AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ART OF KEITH CHISHOLM

Keith Chisholm is an artist based between Genoa Bay, Vancouver Island, Crowsnest Pass and Silver Sands, Alberta. Born in England and raised in Alberta, Keith received his A.O.C.A. in painting from the Ontario College of Art in 1972 where he was recognized for artistic excellence.  His work has been exhibited in various galleries in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador.  

Drawing on the idea of sensory memory, Keith’s process involves harnessing visceral emotional experiences from the natural environment back into the realm of the artist studio. 

The thirty-plus years of painting in relative reclusion has allowed Keith to develop a directed and fully mature body of work. Demonstrating an unwavering commitment to repetition and experimentation, Keith re-visits his canvases, employing the pliable and resistant medium of acrylic polymer to layer and build up the paint’s surface. The results are highly-saturated, contrasting droplets and splashes of pure colour- sometimes revealing a thinner under-painting, oftentimes filling the canvas entirely to give primacy to the flatness of the picture plane.

With a focus on process, Keith engages with dominant discourses of contemporary painting. He re-ignites early Abstract Expressionism through a keen interest in gestural painting while actively exploring and expanding the Canadian landscape tradition. Today as a practicing abstract painter, Keith’s artistic focus and exploration continues to concentrate on his personal interpretation and visual expression of the temperate, arctic and coastal landscapes.