Richard Kamler

In 1963, after graduating from UC Berkeley I went to New York to begin my apprenticeship with Frederick Kiesler, the visionary painter, sculptor and architect. One afternoon, not long after I’d begun working with him, I was climbing the stairs to his studio and heard him speaking with someone. He had left the door ajar for me and was talking to a museum director from Switzerland. I heard him say, “through art we can change the laws of the world.”

For the past 30 years, that idea has driven me towards the practice of art engaged in worldly affairs. It has driven me towards an understanding that art is as much a part of our life as is the air we breathe and the water we drink. That art is an agent for social change. It is our fuel and our glue.

I practice art to communicate.
I practice art to make the world a better place.
I practice art because it is the most meaningful thing I can think of doing.
I practice art to come to the table and engage in dialogue.
I practice art to have fun.
I practice art to be part of the global community of artists and to participate in our common and creative struggle for freedom.
I practice art because I sing while I’m doing it.
I practice art to respect my grandfather’s request when he screamed at me to show him the face I had before I was born.
I practice art to have ONE un-edited activity for the full swimming of my imagination.
I practice art to say YES!

-Richard Kamler