1 - Untitled (Abstract 6147), 2014
4 - Abstract 27001b, 2016
New York based American artist and photographer Kim Keever – born 1955 – creates stunning, painterly imagery by practicing setup photography. Before pursuing art, Keever studied thermal engineering and spent a summer at NASA researching how fluids bypass solid objects at high speeds. Working on this graduate degree allowed him to realise his true passion for the arts, and today his exhibitions can be seen internationally.
Kim Keever was originally a painter but became a photographer after growing bored of the medium. He creates his atmospheric photographs using an 100MP Hasselblad digital camera and through pouring paint into a large glass tank with filled with water. The artist shoots his images remotely using his iPhone (which triggers the camera to shoot) and a mirror attached to the ceiling in order to view the front of the tank as he works. Keever often builds structures inside the tanks to give more dimension – usually made from plaster or plastic. Keever also created a mirrored background inside the tank, using reflective mylar, which he can mark with paints before the water goes in.
Keever relishes in the unpredictability of his chosen medium. “Every time I do this it’s always quite different than the last time” he says. “Depending on the thickness of the paint, it can flow out very thinly, or it can flow out in a cloud.” Keever originally began using house painter’s pigment as the heaviness was appealing, although he now adds ink to his mixtures as it possesses an attractive transparency.