EXPO CHICAGO 2025 - Navy Pier

WEINSTEIN HAMMONS GALLERY booth

FORCED/FORCE sculpture installation that questions the ideas of right and wrong, the molds we are forced to fill, the abuse women endure - and celebrated the power of joining voices to speak out.

Tia Keo’s solo exhibition Permission shares new sculpture work that touches on themes of blood memory, women’s work and the armor women craft for themselves. The work is on view at Finlandia University Gallery from November 30, 2018 - February 15, 2019

Tia Keo solo exhibition Three Sixty Five at the American Swedish Institute ASI - on view June 30 - August 5, 2018

Solo exhibition at the Duluth Art Institute, on view Jan 11-February 17, 2018.

Sculpture installation by Minneapolis artist Tia Keo for the lobby of the Lowa46 building in South Minneapolis.

Raised copper and wire sculpture that explores the idea of coming full circle.

Mixed media sculpture by Tia Keo exploring the notion of women’s work as it relates to women’s handwork.

Blood Memory sculpture by Tia Keo explores the notion that our ancestors play in our present existence.

BAGGAGE is a sculpture by Minneapolis artist Tia Keo. Physical, emotional, verbal, psychological trauma can be buried and forgotten but that does not mean it is benign — our bodies don’t forget. We carry it with us as diligently as handbags and jewelry.

Day by day account of Tia Keobounpheng's metal explorations, funded by an 2017 Artist's Initiative Grant from the MN State Arts Board. 

Finnish-American artist, TIA (Salmela) KEObounpheng is growing beyond her roots in architecture and jewelry design to create sculpture work that explores themes of women’s work, women’s armor and blood memory.

MORE WORK ADDED SOON

The latest iteration of Minneapolis artist Tia Keo’s daily art practice that started April 4, 2017. One a day equals a prolific collection of expressive art.

As part of #the100dayproject for 2018, #100daysofresisting was conceived as a project of playing with masking fluid and watercolor paint as an experiment that could transfer to batik process for painting on fabric. The sub-context of resisting as it relates to applying the daily discipline of painting to other parts of one’s daily life was an unspoken part of the project. Resisting in a political context emerged front and center during the final 10 days of the project (to be completed on July 10, 2018.)

Tia Keo's daily watercolor project - days 301-365

Days 201-300 were spent painting with only one color: Daniel Smith's Indigo. 

Tia's first 100 day project #100daysofcreativebalance sparked a daily creative practice that reaches for 365. 

FLOTIFORM

Stemming from a longtime relationship between Silvercocoon and Danish Teak Classics, and inspired by a collaborative adaptation of Steve Swanson's (DTC proprietor) Minus-Plus wall-mounted, bent-wire jewelry racks for table-top use in displaying Silvercocoon jewelry for shows, Tia and Steve have embarked on their partnership: T/S Collaborative LLC.  

Doing business as FLOTIFORM, they have designed and developed a small collection of jewelry furniture geared towards home and retail/artist use.

Their working relationship is fluid, both working together on concept/design/development of new product options. Individually, Tia focuses on the identity, brand, packaging, and sales. Steve focuses on fabrication methods & coordination and product quality control. All stands are made in (relatively) small batches in Minneapolis Metro Area. 

The MINUS PLUS stand is the first product of their shared vision - a tall stand that accommodates necklaces, earrings and even a bracelt or two, with a wooden base that acts as a tray for setting rings, pins and bracelets. 

The INDEX stand was designed with Tia's jewelry collection specifically in mind. Each stand can hold 18 pairs of her earrings - which allows her display one style in each of the 18 color/material options per stand. When placed side by side in a row, the top little notch in the wire is the perfect finger-hold to pull each stand out to get a better view of the color options for each style -- thus working exactly like and INDEX. These same principles can be carried over to home use for those who have extensive earring collections - though the INDEX is fully able to hold bracelets and rings can be placed on its base. 

The T STAND is available in three heights and is heavily geared towards retailers and jewelry artists in need of clean and simple ways to display their work. We are all familiar with stands for single pairs of earrings which are great ways to showcase one pair and set them apart from others. The T STAND provides more versatility - capable of displaying one or more pairs of earrings, or a combination of earrings and a bracelet. For consumers who have closed jewelry storage, a single T STAND is a great place to set the earrings you are wearing today and tomorrow ... and then rotate them out as your patterns change. 

JEWELRY by Tia Keo

Tia has spent much of her life exploring the connections between art, design, craft and architecture, and has been and avid maker since childhood.

Her line of jewelry, which debuted in a solo trunk show at the Walker Art Center shop in November 2007, embodies a simple, organic, and playful style that appeals to the modern woman at every age. Pairing wood, wool, and acrylic with sterling silver, Tia's jewelry is light-weight and easy to wear while also being bold and expressive. Believing that design can improve one's everyday life, Tia and her jewelry invite you to "celebrate yourself everyday!"

Tia develops her designs in AutoCad (a computer drafting program used my many architects) and components are laser-cut out of sheet materials before being finished (wood-sanded and oiled, acrylic sandblasted and cleaned) and assembled by hand in her home-studio. All metal findings are 100% sterling silver that are oxidized to achieve the dark finish that so tastefully accents the acrylic and wood. Some wool pieces are made entirely by cutting and sewing by hand.

The jewelry is available in our online SHOP 

WAC Wedding

We approached each element of the design with a modern aesthetic that utilized the Walker Art Center and the Minneapolis skyline. We made simple, modern, and intentional choices that resulted in a consistent visual thread, allowing one main element to shine and secondary elements to support and enhance its features.

The invitation, response card and envelopes were clean, formal and understated to allow the silver laser-cut city wrap to be the bold element. The bride's bouquet was viewed as her primary accessory and its design encompassed the theme of the wedding - simple, classic, and modern. There were no formal decorations for the ceremony with the intention that the skyline would be the main backdrop. The seating chart for dinner was simplified into a single map with an alphabetized guest-table list. At the table, each menu touted the handwritten name of each guest, doubling as the place card for their meticulously-planned assigned seat.

The majority of the wedding guests were coming to Minnesota from the coasts, so the invitations were designed to be the first glimpse of Minneapolis and the wedding. As a stand-alone element, the city-wrap could remain at each guest's home and would be a reminder of their weekend in Minneapolis. The other print materials pulled the silhouette of the Walker Art Center from the invitation and became a 'logo' of sorts, which was carried throughout the printed materials from the welcoming package for their hotel guests (schedule of wedding events, food and beverage recommendations and welcome note), to the program, and the menu.

The flower arrangements, from bridal party bouquets to reception centerpieces, were conceived as a pairing of two types of flowers, peonies and green dianthus. They were pulled together in mono-culture-clumps so that their distinct features, textures, and colors would contrast and complement each other. For the ceremony, the bridesmaids carried pure peonies bouquets, the groomsmen and woman displayed pure green dianthus, and the bride and groom had a blend of both flowers. The centerpieces for the reception featured three peonies blossoms in a round field of green dianthus - with the round table-name cards coming out of the center of the arrangement. Bridesmaids' bouquets doubled as centerpieces for cocktail tables immediately following ceremony and during the dance.

Working with the bride, we created a cohesive collection of Bridesmaid Jewelry that allowed for each attendant to have a different set that was suited to her. All pieces were made from sandblasted Translucent acrylic with oxidized sterling silver: POD_Bunch necklaces, STONE necklaces-single and double strand, POD earrings, POD_Chain earrings.

Design Concept & Coordinator, Invitations + Print Materials: Silvercocoon, Tia Salmela Keobounpheng / Photography:Ingman Photography / Flowers: Lisa Roy at Flora Bella / Ceremony + Reception Location: Walker Art Center / Wedding Dress: Monique L'hullier / Bride's Shoes: Kate Spade / Bride's Accessories: Toni Federici / Hair + Make-up: Denny Kemp Salon, Kari + Lauren / Bridesmaid Jewelry: Silvercocoon, Tia Salmela Keobounpheng / Bridesmaid Dresses: J.Crew / Groom's Attire: DKNY + Thomas Pink / Event Coordinator: Premier Planning Services / Wedding Cupcakes: The Bulldog Northeast / Wedding Rings: Tiffany & Co. / Caterer: D'Amico Catering

TIA KEO designed a collection of simple interlocking acrylic ornaments for Silvercocoon.

MODERN TANNENBAUM

Tia originally conceived of this alternative Christmas tree in 2003 as a one of a kind tree for our own home. The Modern Tannenbaum's tapered wood trunk was the heart of the design and the first prototype sat atop a salvaged metal base that had been used for a retail fixture. Souliyahn designed the chunky, interlocking wood X-base and Robert Feyereisen perfected the spun connection of the trunk to the base. 

The first original 7ft tree was sold locally in Minneapolis in 2004 and was adapted to a 3ft. table-top version in 2007. Due to the nature of wood, the Modern Tannenbaum celebrates the natural, and sometimes uncontrollable variations that occur with solid wood -- slight curving of the trunk and small splits in the chunky base become celebrated details as unique as each of us. 

The trees are very labor-intensive to make, each one made by hand and adjusted pains-taking-ly to fit together. The last batch of trees was made in 2012. No plans have been made for a new batch. 

RICE PACKs are hand-made in Minneapolis, MN from recycled woven polyethylene rice sacks sourced from local restaurants.

These one-of-a-kind bags are perfect for commuting, errands, and adventures. The woven polyethylene material is durable (original sacks are rated for 50 lbs. of rice) and water resistant. Simple, but functional drawstring style bags are now available, with larger backpacks coming soon. Check out more photos and see the bags in use at facebook.com/ricepackmn  Support your local economy, reduce the waste stream, buy RICE PACK.

2014 MN Regional Yoga Asana Championship Medals

Each year, Bikram's Yoga College of India - Minneapolis sponsors the MN Regional Yoga Asana Championships. This year, the chief organizer, Martha Williams, asked Tia to make the medals for the Championship. As alternatives to actual gold, silver and bronze, Tia used a metallic sheet material that sandwiched a thick clear acrylic. Additionally, copper star medals were created for kids who took part in the Kids Yoga Demonstration.  

Each medal was designed in AutoCad and laser-cut out of sheet material, then assembled by hand. Ribbons were sewn with a sewing machine. 

PICTOS are digitally manipulated photographs created between 2004-2006