Artist Bio

Khae Haskell is a nonbinary interdisciplinary visual artist, draftsperson, and illustrator. Haskell has shown in a variety of venues throughout New York, including Established Gallery, The Governors Island Art Fair, The Old Stone House, The Other Art Fair, and Trestle Gallery. They completed their MFA in Visual Art at Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2020, and their BA in Communications Design at Marymount Manhattan College in 2005. Haskell was awarded residencies at ChaShaMa North Artist Residency, Vermont Studio Center, and completed an art handling apprenticeship in the Crozier Fine Arts Apprenticeship Program. They have self published two books of their Decomposed drawings and are currently working on a book of their Flourished drawings.

Haskell’s Pronouns are They, Them, Theirs.

Artist Statement

My process begins with studying the intricacies of nature that I stumble upon throughout my travels in Brooklyn. I am often seeking out unwanted and overlooked details such as rotting plant and animal matter, the texture of oyster shells, or what grows between the cracks in the sidewalk. I start with detailed ink drawings and then use those drawings to create other mixed media works and installations. The drawings are broken down into two sibling series, Decomposed and Flourished, one focusing on the undesired occurrences in nature, while the other is a collection of botanicals observed throughout the city. Each work is labeled by the series and number, while the specific subject remains anonymous to give each viewer an unbiased experience.

How does the theme ‘Biosphere’ play a role in your work?

My work focuses on revealing the elements of nature that are often overlooked and unwanted in an aesthetic sometimes beautifying manner. I am interested in the process of decomposition and the life cycle with both animal and plant matter, and I try to illustrate parts of those processes within my art. Most of my work focuses on the urban environment and what is found scattered throughout the streets of the city. My inspiration can typically include decomposing birds, rats and insects, as well as botanicals. I show my viewers an undesired biological world but filtered into graphic drawings and installations.

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