You have paintings up in our current show "Rocket to Nowhere," which also includes work by local artists Jeff Hale and Lila Jarzombek. How did you become a part of the show? Can you talk a little about your work in the show?
We originally connected from the work of mine they saw at the RISD thesis show awhile back. Jeff contacted me about an exhibit they were putting on at Amigos and asked if I'd like to join in.
I've always felt pressured to make BIG paintings. "You're a man! Make big paintings." or, "You're from Texas! Make big paintings." The small scale resists such notions, but then I might be lumped in with being precious. I'll take being precious even though the process and materials used might seem contradictory (rubbing them against the floors, walls, ceilings and empty stairwells to gather much needed filth, grime, debris and dust). People may see them as abstract paintings, but I don't. They're weird little objects with unknown powers only to be revealed later. In short, they're about not taking things for granted: the painting stretcher, the space they occupy, the freedom to make paintings about paintings instead of about human trafficking, hunger, or hate, so thank you gods, USA, and the governing forces of the universe that be for letting me do what I do what I please -- blessed are my souls.
In your CV, your solo exhibition listing consists of such accessible locales such as the post office and Ben & Jerry's. You state that these locations bypass "the conventions of art galleries and institutions by being installed and left within the interiors of public places." Do you leave your work in these spots without permission or are they formally on view there?
The paintings are installed and left without permission in public places my family and I visit, but who would ever expect permission to be granted for receiving a gift? I'd hope they're still on view, but not in the site originally placed. Ideally, they're in someone's living room corner, above a toilet, in an old attic chest, or within the city dump waiting to be excavated worlds later.
How does living in Providence compare to El Paso?
No place compares to home -- CHUCO TOWN 915 por vida!!!
Although, there are some similarities. Let me explain. Duration of crummy weather: Providence = long, cold winters; El Paso = long, hot summers. Both locals have mucho mucho pride in their hometown. Both have a vast, rich history. Both cities are in a state of in between: Providence = between Boston and NYC; El Paso = between East Texas and West coast (sorry New Mexico and Arizona). Both got bad drivers: Providence has MASSholes (as I've been told and not quite sure they deserve all the blame); El Paso has New Mexican drivers and Mexican drivers from across the border. I should clarify, it's not that the Mexican drivers are bad, they've just got a different approach. We're defensive while they're offensive, not necessarily bad, just different. The New Mexican drivers, however, as stated by their state logo, "The Land of Enchantment," are in la-la land -- Sunday drivers 24/7. Lastly, we, too, have a portion of people that think they own the world, feel entitled to taking they're time crossing the street when/where they shouldn't, play music from their mobile device as loud as possible, curse publicly and openly in front of children, and park in spaces designated for those with infants when the only thing infantile is the amount of consideration they have for anyone but their self; otherwise, people are quite nice, especially in El Paso <3.
You can view Keith's website here. Rocket To Nowhere is on view thru November.
