Richard Keen
Richard Keen's artwork draws on both maritime history as well as the industrial workings of modern waterfronts. As a marine diver and an artist, his work embodies the shapes, textures, and emotions evoked by being close to the sea. It has been shown in regional, national and international exhibitions. He has received grants from the Maine Arts Commission, University of Rhode Island Visual Art Sea Grant, and Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation. His work was in the United States "Art in Embassies Program" and he has been a visiting artist at various educational institutions. Curators and critics who have selected his work include: Tracey Bashkoff, Associate Curator of Collections and Exhibitions at the Guggenheim Museum selected his work for the "Encaustic Works 2003 Biennial" at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY. Lisa Dennison, Director and Chief Curator at the Guggenheim Museum chose his work for the 2002 Cambridge Art Association's "National Prize Show" in Cambridge, MA. Other prominent jurors who have selected his artwork include: Phyllis Braff, Critic for the New York Times, Anne Rocheleau, Director of the Rhode Island Foundation Gallery, Moira Kelly, prior Director of Air Gallery in London, and Bruce Brown, Curator Emeritus of the Center for Maine Contemporary Art.
EDUCATION
1999 Masters of Arts, State University of New York - Albany, NY
1995 Bachelor of Fine Arts, Millikin University - Decatur, IL
1992 Associate in Arts, Southwestern Michigan College, Dowagiac, MI HONORS/AWARDS
2015 Dave Bown Projects 11th Semi Anuual Competition – Merit Award
2014 Artist Resource Trust Grant, Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, Sheffield, MA
Visiting Artist, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME
2013 Arts Visibility Grant, Maine Arts Commission - Augusta, ME
2012 Visiting Artist, Millikin University / Carriage House Press, Decatur, IL
Visual Arts Sea Grant, University of Rhode Island - Kingston, RI
2010 Art in Embassies Program, U.S. Department of State - US Embassy Dili 2007,09,11 Good Idea Grant, Maine Arts Commission - Augusta, ME
2008 Guest Artist/ Lecture, Pecha Kucha Night, Space Gallery - Portland, ME
2004 Guest Artist / Lecture, Merrimack College - N. Andover, MA
2003 Surdna Foundation Fellowship, Haystack Mountain School of Craft- Deer Isle, ME
Guest Artist/ Lecture, Brunswick Art and Cultural Alliance - Brunswick, ME 2001 Guest Artist/ Lecture, Fairfield University- Fairfield CT
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2015 Elizabeth Moss Gallery - Falmouth, ME (Island Geometry: Monhegan)
Gallery 49 @ Oxbow, Portland, ME (FOREandAFT: Mural: Recent Painting and Sculpture)
Simon Gallery, Morristown, NJ (Form Singularity: Recent Paintings)
2014 Leonard Craig Gallery, Unity College-Unity, ME (Form Singularity: New Painting and Sculpture)
Denmark Art Center - Denmark, ME (Converging Forms)
Elizabeth Moss Gallery - Falmouth, ME (Area Below Water: Photoencaustics) 2013 Think Tank - Portland, ME (Recent Paintings)
2012 Coleman Burke Gallery - Portland, ME (Point of Entry)
Elizabeth Moss Gallery - Falmouth, ME (Sea Geometry : Algorithms )
2011 Coleman Burke Gallery - Brunswick, ME (Nowhere From Here)
2010 Elizabeth Moss Gallery - Falmouth ME (Sea Geometry)
2010-05 Leighton Gallery - Blue Hill, ME ( Weir Series / Hull Series, Recent Works) 2004 Hay Gallery - Portland, ME ( Weirs)
McCoy Gallery, Merrimack College - Andover, MA (SPARS)
2003 Thomas Moser - Freeport, ME (Areas to Weirs)
2002 The New O'Farrell Gallery - Brunswick, ME (Recent Area Paintings)
2001 Lukacs Gallery, Fairfield University - Fairfield, CT (Area Paintings & Remnant Installation Project)
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2016 3S ArtSpace – Portsmouth, NH (On The Map)
Peninsula Fine Arts Center- Newport News, VA (2016 Biennial) 2014 Bowery Gallery - NYC, NY (23rd National Juried Competition) 2013/14 Cynthia Winings Gallery - Blue Hill, ME
University of Rhode Island Main Gallery - Kingston, RI (25th Anniversary Juried Sea Grant ) 2012 George Marshall Store Gallery - York, ME (Celebrating the Working Waterfront)
Cynthia-Reeves Projects- NYC, NY: Emory University (H2O: Film on Water) 2011 Blanche Ames Gallery - North Easton, MA (Juried National)
Penobscot Marine Museum - Searsport, ME (Art of the Boat) 2010/11 Flinn Gallery - Greenwich CT (Luminousity @ 180•)
University of Maine Art Museum -Bangor, ME (I-95 Triennial Invitational)
2009 Palmina F. & Stephen S. Pace Galleries of Art- Fryeburg, ME (Atmosphere of 3: Barclay, Keen, Knight)
Whitney Artworks - Portland, ME - (Fresh Paint)
2009 Spheris Gallery - Hanover, NH ( H2O: Film on Water)
The Art Complex Museum - Duxbury, MA (Ancient Medium, N.E.W. Terrain) 2008 Whitney Artworks - Portland, ME (Bi-Coastal Diptych Project)
Brian Marki Fine Art – Portland, OR (Bi-Coastal Diptych Project) 2007 ICON Contemporary Art – Brunswick, ME
Greenhut Galleries - Portland, ME (Fusion : 10 Maine Encaustic Artists) 2006 New Arts Program - Kutztown, PA (Small Works Invitational)
2005 The Center for Maine Contemporary Art - Rockport, ME (Water)
Chocolate Church Center for the Arts - Bath, ME ( Traces, Richard Keen/ Sarah Cowperthwaite ) Galeria Janet Kurnatowski - Brooklyn, NY (Form & Void, Journey & Time: Fowlkes, Keen, Sperber) Montgomery College Art Gallery - Rockville, MD (Drawing National II)
2004 Firehouse Gallery/ Vermont Arts Exchange - Bennington, VT (Faculty Exhibit , 10th Year Anniversary) University of New England Westbrook Gallery - Portland, ME (Home, Curated by Bruce Brown)
2003 Union Street Gallery, Chicago Heights, IL (Art & Industry)
The Center for Maine Contemporary Art - Rockport, ME (Curiosity)
Marist College Art Gallery - Poughkeepsie, NY (Encaustic Works '03, The Gallery at R&F Biennial) The Stage Gallery - Merrick, NY (Abstraction 2003, International)
2002 Cambridge Art Association - Cambridge, MA (National Prize Exhibition) Hera Gallery - Wakefield, RI (The Mark)
2001 Montgomery College Art Gallery - Rockville, MD (Drawing National) 2000 Lindenberg Gallery - NYC, NY (Art for the New Millennium)
SELECTED PUBLIC ART PROJECTS
Oxbow Blending and Bottling, Portland Maine: FOREandAFT – Temporary Interior Mural Topsham Municipal Office Complex, Topsham ME: Bas-Relief Wall Sculpture - R.Keen Kennebunk Elementary School, Kennebunk ME: Studio assistant for artist Joe Kievitt (Percent for Art Mosaic and Drawing Project.)
Vermont Arts Exchange - North Bennington, VT: River Artworks, Outdoor sculpture recycling and community outreach program.
YMCA, Mural - Decatur, IL: Studio Assistant for Artist Lyle Salmi Durfee Elementary School - Decatur, IL: Solo Mural Project - R.Keen
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Salgado, Andrew, Curated Selection for International Issue, Fresh Paint Magazine, April, 2016.
Kany, Daniel, Topography lesson with Richard Keen, Portland Press Herald, Maine Sunday Telegram, Dec.6, 2015. Thompson, Jamie, Abstract Influence, Maine Home & Design, The Canvas, Sept. 2015
Crowder, Jenna, FOREandAFT, Dispatch Magazine, Aug. 2015, Pg. 33.
Kany, Daniel, Symbiosis happens in two artist curated shows... Portland Press Herald, Maine Sunday Telegram, July26, 2015, pg. E9. Audience.
Kany, Daniel, Lose yourself at sea, Portland Press Herald, Maine Sunday Telegram, June30, 2013, pg. D3,10, Audience.
Raymond, David, Sea Algorithms: solo exhibition review, Art New England, May/June, 2012.
Kany, Daniel, Keen undaunted by Coleman Burke's large space, Portland Press Herald, Maine Sunday Telegram, June11, 2011, pg. D6, Audience.
Schroeder, Nicholas, Less is Moor, The Portland Phoenix, May 27, 2011, pg.12, Arts.
Kany, Daniel, Finding Strength in Sea Geometry, Portland Press Herald, Maine Sunday Telegram, July25, 2010, pg.D6, Audience.
Arts Issue, Ones to Watch, Maine Home & Design, April. 2009, Pg. 77
McAvoy, Suzette, The World Down Under, Maine Home & Design, Nov./Dec. 2009, The Canvas, Pg. 75 Isaacson,Philip, Changing times and stretching boundaries, Portland Press Herald, Maine Sunday Telegram, Feb.18, 2007, pg.E3.
McKown, Rich, Spars, Art New England, June / July, 2004, pg. 31.
