SK Art SKSK Brooklyn

Greenpoint

Brooklyn

Everyone knows Brooklyn is filled with artists. One can scarcely throw the proverbial stone without cracking a camera lens or clanking against a can of spray paint. Along with those artists are thousands of artists’ studios, many of which work in collectives which have annual or semi-annual open studios where the public can visit and buy work. Steve Keene has one-upped the idea of the annual open studio by making his studio open every week.

Pretty much any given Sunday members of the public can walk right into Keene’s home without so much as ringing a bell or knocking on the door. His studio is a converted garage attached to his house in the Polish/Russian/Artist enclave that is Greenpoint. If you’re lucky you might get to watch Keene work, other days you have to settle with marveling at the sheer quantity of pieces filling the space, but either way he’ll come and say hello.

Steve Keene is a radio DJ cúm painter/sculptor with a Master’s from Yale who began making mass-produced works in 1993. He wanted art to be as affordable and readily available as music. He works in large editions of paintings and engravings on wood, lining up the small panels and making them all at the same time. His studio is filled with album covers and newspapers which serve as sources of inspiration for his pieces. The combination of music and art is integral to his creativity: he’s created album art, stage sets, posters, and video sets for various bands like the Silver Jews, Pavement, Apples in Stereo, and Soul Coughing.

You can easily buy Keene’s art from his website--$30 will get you five paintings of his choice from whatever is available that day. He also has some pretty fabulous cut metal pendants on chains. If you want to pick your own art, you have to head in Brooklyn. It is well worth the effort, however, as he will often give away works or sell them for $1 if he has a surplus lying about. My beau and I headed over the first Sunday of January and Keene gave us a New Year’s discount: we left with four paintings for $2. And they all come ready to hang.

Keene seems to be on to something. Most artists hope to sell a few dozen works a year for a several hundred or thousand dollars a piece. They are generally unsuccessful. But Keene makes and sells thousands of paintings a year. In one of the many articles you can find links to on his website he says “it’s O.K. with him that none of them will hang in New York City’s Museum of Modern Art.” They do, however, hang in the homes of celebrities like Dennis Hopper and Devo, along with thousands of more modest abodes.

If you’re going to take the trouble to head over the Greenpoint (and I suggest you do) be sure to walk one block over to the Peter Pan Donut and Pastry Shop on Manhattan Avenue. They have the best donuts in all of New York, maybe even the world. I can’t remember who it was, but a well-travelled musician was interviewed on NPR years ago and was asked his three favorite dining experiences. He listed some fancy places in France or Japan or Russia, and then the time he had a donut from Peter Pan. Give them a try and see for yourself. You might find yourself using the G-train much more than previously expected.

http://stevekeene.com/

http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2009/may/14/a-day-in-the-life-peter-pan-donuts/