Events| American Academy in Rome 

                   Work from Disconstructing Trump and Signs & Symbols in progress, 2016                                      
 On May 2nd-14th, Rodney was invited to Rome as a Visiting Artist at the American Academy of Rome. He created several bodies of work in his studio while there, including his new work on Trump, titled Disconstructing Trump and additions to his previous series, Signs & Symbols.

Just before heading off to Rome, Rodney had photographed live television coverage of an interview between Trump and Chris Matthews (MSNBC). Rodney printed hundreds of photographs from the session, and brought them with him to Rome, unsure of what project might unfold there. During his residency, he began stitching the tv photographs together, creating disorienting, grotesque portraits of the Republican candidate. The result is "at once, contradictory, creepy, binary and unsettling." 

             
             
               Rodney discussing his new work                           View of the American Academy
                        with a studio visitor                                                in Rome Campus
                       
On May 15th, Rodney hosted an open studios event in his studio at the Academy to showcase the beginnings of this new work. He had around 20 visitors, and was able to receive feedback from a new international audience. Additionally, Rodney had the opportunity to connect with artists and scholars from a variety of backgrounds, including writing and poetry, archeology, anthropology, architecture, art history, and visual arts. 

Rodney found the beauty of his surroundings and the architecture in Rome to be a great source of inspiration. Not to mention the local food was outstanding as well! 
 

American Academy in Rome
Rome, IT

http://www.aarome.org
Instagram: @AmAcademyRome | Facebook: aarome

Events| West Chelsea Artists Open Studios

                            View of the studio during West Chelsea Artists Open Studios

                                 
The West Chelsea Artists Open Studios is a bi-annual event that occurs at the West Chelsea Arts Building, where Rodney's studio is located. We'd like to thank everyone who stopped by the studio over the weekend of June 11-12th. We had more than 200 visitors come through, despite competing with the beautiful weather!

During the weekend, Rodney sold a piece to an open studio patron that was created during a Penland School of Crafts workshop that he attended a few years back, led by instructor Preston Lawing. 

                                            

What's on the Wall?| Recent Sales

Community Spotlight| Christine Keefe

              

Originally from Greenwich, Connecticut, Christine Keefe is an oil painter who works between her studio in the West Chelsea Arts Building and her studio in Bridgehampton, New York. Keefe has been painting for over 30 years, and has found her place in the art world after beginning her career on an unusual path. 


                             

Black Stars by Christine Keefe 

After leaving home at an early age, Keefe found herself working as a deckhand on a shrimp boat in Key West, Florida. She then went on to work in Galveston, Texas, where she worked across the street from a billboard. Seeing this billboard every day prompted her to inquire within the outdoor advertising company for a job. She found the idea of painting something of that scale and visibility to be a thrilling prospect. Having no prior experience, Keefe admits, "I didn't know if I could." But her confidence enabled her to persuade the company into hiring her, and she eventually returned to Greenwich, CT to found a sign company of her own. Keefe says, "I liked that people could see what I worked on, even if they didn't know it was me."

Coming from an artistic family helped encourage her to take a risk and pursue a creative career in painting. As a sign painter, she also attended the School of Visual Arts, graduating in 1985.  It was then that Keefe began to work in oil on canvas, and was asked to exhibit in her first group show at the Bjorn Wetterling Gallery in Stockholm, Sweden. 


              

                         
                            Online (left) and Another Birthday (right) by Christine Keefe 

After discovering her potential as a professional fine artist through her first shows in Sweden, she became dedicated to painting and still works in oil painting today. Not only was making oil paintings more profitable, but it freed her from the constraints of her former occupation as a sign painter. While she feels its important to maintain the tightness in her work, her art has evolved to incorporate looser brushstrokes, inspired by the many quick drawings she creates each day.

"I loved the freedom of painting whatever I wanted. But the responsibility of making the paintings mean something was new. I try to make paintings now about issues that I have encountered or am now dealing with. I am trying to get comfortable with being vulnerable by depicting imagery that references the details of my personal life."
                                                                                                                                             

Christine in her Bridgehampton studio

Keefe says she focuses her paintings on "how it is to be who I am right now." Her work is about optimism, personal experience, and courage. She has been actively showing her work internationally through solo and group exhibitions and art fairs from 1985 to present. She lives and works in New York City and Bridgehampton, NY. 
                                     

Christine Keefe | Chelsea
526 W. 26th Street, #609
New York, NY 10001
http://www.christinekeefe.com/