Keen, Richard

Title:
News Reports from Planet Earth, 2022

Exhibition Date:
July 2021

Acrylic on Canvas

Comment:
 My current body of work is in part a response to a patriarchal structure and a dominating power system that has survived generations of political protests and the fight for equality.

30 x 30 inches

Keywords:
Oil,Canvas,Paper

Keen, Richard

Location, ST

Richard Keen is a contemporary artist based in Maine. From 1997-2003 he taught privately and in public schools. Since then, he has maintained a studio at Ft. Andross Mill in Brunswick and subsidizes his life as an artist by working as a diver. Originally from Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, Keen earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Millikin University in Decatur, IL, and a Master of Arts from S.U.N.Y. Albany. His work appears in public and private collections internationally and he has been awarded multiple grants from various New England institutions including the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, Sheffield, MA and Rhode Island Sea Grant, Narragansett, RI. Keen ‘s most recent solo shows were at the Zillman Art Museum, Bangor, ME, and Elizabeth Moss Galleries in Falmouth, ME. Keen also exhibits with Abigail Ogilvy Gallery in Boston, MA, and the Painting Center in NY, NY. Keen has created public art and received grants from the Maine Arts Commission, University of Rhode Island, and the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation. His work was included in the United States "Art in Embassies Program” and has been reviewed in Art New England, Portland Press Herald, Maine Home and Design, Dispatch Magazine, Fresh Paint Magazine, and Studio Visit Magazine.

Artist Statement

I’m an artist, poet, and curator, and Artistic Director of Artpoetica Project Space in

Other archived works by this artist.

Image Info

Keen, Richard

Form Singularity No. 273

September 2022 Exhibition Catalogue

2022


Acrylic and oil on canvas 

My “Form Singularity” paintings take a more minimalist, or reductive, approach to seascapes. The primary shapes in these paintings are based on keels, rudders and other structural components of boats; often accompanied by references to horizon lines and water.


72 x 64 inches

Keywords:
Oil, Acrylic, Minimalist, Structural, Reductive, Contemporary Painting

Keen, Richard

Brunswick, ME

Richard Keen is a contemporary artist based in Maine. From 1997-2003 he taught privately and in public schools. Since then, he has maintained a studio at Ft. Andross Mill in Brunswick and subsidizes his life as an artist by working as a diver. Originally from Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, Keen earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Millikin University in Decatur, IL, and a Master of Arts from S.U.N.Y. Albany. His work appears in public and private collections internationally and he has been awarded multiple grants from various New England institutions including the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, Sheffield, MA and Rhode Island Sea Grant, Narragansett, RI. Keen ‘s most recent solo shows were at the Zillman Art Museum, Bangor, ME, and Elizabeth Moss Galleries in Falmouth, ME. Keen also exhibits with Abigail Ogilvy Gallery in Boston, MA, and the Painting Center in NY, NY. Keen has created public art and received grants from the Maine Arts Commission, University of Rhode Island, and the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation. His work was included in the United States "Art in Embassies Program” and has been reviewed in Art New England, Portland Press Herald, Maine Home and Design, Dispatch Magazine, Fresh Paint Magazine, and Studio Visit Magazine.

Artist Statement

As far back as I can remember I have made sense of the world through art. My abstractions begin from observation. Nature, man-made objects and the spaces between them that often generate geometric shapes and patterns inspire me. I filter which elements of my observations and experiences to focus on by removing unnecessary detail. Some of my finished work reveals direct connections to my experiences, while others are more reductive, leaving room for interpretation. I keep my work moving forward, exploring different mediums regularly, from classic oils to spray paint, epoxy and Styrofoam in an unending effort to not lock my practice into one mode of operation. I have three core series. My most abstract body of work, called “Form Singularity” uses painting and sculpture to reference seascapes and boat components like rudders, keels and boat building designs in a more minimal and reductive approach to making art. “Sea Geometry” paintings began after working as a diver in Casco Bay. They reference seascapes and use boat building designs to segment the compositions. “Abstracted Topographies” more clearly reference trees, landscapes and coastal vistas around Maine. They are reflections on hikes I take with my family and dogs. I work regularly to unite abstraction and realism through art-making in an effort to frame a common language in everything that I create.

Other archived works by this artist.

Image Info