Richard Keen was born in 1971 in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. He spent his formative years in the Midwest and now lives in Topsham, Maine. Keen has taught and worked in the visual arts for ten years while actively exhibiting in commercial, nonprofit and university galleries throughout New England and the Midwest. Keen holds a Masters of Arts Degree from the University of New York at Albany and a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois. His approach to art is one of proliferation and continual experimentation. The scale of his paintings range from 5 inches square to 4 feet square and are executed in oils, acrylics, and encaustic on paper, canvas and panel. Keen also invests time in drawing and printmaking. His 3-D work utilizes nontraditional materials and marine equipment and have been exhibited in Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont.
Throughout his career his work has been accepted in numerous regional,national and international juried exhibitions and has been reviewed in local and regional papers including “Art New England”. Tracey Bashkoff, Associate Curator of Collections and Exhibitions at the Guggenheim Museum, selected his work for the Biennial “Encaustic Works 2003” at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY. Richard’s work was also chosen by Lisa Dennison, Director and Chief Curator at the Guggenheim Museum, to be included in the 2002 National Cambridge Art Association’s “National Prize Show” in Cambridge, MA. Other prominent jurors who have selected his artwork for exhibitions include: Phyllis Braff, Art Critic for the New York Times, Anne Rocheleau, Director of the Rhode Island Foundation Gallery, Moira Kelly,Prior Director of the Air Gallery in London, and Bruce Brown, Curator at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art.