Bath Contemporary

Keith Hanselman

Price range: £800 - £1500

Keith Hanselman was born in Halifax, west Yorkshire. His career began as a textile designer, after completing a degree in Art and Textile Design. After a successful career in cloth design, Keith changed direction to become a full time professional painter. His exuberant almost alarming use of colour and flattened perspective seem at first glance to be simply naive, but upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that this is very sophisticated work.

Keith has to get inwardly excited about his subjects, be it Yorkshire landscapes, still life or the landscape of the Algarve. He needs to sustain his enthusiasm right through to the completion of the picture, which may take a few hours or a few months.

Coffee cups, olive oil and balsamic vinegar bottles, Colne Valley hillsides and the Moorish influence in Algarvian architecture and landscape are the subjects which excite him at the present time. Many of these elements being brought together in homage to one of the greatest works of art ever produced - Michelangelo's Last Supper.

Keith does not strive for finesse, quite the contrary, as he has always been drawn to Art Brut and German Expressionism. The message is more important to him than the methods of execution or finish. His work is often layered, with card or paper built up to give a very textured feel to the work.

Painters he admires are Matisse, Richard Diebenkam, George Roult and Halifax born Matthew Smith. Keith's work has been exhibited three times at the Royal Academy Summer Show, displaying the high regard in which his work is held amongst the UK art community.

Exhibitions include:

New English Art Club. London.

Royal Society of British Artists, London.

Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, 1996, 1997, 2006.

Thompson's Gallery, London.

Hagen-Aria Gallery, London.

Royal Institute of Oil Painters, London.

New York Art Fair, 2001.

Awards

Regional Winner of the Laing Painting Competition, 1997.

Singer & Friedlander/ Sunday Times Watercolour Competition, 2000, 2006.

St Cuthbert's Mill Award at the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours 2001.