Ree Kaneko

Ree Kaneko
Born Ree Troia Schonlau[1]
(1946-02-01) February 1, 1946
Omaha, Nebraska US
Other names Ree Shonlau
Occupation Artist
Arts administrator
Curator
Arts consultant
Years active 1971-present
Known for Jun Kaneko Studio
Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts
Notable work Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts

Ree Kaneko (née Schonlau)[2] (born February 1, 1946) is an American artist, arts administrator, and arts consultant from Omaha, Nebraska.

Early life

Kaneko, born in Omaha, Nebraska, grew up in a working-class neighborhood near the Old Market in a neighborhood called Little Italy.[3] Growing up, Kaneko wanted to become an artist.[3] In 1968, Kaneko is graduated from the University of Omaha, now known as University of Nebraska at Omaha, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, specializing in ceramics.[1] She went to New York, and returned to Omaha in 1971.[3]

Career

Kaneko was a studio artist for 11 years and served as founder and director of Ree Schonlau Gallery in Omaha from 1971 to 1984. She founded the Craftsmen’s Guild and Omaha Brickworks, both of which offered workshops and art classes. She founded Alternative Worksite, an Artist-in-Industry program, in 1981.[4] All of these arts organizations Kaneko ran were based in Old Market, rented spaces from the Mercer family of Omaha.[5] At the time, Omaha was not regarded as a center for visual arts.[3][6]

Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts

In 1986, the Alternative Worksite, an Artist-in-Industry program, became Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts.[7] The Bemis is a nonprofit arts organization that includes galleries and a competitive residency program for artists. The Bemis was a collaboration between Kaneko, her sculptor husband Jun Kaneko, ceramic artist Tony Hepburn, and visual arts curator and professor Lorne Faluk.[8] Kaneko served as Bemis' executive director until 2001, when she and husband Jun Kaneko dedicated their efforts to founding a new center for creativity in downtown Omaha, called KANEKO.

KANEKO

In 1998, the Kanekos opened an non-profit organization called KANEKO: Open Space for Your Mind, to support and promote creativity.[9] An old downtown Omaha Plymouth dealership was purchased and renovated to use as art storage space as well as a nonprofit center for creative studies. KANEKO now encompasses three turn-of-the-century warehouses in the Old Market District of Omaha.[8] Kaneko was instrumental in curating the first exhibit celebrating Omaha designer's Cedric Hartman’s career at KANKEO in 2014.[10]

Awards and honors

Personal life

Kaneko is married to sculptor Jun Kaneko.[8] The couple first met when Kaneko attended a workshop on Ceramic Sculpture with Tony Hepburn, held June 8-14, 1981, at the Omaha Brickworks.[9]

Kaneko has two daughters, Susan Schonlau and Troia Schonlau, from a prior marriage.[4] Both daughters work at the Kankeo Studio.[9]

Works or publications

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Award Degrees to 650 Students". The Gateway. 19 May 1967. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  2. ↑ Cardon, Stephanie (3 January 2013). "Meanwhile in Omaha: the Kaneko zipcode, the Bemis & thoughts on patronage". Big Red and Shiny. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Andersen, Kurt (25 March 2007). "Omaha's Culture Talk". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  4. 1 2 Biga, Leo Adam (1 August 2010). "Artist Catherine Ferguson’s Exploration Takes Her to Verdi’s Aida and Beyond". New Horizons. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  5. ↑ Clarridge, Emerson (15 February 2013). "Sam Mercer, Old Market's guiding hand, dies in France". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  6. ↑ Gubbels, Katie (10 December 1999). "UNO Alumni Millenium Profiles Ree Schonlau: Founder of Bemis Center". The Gateway. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  7. ↑ Leuschen, Kate (17 November 1988). "Bemis attracts international attention to Omaha" (PDF). Register (Omaha Central High School newspaper) (4). p. 6. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 Kimmelman, Michael (14 January 2007). "Giants of the Heartland". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Jun & Ree Kaneko - Omaha Business Hall of Fame" (Video). Omaha Trans-Video. 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  10. ↑ Logan, Casey (21 September 2014). "Omaha designer Cedric Hartman relishes life lived in the shadows". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  11. ↑ "Omaha Business Hall of Fame Members" (PDF). Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  12. ↑ Biga, Leo Adam (April 2012). "Chamber Honors". Metro Magazine. Retrieved 1 April 2015.

External links

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