Steve Keene (Live Painting)

“Legend.” – LA Weekly.
“Monumentally prolific.” – Variety
“A churning waterfall of creation.” – Stephen Malkmus, Pavement

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.

Steve 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 with 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 phas erformed at events for Phish and undertook unique commissions for The Dave Matthews Band, among many others.

In 2022, Keene hosted two 30-Year Retrospective art shows, one in Los Angeles and the other in Brooklyn, NY, showcasing numerous pieces from collections nationwide. The events also featured a distinctive line of new “bumpy” pieces, produced during the Covid lockdown.

In February 2024, Keene served as the guest designer for Francis Ford Coppola’s Zoetrope: All-Story Magazine, with his works exclusively featured in the publication. This was accompanied by a special launch show at San Francisco’s Gallery 16.

Keene’s 2024 schedule is already hectic, with live, in-situation performances planned at both Knoxville’s Big Ears and Wilco’s Solid Sound music festivals, held at Mass Moca. The year will be another exceptionally busy one as he continues to captivate audiences with his unique artistic performances, providing an opportunity to witness his distinctive process of painting dozens of pieces at a time over the course of a long day’s work.