Fried Fruit Art Space is pleased to present Touch Tank, an installation exhibition by artist and art educator Hannah Keats. Through sculptural paintings, mural work, wallpaper, and digitally integrated processes, Keats creates immersive environments inspired by close observation of the natural world, particularly marine ecosystems and fungi.
Hannah Keats is based in Tallahassee, Florida, where she works between studio practice and teaching. She received her MFA in Studio Art from Florida State University in Spring 2025 and her BFA from the University of North Florida in Fall 2020. Keats is currently a faculty member at Chipola College in Marianna, Florida.
Keats’ recent work has been recognized through several notable accolades, including an award from The Nature Conservancy for work related to shark conservation. She was selected for Fresh Squeezed 9 at the Morean Arts Center in St. Petersburg, Florida, received a fellowship for the Mudhouse residency program in Crete, Greece for Summer 2025, and opened her first museum solo exhibition at the Bradbury Art Museum.
Whether examining marine life at a local aquarium, studying coral specimens at a nature center, or observing microscopic worlds of sand under a microscope, Keats’ practice is driven by sustained inquiry into environmental systems. These investigations are translated through hand-crafted components and digital processes, allowing microscopic and macroscopic observations to converge within the gallery space.
In Touch Tank, the installation mimics the experience of an aquarium touch tank and invites viewers to discover details throughout the environment while considering their own relationships to nature. The exhibition encourages slow looking, curiosity, and a tactile sense of engagement, both literal and implied, within constructed natural forms.
On the back side of the gallery, Touch Tank will be accompanied by a UNCW student pop-up exhibition of digitally printed textiles produced during a workshop led by Keats. This component extends the exhibition’s themes through pedagogy and collaborative making.
Hannah Keats is based in Tallahassee, Florida, where she works between studio practice and teaching. She received her MFA in Studio Art from Florida State University in Spring 2025 and her BFA from the University of North Florida in Fall 2020. Keats is currently a faculty member at Chipola College in Marianna, Florida.
Keats’ recent work has been recognized through several notable accolades, including an award from The Nature Conservancy for work related to shark conservation. She was selected for Fresh Squeezed 9 at the Morean Arts Center in St. Petersburg, Florida, received a fellowship for the Mudhouse residency program in Crete, Greece for Summer 2025, and opened her first museum solo exhibition at the Bradbury Art Museum.
Whether examining marine life at a local aquarium, studying coral specimens at a nature center, or observing microscopic worlds of sand under a microscope, Keats’ practice is driven by sustained inquiry into environmental systems. These investigations are translated through hand-crafted components and digital processes, allowing microscopic and macroscopic observations to converge within the gallery space.
In Touch Tank, the installation mimics the experience of an aquarium touch tank and invites viewers to discover details throughout the environment while considering their own relationships to nature. The exhibition encourages slow looking, curiosity, and a tactile sense of engagement, both literal and implied, within constructed natural forms.
On the back side of the gallery, Touch Tank will be accompanied by a UNCW student pop-up exhibition of digitally printed textiles produced during a workshop led by Keats. This component extends the exhibition’s themes through pedagogy and collaborative making.
Photos by James Farley