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03/06/2024 08:30 AMFor many years, Don Keene’s bold and expressionistic art has graced East Coast shows and galleries. Now, the Madison resident is sharing 15 of his remarkable works during a limited exhibit at Guilford Art Center (GAC).
Don’s exhibit, which he has entitled, “Abstract Reality,” encompasses both realism and abstraction. These are paintings that Don has recently created, as well as some from among his works of the past 23 years. The free, public exhibit in the GAC lobby opened on Feb. 29 and runs through Sunday, April 7. Exhibit hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. from Monday through Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday. GAC is located at 411 Church Street in Guilford.
As described by GAC, within Don’s exhibit, “...representational images of landscape scenes reminiscent of Edward Hopper and the early 20th [century] American Impressionists lodge comfortably and harmonically, though simultaneously in stark contrast with, thickly executed and expressive oil imaginings more reminiscent of Edvard Munch's famous work, ‘The Scream.’ Winding up the display are four small imaginative watercolors, conceived by Keene in his studio, as part of what he considers his ‘morning exercises,’ within the past two months. Tying these disparate works together is the evidence throughout of a deft facility for handling paint in tandem with bravura drawing skills and a generous love of luxuriant color.”
When he’s at the easel, Don channels his brushwork from a deep bench of experience and resources, painting intuitively and with passion. He says most of his pieces, some which are 6-feet high, are developed over several months in stages, during “spurts” of a few hours.
“Once I start, it is very rapid. I’m trying to let everything I’ve learned about art flow and to be the conduit and not to sit there and analyze everything,” says Don.
Don prefers scraped and raw imagery to perfect and pristine.
“I work real hard to try to not to make everything look perfect. I’m not going for a finished, polished look that just comes to a point where everything’s smooth. The rawness and the spontaneity and the expressiveness is really important to me,” he says.
To catch a glimpse of what Don is describing, take a look at “Video 2021“ on his website, donkeene.com.
The site is also a testament to Don’s body of work and includes exceptional reviews that further capture the essence of his artistic style and accomplishments.
In his artist’s statement, Don notes that, “..the relentless speed at which we function impedes our desire for timeless, nurturing activity. The jarring, irregular and unforgiving clamor and rush of everyday demands makes meaningful intimate human interaction frustrating, at best, and too often impossible. I am intrigued by the terrible juxtaposition and strain between these two forces, to nurture and to keep pace.”
Don also shares that many of his paintings depict “...unclothed and under-defined figures engaging, attempting to engage, or at least yearning to engage in intimate human contact. These paintings may feel frustratingly unfinished, rushed or disjointed by the pace and pull of the typical day. If intimacy is to be obtained, it must be ‘captured’ or share space and time with competing obligations. Even though connections are usually less than satisfying, our need for them is not forgotten.”
Those works that Don says “may feel frustratingly unfinished,” are, in fact, never truly “finished”—and that’s the point, he says.
“When I stop working on a painting, I feel like it’s important for it to not look perfectly resolved, but to be in the process of becoming resolved. And then, the viewer gets to come in, and they understand that they’re looking at an evolving thing,” says Don.
This style allows the viewer to continue to appreciate the work over many years of viewing, always seeing things that are different or that make a new impression. Don counts himself among that viewership.
“These paintings stay interesting for me, and I don’t just say that because they’re mine! I think I put enough interesting things in them so that I want to keep looking at them, and not because it’s perfect, but because it’s a living thing,” he says.
The artist’s lifelong influences include Max Beckmann, Edvard Munch, Bob Thopson, George McNeil, Richard Diebenkorn, David Park, Francesco Clemente, R.B. Kitaj and Willem de Kooning. More recent influences include Cecily Brown, Dana Schutz, Cristina de Miguel, Robert Nava, Eddie Martinez, Joe Bradley, and David Humphrey.
A Syracuse, New York native, Don lived and painted in Westchester County in New York for many years. Don’s art education includes graduating with distinction from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California and earning a master’s in studio art from the College of New Rochelle in New York.
In addition to his numerous group and solo exhibitions in Westchester County, New York City, and Connecticut, Don’s work as a freelance illustrator has appeared in Sports Illustrated and The New York Times, as well as cover art for RCA records.
Don taught at private and public schools in Westchester County for 31 years. He also taught at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. In 2001, Don moved to Madison, where he works from his studio at the family’s home. Don has also taught group classes and private lessons at his Madison studio.
Shortly after first arriving on the shoreline, Don offered to lead a weekend seminar at GAC, a place he had heard about from a fellow artist in New York.
“I went over and I was very impressed,” says Don. “And I really loved the weekend seminar I taught. I think I called it ‘Breaking the Rules of Painting.’ So, I had this rebellious attitude about painting back then, too.”
Don retired from his teaching work last June. Now, in addition to continuing to expand his presence with shows in New York City and New York, one of his goals has been to bring more of his work to the local art scene in the shoreline area.
“One of the things that was at the top of my list was to go to the Guilford Art Center and see if there was an opportunity,” says Don of his current GAC exhibit. “Fortunately for me, they were really welcoming.”
See more of Don Keene’s work at donkeene.com or on Instagram at don_keene_art. For more information on Don Keene’s exhibit, with artwork available for sale, contact Guilford Art Center at info@guilfordartcenter.org or call 203-453-5947.