“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”
~ Pablo Picasso

The famous artist quote applies to Kathleen Keifer’s lovely paintings. Kathleen brings a fresh, clean perspective to her colorful scenes of everyday life in the sun along our Pacific coastline (and beyond). Her images of tanned surfers, beat-up VW vans and convertibles, the Ferris wheel on the Santa Monica pier, swaying palm trees, and remarkable sunsets remind me of what the locals say to each other about 350 days a year: “This is why we live here.”

Kathleen’s paintings show us why anyone would want to live here. The weather is of course pristine; it is almost always sunny and 75 degrees, and it is never humid or buggy. The scenery is breathtaking. And there is so much to do, including of course nothing. Indeed, many of the coastlines’ locals seem to be very practiced at that. Keen observers, like Keifer, prefer to depict them as being in-the-moment, completely in their own world. The artist lets us look over her shoulder and envy these characters. For one thing, they’ve figured out how to live here; more important, they’re certainly not in any hurry.

Why should they be? And why should we be, for that matter? Why not linger over Kathleen’s beautiful paintings and savor our own moment doing so?

— Peter Hursh, Introduction to Perspectives on Coastal Beauty: The Art of Kathleen Keifer

 

Kathleen Keifer is a California-based internationally collected artist.

She is the leading force of the New California Realism.

Artist Statement

“I think I started painting because I could express things in color that I could not say any other way. My paintings invite the viewer to consider the complex relationship between time and timelessness. In my series work I capture infinite change of color. But my lifeguard towers or Golden Dome paintings are not just color studies. They are about the visual interaction between time and the elements. Water, sky, and architecture change their appearance so dramatically with shifts in weather and light. The ever shifting variation in their bare simplicity fascinates me.”

Backstory

Kathleen Keifer (born Chicago 1963) is primarily a Colorist. This is a consistent point of view across her contemporary landscapes, pop art, and figurative work.  She began painting at a young age, and studied art at the University of Notre Dame and the Art Institute of Chicago. Her entrance into the fine art world in 1996 was a sold-out solo show at McLean Gallery in Malibu, California. Her next ten Malibu exhibitions  launched her into the LA art world, with paintings featured in LACMA and MoMA.

Kathleen Keifer’s art is now represented in galleries all over the world. She is widely collected by prestigious public and private collectors. Her works appears in the collections of James Cameron, Mary Looker, Jack Nicholson, Kelly Clarkson, Kevin Nealon, Barry Manilow, Hilton Hotels, Sidney Austin, Citigroup, Walt Disney Studios, and the United States Historical Society. 

In her most recent work, she has arrived at a distinctive style of overlapping colors and textures. This was described by LA magazine as “fluidly capturing pop culture in a tapestry of layered color.” 

Kathleen Keifer is married to Jim Keifer, one of the most successful game inventors in the world. Their three daughters have successfully launched their own careers in the fields of writing, game invention, production design, fine art, and public relations.

EDUCATION and HONORs

B.F.A. University of Notre Dame
B.A. St. Mary ’s College
Advanced Workshops Tony Fitzpatrick and Roderick Guthrie
Award Winning member of the Malibu Art Club
Painting Patron of the California Art Club

Exhibitions

2018

Morris Inn, Notre Dame IN (November)

Morris Inn, Notre Dame, IN (September)

Malibu Beach House, Malibu, CA (May)

Bon Voyage, Coda Gallery, Palm Desert, CA ( May)

Solo Exhibition, Jeffrey Breslow Gallery, Chicago, IL (May)

Art Palm Springs, Art Space Gallery, Palm Springs, CA (February)

2017

Artspace Warehouse, Los Angeles, CA

Affordable Art Fair Hong Kong | May 2017

Affordable Art Fair New York | March/April 2017

Affordable Art Fair London | March 2017

Art Palm Springs - Fine Art Fair | February 2017

2016

All Along the PCH, Schumburg Gallery, CA 

2015

Jazz! Dion Gallery, Redondo Beach, CA
Art 90266, LA 25, Manhattan Beach, CA
Political Commentary, Linus gallery, Long Beach and Pasadena, CA

2014

RETROspective, Exhibition of New Works Coast Gallery, Long Beach, CA
ArtHampton, Bridgehampton, NY
The Pursuit of…, Lurie Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Art 90266, LA 25, Manhattan Beach, CA

2013

Pop meets Painterly, CODA Gallery, Palm Desert, CA
Graduation Event, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN
Puzzles and Games, Liss Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

2012

Art, Wine & Roses, Home Gallery, Malibu, CA
Pop Meets Painterly, Oh My Godard Gallery, Atlantic City, NJ

2011

Beach | Games, Riley Arts Gallery, Manhattan Beach, CA
Art of The Game, Oh My Godard Gallery, Atlantic City NJ
Art of The Game, Liss Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

2010

Art of The Game, Gallery 319, Santa Monica, CA
One Woman Show, Canfin Gallery, Westchester, NY

2009

American Riviera, ARTfront Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
American Landscape, Hilliard Gallery, Kansas City, MO

2008

Coastal Living, Gallery 319 Santa Monica, CA

2007

On the Beach, Gallery 319 Santa Monica, CA
Why We Live Here, Dion Gallery, Redondo Beach, CA

2006

Summer 2006, Mc Lean Gallery, Malibu. CA
BOOK: Perspective on Coastal Beauty, From Malibu to Manhattan Beach

2005

Along the PCH, Mc Lean Gallery, Malibu, CA
FRESH!, MOCA, Los Angeles, CA
Group Exhibition, Gallery C, Hermosa Beach,CA
California Visions, Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA

2004

President’s Show, CA Heritage Museum, Santa Monica, CA
Coastal Nostalgia, 2004, Mc Lean Gallery, Malibu, CA
Group Exhibition, Gallery C, Hermosa Beach, CA

2003

Group Exhibition, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
Coastal Nostalgia, 2003, Mc Lean Gallery, Malibu, CA

2002

Coastal Nostalgia, 2002, Mc Lean Gallery, Malibu, CA

2001

Group Exhibition, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
Ambient Light, Mc Lean Gallery, Malibu, CA

2000

The Coastal Landscape, Mc Lean Gallery, Malibu, CA
Malibu Artists Juried Show, Weisman Museum, Malibu, CA
Group Exhibition, Montecito Art & Frame, Montecito, CA

1999

Interpreting Beauty, Mc Lean Gallery, Malibu, CA
Artists of Malibu, Weisman Museum, Malibu, CA

1998

Changing Seasons, Mc Lean Gallery, Malibu, CA
Celebrating Color, Mc Lean Gallery, Malibu, CA

Selected Private Collections

Buzz Aldrin
James Cameron

Kelly Clarkson
Shelley Fabares
Ed Harris
Florence Henderson
Phil Jackson
Barry Manilow
Kevin Nealon
Jack Nicholson
Sharon Stone
Britney Spears
Betty Thomas

Selected Public Collections

Bank of America
The Beach Club
Citigroup
Hilton Hotels
Morgan Stanley
Pepperdine University
Random House
Sidley Austin Citigroup
University of Notre Dame
United States Historical Society
Walt Disney Studios