Saturday, February 9, through Sunday, August 18
Figge Art Museum, 225 West Second Street, Davenport IA
Glorious colors and evocative images by an artist whom Wired magazine called “a hydroponic Jackson Pollock” will be on display at the Figge Art Museum February 9 through August18, as the Davenport venue showcases beautifully fluid works by a former NASA engineer turned professional photographer in the new exhibition Submerged in the Sublime: The Landscape Photography of Kim Keever.
The word sublime in art history is often used to refer to scenes whose magnitude and splendor inspire awe and wonder, but also a twinge of fear. Artist Keever manages to create such scenes within the confines of a fish tank. Using his engineering background in fluid dynamics, Keever takes photographs of compositions he creates using various paints and inks added to the water inside a 200-gallon tank to produce compelling atmospheric effects. Through the combination of handmade diorama elements, carefully orchestrated lighting, and the uncontrollable effects created by paints dissipating in the water, a bizarre landscape appears in front of Keever’s lens. The resulting large scale photographs have often been compared to the paintings of the Hudson River School and simultaneously feel like a primordial landscape and a vision of a post-apocalyptic future.
Keever studied Engineering at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, and worked briefly for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) before deciding to become a full-time artist in the mid 1970s. His background in science and engineering has helped him with various constructions concerning his work and the general thought process that is required of a scientist. Meanwhile, the New York City resident's works can be found in numerous collections nationwide, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington D.C., the Nassau County Museum of Fine Art, and the George Washington University Gallery.
Submerged in the Sublime: The Landscape Photography of Kim Keever will be on display February 9 through August 18, with regular museum hours Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (open until 9 p.m. on Thursdays) and Sundays noon to 5 p.m. Admission to the exhibit is free with $4-10 museum entrance, and more information on this and other Figge exhibits, programs, and events is available by calling (563)326-7804 or visiting FiggeArtMuseum.org.
