ARTIST STATEMENT
Kim Klabe
“The Center Cannot Hold” – Artwork Inspired by William Butler Yeats
During my time in college, I majored in Art and minored in English—two fields that satisfied both my passion for visual creation and my deep love of literature and poetry. Among the many poets I studied, William Butler Yeats stood out. His work made a lasting impression on me.
Yeats’ poetry is rich with symbolism and layered themes—bird imagery, mysticism, spiritualism, war, love, and nature. Many of his lines feel hauntingly relevant today, despite having been written in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Recently, I returned to his work, beginning with The Second Coming. That poem, particularly the following lines, became the seed for this series:
“Things fall apart; the center cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.”
In this body of work, I allowed myself to deeply explore the emotional weight of Yeats’ poetry, letting it move through me and shape the visual expression that emerged. Each piece is titled with an excerpt from his writing, echoing the themes and tone reflected in the art.
Kim Klabe
“The Center Cannot Hold” – Artwork Inspired by William Butler Yeats
During my time in college, I majored in Art and minored in English—two fields that satisfied both my passion for visual creation and my deep love of literature and poetry. Among the many poets I studied, William Butler Yeats stood out. His work made a lasting impression on me.
Yeats’ poetry is rich with symbolism and layered themes—bird imagery, mysticism, spiritualism, war, love, and nature. Many of his lines feel hauntingly relevant today, despite having been written in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Recently, I returned to his work, beginning with The Second Coming. That poem, particularly the following lines, became the seed for this series:
“Things fall apart; the center cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.”
In this body of work, I allowed myself to deeply explore the emotional weight of Yeats’ poetry, letting it move through me and shape the visual expression that emerged. Each piece is titled with an excerpt from his writing, echoing the themes and tone reflected in the art.
Mere Anarchy is Loosed Upon the World
$1,100.00
24 x 24
Wood panel, rice paper, charcoal, acrylic, pastel, conte crayon
From the Second Coming by W.B. Yeats
Black framed panel
The Falcon Cannot Hear the Falconer
$800.00
20 x 20
Wood panel, rice paper, charcoal, acrylic
From "The Second Coming" by WB Yeats
Under the Golden or Silver Skies
$300.00
Sold out
8 x 10
Wood panel, rice paper, charcoal, acrylic, flip-flop transfer
From "The Man Who Dreamed of FaeryLand" by W.B. Yeats
Black framed panel
A Torque of Gold
$350.00
Sold out
11 x 9
Wood panel, rice paper, charcoal, acrylic
Inspired by "The Madness of King Goll" by W.B. Yeats.
Too Long a Sacrifice
$375.00
Sold out
12 x 12
Wood panel, rice paper, charcoal, acrylic, cut paper
From "Easter, 1916" by WB Yeats
Black framed panel
Where Flapping Herons Wake
$3,995.00
48 x 48
Wood panel, rice paper, charcoal, acrylic, conte crayon, pastel and cut paper
Inspired by "The Stolen Child" by W.B. Yeats
Where dips the rocky highland
Of Sleuth Wood in the lake,
There lies a leafy island
Where flapping herons wake
The drowsy water rats;
There we've hid our faery vats,
Full of berrys
And of reddest stolen cherries.
Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.
Available at Gallery 50, Rehoboth DE
O Sages
$795.00
Sold out
24 x 18
Wood panel, rice paper, charcoal, acrylic
Inspired by "Sailing to Byantium" by W.B. Yeats
O sages standing in God's holy fire
As in the gold mosaic of a wall,
Come from the holy fire, perne in a gyre,
And be the singing-masters of my soul.
Consume my heart away; sick with desire
And fastened to a dying animal
It knows not what it is; and gather me
Into the artifice of eternity.
Available at Gallery 50, Rehoboth Delaware
My Soul, My Self
$640.00
Sold out
16 x 20
Wood panel, rice paper, charcoal, acrylic, cut paper
Inspired by "A Dialogue of Self and Soul" by W.B. Yeats
My Child Sleeps On
$800.00
20 x 20
Wood panel, rice paper, charcoal, acrylic
Inspired by "A Prayer For My Daughter" by W.B. Yeats
Available from River Gallery, Chattanooga Tennessee
The Pilgrim Soul of You
$850.00
Sold out
24 x 18
Wood panel, rice paper, charcoal, acrylic
Inspired by "When You Are Old" by W.B. Yeats
Available through River Gallery, Chattanooga, Tennessee