Innovative Sophistication
By the late 1980s, Keller had established a uniqueness to his art. In fact, he had hit a new level of sophistication tied to his innovative use of paint material.
In the pieces created during this time, one is always aware of the fullness of the grounds and the way Keller scraped and puddled the liquid paint to create a rich configuration of tonal and colouristic incidents. It seems there is often a subtle counterpoint relations between the drawings in the ground and that of the gel overlayer.
Keller’s paintings became more grandly conceived, bolder and clearer in their visual effects. Working with the repeatable formats gave him a better hold on his ideas which in turn, provided more flexibility in his approach.
He now saw the format as the facilitator rather than as some sort of stylistic signature. He benefited from his ability to pick and choose between motifs or abandon them altogether if it seemed useful.
Keller’s smaller paintings were less tied to pre-set layout designs, although they too were affected but the trend toward “clarity” that emerged was in the larger, horizontal paintings.
NAVAJO
1988
Acrylic on canvas
174.0 x 141.6 cm
Courtesy of the Woltjen/Udell Gallery.
As a result of this new “clarifying” of his ideas, he reintroduced complication in his paintings without sacrificing the new immediacy of the contemporary effect he had discovered.
Several of his works of this time illustrated the new innovative technique. Similar to his “sweep” paintings of earlier years, these new works also have the thick paint pushed to the bottom and side edges.
His painting called Navajo, 1988 was one of his pieces that used this technique.
Consider also his piece called Garden Edge, 1988. The paint figuration was arranged like a fanning cascade that pours diagonally across the canvas to create a sensation of rushing movement held in check and contained only by the picture rectangle.
Notice how the directional brushwork in the ground painting was closely related to the “movement” of the thicker paint on top. The counterpoint interaction of thick and thin paint application was sacrificed to achieve something dramatically charged, yet unified in effect.
As in previous works, this painting exploited a motif design, yet it didn’t depend on the its layout to organize its spatial logic. In reality, the logic was established almost totally by the handling of colour. Full of vibrant colour and daring tonal contrasts, the painting seemed to be on the verge of visual incoherence.
GARDEN EDGE
1988
Acrylic on canvas
145.5 x 274.3 cm
Courtesy of the Woltjen/Udell Gallery.
KING FISHER
1988
Acrylic on canvas
144.2 x 264.2 cm
Courtesy of the
Woltjen/Udell Gallery
The great idea Keller had about what he was doing truly allowed him to control all the fundamentals of his art. His works at this stage clearly demonstrated a new concentration or focusing on his conception.
King Fisher, 1988, was just one of the pieces that revealed Keller as a mature, original artist. This was clearly one of his best paintings at this point of his career.
He was recognized in Alberta as a painter that counted in an important way.
He now had the advantage of working in a vital, yet challenging art-making environment. For anyone interested in making serious abstract art, Edmonton seemed to be the best place to be. He was definitely in the right place.