Josh Keyes

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Josh Keyes
Born (1969-08-17) August 17, 1969 (age 54)
Tacoma, Washington, U.S.
Alma materSchool of the Art Institute of Chicago,
Yale University
SpouseLisa Ericson

Josh Keyes (born 1969)[1] is an American contemporary artist who makes paintings and prints. He is known for his "eco-surrealist" painting style and images of graffitied covered wilderness.[2][3] He is based in Portland, Oregon, and previously lived in Oakland, California.[4][5]

Biography[edit]

Josh Keyes was born on August 17, 1969, in Tacoma, Washington.

Keyes has a bachelor's degree (1992) from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and a master's degree (1998) in painting and printmaking from Yale University.[6]

Work[edit]

Keyes' work has been described as "a satirical look at the impact urban sprawl has on the environment and surmises, with the aid of scientific slices and core samples, what could happen if we continue to infiltrate and encroach on our rural surroundings."[7]

His painting style often includes narrative and the illusion of constructed worlds.[4] Keyes' style is reminiscent of the diagrammatic vocabulary found in scientific textbook illustrations that often express through a detached and clinical viewpoint an empirical representation of the natural world. Assembled into this virtual stage set are references to contemporary events along with images and themes from his personal mythology.

His work is a hybrid of eco-surrealism and dystopia that express a concern and anxiety for our time and the Earth's future.[8][9]

Keyes' public mural Treadmill (2006), is painted on the side of the Locust Street Garage in Walnut Creek, California.[10][11]

References[edit]

  1. ^ New American Paintings. Open Studios Press. 2007. p. 97.
  2. ^ "Preview: Josh Keyes Marks His First Solo Show in LA in A Decade with "Implosion"". Juxtapoz Magazine. August 3, 2017. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
  3. ^ "New 'Eco-Surrealist' Paintings by Josh Keyes Observe a Post-Human World". Colossal. 2017-08-03. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
  4. ^ a b "Art review: Constructed worlds and narrative in Josh Keyes' paintings". The Denver Post. 2010-11-10. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
  5. ^ "Studio Visit: Josh Keyes". fecalface.com. 14 January 2007. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
  6. ^ "Four-Artist Show Animalia. Corey Helford Gallery. Los Angeles". Martin Cid Magazine. 2021-08-17. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
  7. ^ Environmental Graffiti - Josh Keyes: The Art of Nature Archived 2008-10-16 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ "Speculative Paintings of a Graffiti-Covered Earth by Josh Keyes". Colossal. 2017-01-18. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
  9. ^ Chaisson, Clara (May 11, 2017). "In These Paintings, the Earth Gets Tagged Out". NRDC. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
  10. ^ "Environmental Art at Swarm Gallery, San Francisco". Inhabitat. 2009-09-12. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
  11. ^ "Calendar, Best of the Walnut Creek Journal". The Mercury News. May 15, 2013. Retrieved 2021-12-31.

External links[edit]