Exhibitions
PAINTINGS BY STEVE KEENE: THE HIRSCHHORN COLLECTION
RED Gallery / 130 W Jackson Ave. March 1 - 29th
Join us for the First Friday opening of Paintings by Steve Keene: the Hirschhorn Collection
Presented by Big Ears
RED Gallery will be open on Fridays, March 8th, 15th, and 29th, from 5 PM to 9 PM, and by appointment. Contact robin@robineaster.com or bennetthirschhorn@gmail.com
Brooklyn-based artist Steve Keene, renowned for creating more than 300,000 paintings, is arguably the world's most prolific artist. Initially garnering recognition in the mid-'90s for his album art tributes and original covers, including works for Pavement, Silver Jews, and The Apples in Stereo, his vibrant and colorful paintings have become integral to our lives, adorning spaces worldwide.
Keene's ongoing affordable art experiment, spanning over 30 years, not only involves the creation of a massive volume of works but also features an unconventional sales approach. His paintings, available through his website with a singular "buy" button during order periods, are remarkably priced at $70 for 6 pieces. Keene personally curates each order for buyers, sight unseen, making each order entirely unique. These vibrant works, primarily created with ⅜” plywood and house paint, are typically delivered a few months later.
Since the launch of The Steve Keene Art Book (Tractor-Beam/Hat & Beard Press) in 2022, Keene's demand has surged once again. He participated in art performances at Nevada's Schellraiser Music Festival alongside legendary indie musicians Dinosaur Jr. and Blonde Redhead. Additionally, he has performed at events for Phish and taken on unique commissions for The Dave Matthews Band, among many others.
This body of work presented by The Big Ears Festival is a portion of the Hirschhorn Collection of Steve Keene paintings primarily purchased from Keene’s first-ever 30-Year Retrospective Art Book Launch in 2022 at the ChaShaMa art gallery in Brooklyn, New York. That show included a full room of hand-painted multiples, album art tributes, large format murals, and continuous live street-artist style painting performances by Steve Keene.
Several paintings from the Collection were created in 2020 during the pandemic using scrap wood from construction sites with varied subject matter, including: sacred art, artworks by masters, movie posters, and New York cityscapes. A handful have rarely been seen by the public and are even more uncommonly owned by private collectors.
The Hirschhorn Collection in particular owns one of the largest—if not the largest—private collection of Steve Keene paintings in the world. A prized feature in this body of work is the iconic album cover for “Wowee Zowee” by Pavement.
While many of Keene’s series, like the album art tributes, are made in runs of many multiples at a time, the larger works exist in smaller editions of only a few each. Even the “collateral damage” of Keene's live painting performances turn into fascinating works of art: energetic paint-splattered shoes, bottles, work clothes and whimsical hand-built easels.
This exhibition will percolate with exciting live painting performances by Steve Keene, as well as a talk presented by New York indie rock scenester, manager, producer, A&R rep, and photographer Dan Efram—all throughout the Big Ears Festival at RED Gallery.
Special thanks to The Big Ears Festival, Dan Efram, RED Gallery, and Lucy Jewel and Bennett Hirschhorn for their generous loan of art belonging to the Hirschhorn Collection
