn Studio (Studio 209) where she has been for over twenty years. There she has had regular monthly shows for herself, the community, her students and for other artists in San Antonio and in the world. In 2020, for example, she had a group show in January called Blue featuring works that were literally blue or blue in concept. In February, she curated an installation called Invitation to the Journey inspired by the poetry of Baudelaire and Neruda. In March, she curated a show called Feminism in Environmentalism for Contemporary Art Month. In fact, Deborah has had literally hundreds of shows in her Blue Star space and has had a show or honoring women almost every year in her artistic career and to honor her daughter who was born March 8th, International Women's Day. As a photographer, Deborah has also been very active in the Fotoseptiembre Festival since its beginning in 1998.
Deborah taught art in the public schools in various schools at every level from kindergarten to college. Most recently she taught photography and humanities at Northwest Vista College for ten years where she also curated many art shows for the college. She has worked as the fine arts coordinator in Edgewood School District and helped open the Fine Arts Academy in that district. She was also the assistant curator of education at the San Antonio Museum of Art, program director at Bihl Haus Arts, arts program manager at Centro Cultural Aztlan and has worked independently as a curator and organizer on dozens of events and exhibitions. She has received two city grants for her projects which include the Mandala Healing Arts Project and Lighten Up, a festival honoring enlightened creative community. She and her creative partners, Ramon Vasquez y Sanchez and Erik Bosse initiated Noche de Recuerdos, the first floating illuminated altar event at the Woodlawn Lake Casting Pond. She was also the program coordinator for El Gran Dia de los Artistas in 2006 which was the first event to celebrate Centro Cultural Aztlan's move to the Deco Area. She had been very active with Centro Cultural Azlan at its Las Palmas location which was located in Edgewood School District where she taught for many years. She recently was the main organizer for Centro Cultural Aztlan's Dia de los Muertos on the Old Spanish Trail that was funded through a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts. Her own artwork has always been central to all of this creativity and is in the permanent collections of the University of Texas in San Antonio and the San Antonio Blood and Tissue Center. Deborah has a BA in Humanities where she graduated magna cum laude with honors, teaching credential in All-Level Art from UT Austin and a master’s degree in Art from
Texas A & M in Kingsville.
Deborah Keller-Rihn is an artist, teacher, curator and cultural organizer in San Antonio, Texas. Her personal artwork is at the center of all of these creative endeavors and is a way of expressing her spiritual and philosophical interests.
Her interest in Eastern spirituality began in earnest in 2001 and her spiritual process was the subject of her master's thesis called Symbolic Transformations: The Creation of a Personal Mythology. This project features photographs that were created as rituals inspired by her spiritual and psychological readings. Her studies further led her to create the 21 Aspects of Tara, based upon Tibet’s most popular goddess who represents compassion and virtuous, enlightened activity as well as many mandala inspired art works and performances. In 2006, Deborah sponsored Tibetan artist, Rabkar Wangchuk to come to America to collaborate on this exhibition and to collaborate on educational projects involving the Tibetan art forms primarily the mandala tradition practiced by Tibetan monks. In 2012, she went to India to document the kolam tradition practiced by the women there which is a women's art similar to the mandala. Kolams are a geometric art form that has been practiced by the women of South India for millennia, predating the mandala tradition. Since her return she has created several shows inspired by her travels including Personal Journey at Northwest Vista College, The Many Faces of India at the San Antonio Health Science Center Library, Namaste at Highwire Arts in San Antonio and Works by Three at St. Mary’s University. The show at St. Mary’s features kolam photographs that are hand colored and enhanced with an encaustic technique. The Personal Journey show featured portraits in altar boxes and also works by other local artists about their own journeys whether internal or external. The show at Highwire Arts, called Namaste was an installation of 30 portraits in hand painted altar boxes within an environment made to resemble a Hindu Temple with kolams drawn on the floor as well as Indian music and dancing. Deborah also had a show at Gallery 20/20 for Fotoseptiembre in 2017 called Traces of Perception: Glimpses of a Life Divine. The images of India were superimposed in Photoshop and then printed on handmade paper from the Sri Aurobindo Papermaking Studio and handcolored with watercolors and pencil colors. Satchitanda was created to show in the Upstairs Studio area outside of her studio in 2020. The images were meant to convey the idea of Sat (Truth) + Chit (Consciousness) + Ananda (Bliss), the subjective experience of the ultimate unchanging reality in Hinduism called Brahman. The show is meant to represent the artist's aspirations of spiritual growth and personal realization. The artist plans to return to India to study at the Sri Aurobindo Centre of Advanced Research and her project is called Fine Arts in the Evolution of Human Consciousness: Research in Light of Sri Aurobindo's Yoga and Philosophy. The project involves writing a book and producing art work as well as educational programs involving art and spirituality.
The artist has a studio and gallery in the Blue Star Arts Complex called Keller~Rihn Studio (Studio 209) where she has been for over twenty years. There she has had regular monthly shows for herself, the community, her students and for other artists in San Antonio and in the world. In 2020, for example, she had a group show in January called Blue featuring works that were literally blue or blue in concept. In February, she curated an installation called Invitation to the Journey inspired by the poetry of Baudelaire and Neruda. In March, she curated a show called Feminism in Environmentalism for Contemporary Art Month. In fact, Deborah has had literally hundreds of shows in her Blue Star space and has had a show or honoring women almost every year in her artistic career and to honor her daughter who was born March 8th, International Women's Day. As a photographer, Deborah has also been very active in the Fotoseptiembre Festival since its beginning in 1998.
Deborah taught art in the public schools in various schools at every level from kindergarten to college. Most recently she taught photography and humanities at Northwest Vista College for ten years where she also curated many art shows for the college. She has worked as the fine arts coordinator in Edgewood School District and helped open the Fine Arts Academy in that district. She was also the assistant curator of education at the San Antonio Museum of Art, program director at Bihl Haus Arts, arts program manager at Centro Cultural Aztlan and has worked independently as a curator and organizer on dozens of events and exhibitions. She has received two city grants for her projects which include the Mandala Healing Arts Project and Lighten Up, a festival honoring enlightened creative community. She and her creative partners, Ramon Vasquez y Sanchez and Erik Bosse initiated Noche de Recuerdos, the first floating illuminated altar event at the Woodlawn Lake Casting Pond. She was also the program coordinator for El Gran Dia de los Artistas in 2006 which was the first event to celebrate Centro Cultural Aztlan's move to the Deco Area. She had been very active with Centro Cultural Azlan at its Las Palmas location which was located in Edgewood School District where she taught for many years. She recently was the main organizer for Centro Cultural Aztlan's Dia de los Muertos on the Old Spanish Trail that was funded through a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts. Her own artwork has always been central to all of this creativity and is in the permanent collections of the University of Texas in San Antonio and the San Antonio Blood and Tissue Center. Deborah has a BA in Humanities where she graduated magna cum laude with honors, teaching credential in All-Level Art from UT Austin and a master’s degree in Art from
Texas A & M in Kingsville.