Brian Keeler Reviews
Diamond City/Electric City- Scranton, Wilkes- Barre,PA
Published: July 15, 2010
Artist extraordinaire
By Julie Imel
He paints. He dances. He plays guitar. And he volunteers in his community. With such a full plate and broad range of interests, one might wonder when
artist Brian Keeler had time to create the 33 oil paintings currently on
display in A Vision of Rhythm - Recent Landscapes and Townhouses at the
Pauly Friedman Gallery at Misericordia University. But as he could tell you,
the paintbrush is as portable as one's imagination. Meet Wyalusing's Brian
Keeler...
How do you describe your style?
I paint outside a lot, which is plein air style or alla prima (Italian for "at the first"). Painters use it to refer to still lives done in one
sitting. You try to seize that impression as you are sitting outside and
then finish painting in the studio. Four to five pieces in this show were
done that way. The rest were painted in the studio. My style is a type of
painterly realism, which means that it shows the process of brushwork and
drawing as part of the finished look. There are diverse subjects and themes
used, and over the years a variety of treatments and approaches.
There is a lot of color in my work and I've always had a lot of interest in
color. Others say they can recognize my paintings anywhere, but I don't set
out to be a stylist - not like Pablo Picasso or Alberto Giacometti. But my
style seems to be something people know when they see, even though it's not
something I purposely set out to do.
What other artists have influenced your work?
One of my earliest influences is "The Elements of Color" by Johannes Itten.
He said, "The end and aim of all artistic endeavor is liberation of the
spiritual essence of form and color and its release from imprisonment in the
world of objects." I read that and I thought "Wow! What a great mandate for
artists: to give them the harmonious joy of releasing color from
imprisonment." I highlighted that (passage) in my book. I also enjoy the
work of Caravaggio. It gave me a reason to go to Italy. And I enjoy Raphael
Sanzio. I've been to his home a couple of times in Urbino, Italy. I like the
basic approach of the Ashcan School. They started to look at Americana in
the ghettos and slums and subways as subject matter, and that thought has
been with me throughout my career; to paint everyday life - and to look at
beauty in everyday life.
I've always liked the Impressionists, too. One painter I call a "proto-impressionist" is Jean Baptiste Camille Corot. He was one of the
first painters to paint outside, and he specialized in Roman ruins, Roman
aqueducts and colosseums. I bought a book with a map and painted the same
places he did, and I wondered what ambient sounds were there in 1825 when he
was painting by the Tiber River. In Venice, I was painting at a canal, and
when I returned home I found out that was the same place John Singer Sargent
had painted; he's one of my favorite painters. Early in his career he did
portraits. His work was very fluid and beautiful and usually large - four or
five feet. He's a painter's painter; he paints with spontaneity and bravura.
The Spanish painter Diego Valazquez is one of my favorite painters, too.
I've been to the Prado to see his work in Madrid. I admire him greatly - the
spontaneity, the freshness combined with the mathematical order - is
beautiful. Georges Innes is another (artist worthy of mention). His soft and
brushy work is beautiful in his landscapes and I think there is an affinity
between our work. This recent body of work at Pauly Friedman is brushy, and
is akin to the poetics of his large oils. The fact that he painted in Italy
also is of interest. He did a beautiful view of the Tiber that is now in
Washington, D.C. at the National Gallery that I love.
How do you choose your subject matter?
I purposely seek out scenes that are timeless. In Wyalusing, that's not hard
to do because it hasn't changed much in years. Sugar Run also looks the same
as it did 150 years ago. I like this timeless quality. Another way I choose
my subject matter is to purposely juxtapose modern intrusions, or the banal
of modernity, with the quiet dignity of 19th century buildings. There are
several paintings where I do this, where I show a gas station next to a
beautiful church. It shows the disconnect between the architecture and the
art and culture. ... I guess in a way there's a vitality to it, a
pandemonium between the old and the new.
What are some of your other interests?
I love to dance. I teach dance in town and I go to all dance events in the
area. Teaching dance is a great way to be involved in the community in a
different way. I really like explaining it. I enjoy swing, the lindy hop,
the balboa, zydeco, salsa and others. There is a bit of a correlation
between dancing and painting. I'm also really excited right now about
playing in a fledgling jazz group. I've played the guitar my whole life (in
spurts) and now I get together with two musicians from Ithaca once a week
and we play in quaint pizza places. We're called Sunnyside, but that could
morph into something else. I'm just so thankful and happy that they included
me.
What are some projects you've been involved in locally?
I've been involved with the Greater Wyalusing Chamber of Commerce for many
years as a board member, and on the board of the Wyalusing Community
Corporation, a group that formed in 2003 to save the old McCarty Garage
(which is now the Greater Wyalusing Chamber of Commerce) and on the board of
the North Branch Arts Trail for 16 years.
What's next for you?
I'll have a show at Laura Craig Gallery in Scranton in September of Italian
works with my teacher, Tom Wise. I'm also working on a book, Color and
Context: the Exploration of Form and Color, the Painter's Art. Stephen
Dougherty wrote the forward, and he really went out of his way to say nice
things about my work. A publisher is looking at it now, and I'm hoping it's
released in the Spring of 2011.
- julie imel
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