Episode 454: Steve Keene
RiYL PodcastMay 11, 202100:43:05

Episode 454: Steve Keene

As the conversation winds down, I go grab my painting off the wall for the artist to describe. It’s a rare opportunity. It’s also the second time in a month that I’ve done this on Zoom call, following a recent one with friends where we all realized we had Keenes on our wall.

In certain circles, Steve Keene’s work has become a fixture. A generation discovered the artist through his cover paintings for bands like Pavement, The Apples in Stereo and the Silver Jews — realizing that he work could be purchased in bulk through his website.

In a medium where seemingly everything has been attempted over the course of thousands of years, Keene pioneered a unique niche, with a form of mass production that has generated more than 300,000 works over the course of his career.

The Steve Keene Art Book: Live from Subliminal Projects LA, CA is an effort to catalog a fascinating career. The art book — which is the first of Keene’s long career — is currently seeking funding on Kickstarter.