"Ken Keeley is kind of a lone wolf in the
art world. He entered the world of commerce with signed cibachrome
prints then moved on to the many over-size silkscreen editions
and posters of Newsstands and Times Squares, 59 Street Bridge,
Nathan's Famous and the Carnegie Deli, mostly rare and traded
briskly on the secondary markekt. Many people get their impressions
of New York City from a Ken Keeley rendition. Today, Keeley
self-publishes his paintings in the giclee format. His works
of art are held in public collections such as the Philadelphia
Museum of Fine Art, Malcom Forbes Publis Museum, Reading Museum
of Fine Art and Stoney Brook University, Long Island, New
York..."
- Victor Forbes
"Keeley has mastered the intimate visual rendition of a large
universal scene, in intimate detail and sustained with a certain
emotion. Not quite a nostalgia, but an acknowledgement of
how things were, how they are and how they be now. With a
steady hand and a keen eye, painting out of the home studio
he shares with his wife outside Lake Placid, Florida, Keeley
is exploring new ways to convey the active stillness that
connects the artist with the many thousands who own a Keeley
poster, painting or print. His is a genuine work ethic, you
won't find projectors or studio assistants, just one man chipping
away at the big picture, one element at a time, same as he
did when he started out some thirty years ago.
These days he is finding that his colors are shifting, getting
deeper, bolder with richer textures. 'Just a natural transition',
he says. 'There is more of a build up of paint.' He creates,
literally, in the midst of a nature preserve, to the music
of the many birds who visit his hideaway. He does all things
well with a paint brush, meticulous, with care, with respect
for the work, the tradition and the viewer. A humble man who
when from a pruchasing agent in the armed forces when Eisenhower
was president to an artist who commands substantial amounts
for his paintings and silk screens..." from Fine Art Magazine,
Spring 2005