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| Entrance hall at Linden |
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| Steve at work gallery 2 |
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| Honour system gallery 1 |
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| Finished work display gallery 1 |
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| Finished work display gallery 3 |
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Steve Keene at Linden
7th September – 6th October 2002
OPENING 6-9 pm Friday 6 September
Maverick New York artist Stephen Keene will be spending over four weeks at
Linden, turning painting into performance and transforming Linden's gallery
spaces into caverns of colour.
Dubbed the "assembly-line Picasso" and described by Elsa Longhauser,
Director of the Santa Monica Museum of Art, as "the Johnny Appleseed of Art"
Keene produces 100’s of paintings each day and sells them at bargain basement
prices. Using album covers, catalogues, magazines and works
of art as source material he performs with lightening speed and freewheeling energy.
In his trademark style Keene will mass produce up to 100 pictures at a time,
saturating Linden with 1000’s of paintings and selling them straight off the
walls at bargain basement prices.
He prides himself on being America's most prolific artist and to date has sold
130,000 works, each in his trademark expressive style.
"Painting should be part of people's lives and not separate from the
world, like a precious object" says Keene. He likens buying his art to
buying a CD, it is cheap, one of a multiple, easy to access and there for
everyone to enjoy.
The physicality of producing his many paintings is also an important part
of his work, "I think of it as an activity, as if you were a baker and you were
meant to make 600 cherry pies a day"
Over the course of the exhibition Keene, in full public view and for every
hour the gallery is open, will produce thousands of paintings, some inspired
by his new St Kilda surroundings. They will be priced to sell and visitors to
the exhibition can walk straight out the door with their new purchases.
Keene's connection with, and interest in, contemporary music (he has produced
album covers for independent rock bands like Pavement and The Silver Jews) will
also be indulged. He will be accompanied by DJ Kano from Revolver Upstairs at
the exhibition opening at Linden, 6-9 pm Friday 6 September, and will be
painting live at Revolver Upstairs from 7- 9pm Friday 13 September to a
showbackdrop of sounds from DJ Karen Leng.
More info at:
http://www.stevekeene.com
http://www.revolverupstairs.com.au
Gallery hours are: Tuesday – Sunday 1.00pm – 6.00pm
For further information and/or images please contact Amy Barrett-Lennard
on 9209 6794 or email info@lindenarts.org
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About Stephen Keene...
| Lives: |
Brooklyn, New York |
| Education: |
MFA, Yale University, 1984
BFA, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1981 |
| Exhibits: |
Galerie Steinek, Vienna, Austria, solo
exhibit, February 2002
The Czech Centre, London, England: PAN, group show
curated by Andree Cooke, November 2001
The Venetian Hotel, Las Vegas, NV: solo
exhibit/performance, September 2001
Santa Monica Museum of Art, Santa Monica, CA: solo
exhibit/performance, The Miracle Half-Mile,
December-January 2000-01
Philip Morris performance event, ZDF Festival, Berlin,
Germany, September 2000
Philip Morris performance event, Alte Pinakotek, Munich,
Germany, December 1999
Brooks Museum, Memphis, TN: exhibit/performance, May 1999
H. Lewis Gallery, Baltimore, MD: solo exhibit, December
1999
Rice University Art Gallery, Houston, TX: solo
exhibit/performance, Fresh Art Daily, September-November,
1998
Moore College of Art, Philadelphia, PA: solo
exhibit/performance, History for Sale, November-December,
1997
Kunstraum Wien, Vienna, Austria: group exhibit, Hotel
Mama, September-December 1995 |
| Publications: |
(Partial list)
Details Magazine, "Brush Man", by Carl Swanson,
September 2001
The Yale Herald, "Populism comes to the art gallery,
en masse", by Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow, February 2, 2001
The New York Times, "Let 70,000 Canvases Bloom in
the Art World," by Daniel Akst, January 3, 2001
Los Angeles New Times, "Only Faster," by
Suzanne Mantell, January 4, 2001
Reviewwest, "The Miracle Half-Mile: Ten Thousand
Paintings by Stephen Keene," by Jennifer Dalton,
January 2001
Los Angeles Times, "Bulk Rate," by David Pagel,
December 16, 2000
Baltimore City Paper, "Multiplicity: The
Assembly-Line Art of Steve Keene," by Lee Gardner,
December 15, 1999
Time Magazine, "Assembly-Line Picasso," by
Steve Lopez, December 1, 1997 |
| Cover Art: |
The Apples in Stereo, Tone Soul
Evolution, Spin Art
The Apples in Stereo, Fun Trick Noisemaker, Spin Art
Pavement, Wowee Zowee, Matador Records
Irvine Welsh, Marabou Stork Nightmares, W.W. Norton
The Silver Jews, The Arizona Record, Drag City |
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Public Art: Who Needs It ... ?
Whether it's a totem rising from a West St Kilda traffic
roundabout, Pamela Anderson beaming from a Middle Park façade,
or the latest outbreak of technicoloured graffiti, public art is
sure to get the locals talking.
Who makes it? Who chooses it? Who pays for it?: these are just
some of the hot questions. But on September 24 at Linden Centre
for Contemporary Arts they're cutting to the chase to ask
"Public art, who needs it ...?"
"We all need it!" says St Kilda resident Dr Chris
McAuliffe, director of the Ian Potter Museum of Art. "After
all, art in public places, art for the public, existed long
before anyone had heard of ‘Public Art'. But maybe the
question should be: Do we need bad public art?" He notes
that performances and temporary installations may be as relevant
today as the monuments and murals of the past.
Artist Ben Morieson agrees. He makes work for what he calls
"an uninitiated audience", intriguing and entertaining
them with roadside installations or a choreographed display of
burnouts in a Docklands carpark.
The City of Port Phillip has recently shown its commitment to
public art by launching its Urban Art Strategy. "We need to
be bold and ambitious, but avoid the rush to decorate," says
City of Port Phillip councillor David Brand, a passionate
advocate for protecting and enhancing our cultural heritage.
"We need to distinguish between the varying roles public art
plays. Public art fails when these roles become confused."
"Public Art: Who Needs It ... ?" is the first event
in Linden's monthly Local Knowledge series. Those attending
will join Middle Park artist Martina Copley, David Brand, Chris
McAuliffe and Ben Morieson in an evening of lively opinions and
spirited debate, under the watchful eye of chair Norbert
Loeffler.
And to kick off the evening in style, New York painter and
performance artist Stephen Keene will introduce his current
Linden exhibition and reveal his unique method of making art
accessible to the public.
Event details
6.30 pm, Tuesday 24 September
Linden, 26 Acland St, St Kilda
$10 (includes wine and refreshments)
bookings are essential: phone 9209 6794 or email
admin@lindenarts.org
For more information please contact Amy Barrett-Lennard on 9209
6794
The Local Knowledge series has been assisted by the City of Port
Phillip Cultural Programs Board through its Cultural Development
Fund.
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Linden St Kilda Centre for Contemporary Arts
26 Acland Street, St Kilda, Victoria 3182, Australia
info@lindenarts.org
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