Ian McKeever

Ian McKeever is a contemporary British artist whose work is characterized by a blend of abstract painting and analogue photography.

Biography of Ian McKeever

Ian McKeever was born in 1946 in Yorkshire, England. He grew up in Withernsea, East Riding of Yorkshire.

He began his career as an artist in 1969 following his studies in English Literature. In 1970, he established his first studio at SPACE in London, an artists' initiative founded by Bridget Riley and Peter Sedgley. His debut group exhibition took place in West Berlin in 1971.

McKeever's first solo exhibition was held at the ICA in London in 1973, marking a significant milestone in his artistic career.

In 1989, he received the esteemed DAAD scholarship in Berlin, followed by a significant retrospective exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery in London in 1990. McKeever was elected as a Royal Academician in 2003, further solidifying his position in the art world.

Ian McKeever has served in various teaching roles, such as Guest Professor at the Städel Akademie der Kunst in Frankfurt, Senior Lecturer at the Slade School of Fine Art, University of London, and Visiting Professor at the University of Brighton. Additionally, he has authored numerous texts and essays primarily focused on the essence of painting.

Recent eshibitions featuring McKeever's works include "Henge Paintings" at Heather Gaudio Fine Art in New Canaan and at Galleri Susanne Ottesen, Copenhagen (2022) and "Hours" at GSA Gallery in Stockholm (2021). 

Currently, the artist lives and works in Dorset, England.

Ian McKeever's Art Style

Initially, McKeever's early paintings emerged from a conceptual exploration of landscape, blending painting and photography by juxtaposing photographic elements with drawings or overlays. However, around 1988, his focus shifted more towards painting itself. His later works emphasize an abstract language that delves into the realms of the human body and architectural forms. Simultaneously, the depiction of light and its impact on the paintings grew in significance. Many of these works are monumental in scale.

Since 2007, Ian McKeever has reintegrated the photographic element into his artistic practice.

In addition to painting, McKeever excels as a printmaker, specializing in etching, drypoint, woodcut, and lithography. In 2008, a collection of his prints was featured at Tate St Ives as a tribute to the esteemed etcher Hugh Stoneman, with whom McKeever had a longstanding collaboration.