2025 PALISADES FIRE - BEANIE KAMAN

When the fire began, Kaman had an hour to put together a few things before evacuating her home and studio. Family photos, a few art pieces that she knew would be exhibited later, random things collected without thought that what was left behind would never be seen again.

“Losing everything is one of those inconceivable thoughts. Even when we knew the house and studio had burned, I couldn’t help but hope that there might be something saved somehow. When finally seeing the devastation with my own eyes, it was clear that absolutely nothing remained.”
Beanie Kaman
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All my paintings, drawings, fabric works, sketchbooks, all the printed publications and
documentations of exhibitions from over 50 years of practice were incinerated.
Gone was my sewing machine that had been my mothers and I had sewn on since I was a teenager. Gone were all my fabrics that had been collected from around the world on my travels, the fabrics and obis and kimonos that had been given to me with such love, the bits and pieces saved over the years from old clothes, a history that was so full of emotion – every piece meant something to me. A collection of beads that had started over 25 years ago, again full of gifts and memories of where they all came from, dissolved in the heat of the fire.

It is a test of one’s perseverance. The one thing I knew was that while the fire took everything, it couldn’t take what is inside of me to create art. That lives on, and I am working to make new artwork. So many people have given me fabrics, threads, notions to build my collection again. I am grateful for their kindness and I delight in using these new materials.

As an artist, Kaman is driven to create with her hands. She is currently working to create a body of work that will likely reflect this period of transience, displacement, and the overwhelming urge to once again create a sense of home. She has participated in several group shows this year at Out of The Ashes, Craig Krull Gallery and at Open Art Code:London, Gallery OXO.

If you are interested in commissioning a work, you can view her extensive portfolio and Kaman can work with you to make something in the same vein. Due to the variety of materials available, works will vary. Paintings can take several weeks to do, textiles as well – an average of 1 month each, but some can take longer, depending on their difficulty and resolution.