Joanna Keane Lopez (b. 1991, Albuquerque, New Mexico) is a multidisciplinary artist working at the intersection of sculpture, video, photography, site-specific installation, and the vernacular earthen architectural traditions of the American Southwest. Her practice draws upon adobe architectural craft traditions, material inquiry, and archival research to investigate the intersections of land, military coloniality, territorial jurisdiction, and the built environment through adobe, wood, paper, and textiles. Inheriting adobe-building knowledge from her family and community in New Mexico, Keane Lopez continues the legacy of enjarradoras and adoberas—women who specialize in traditional earthen construction. Through sculpture, installation, and educational workshops, she reimagines building practices and craft histories to examine how vernacular architecture carries histories of labor, memory, and place. Her recent work considers the enduring effects of militarization and environmental contamination on the landscapes and communities of the American Southwest.
Keane Lopez has exhibited nationally at institutions which include: SITE Santa Fe, The Momentary of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, The San Jose Art Museum, The National Hispanic Cultural Center Art Museum, Akron Art Museum, Sarasota Art Museum, The Harwood Museum of Art, and has been supported by the Jack K. and Gertrude Murphy Award, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.