CURRENT & UPCOMING EXHIBITS

  • November 2 - December 2, 2007
    The Late Show - “Bountiful” (group); Opening reception - Friday, November 2, 6-10pm
  • November 2-30, 2007
    Kansas City Kansas Public Library, West Wyandotte Branch (solo)
  • November 2, 2007
    Hobbs Building Open Studios - Friday, November 2, 6:30-10:30pm
  • November 3/4, 2007
    Kansas City Artists Coalition Open Studios - Saturday/Sunday, April 3/4, 11am-4pm
  • Ongoing
    The Cross Gallery, 2012 Baltimore, Kansas City, Mo. - Wed-Sat, 11-5
  • The Late Show, 1600 Cherry, Kansas City, Mo. - by appt., 816.474.1300

STUDIO VISITS

Contact me to visit my West Bottoms studio:

Hobbs Building 1427 W 9th St, #407 Kansas City, MO (MAP)

COMMISSIONS

I accept commissions for landscape and architectural subjects.
Email me for details.

RESUME

EXHIBITIONS

  • 2008 Mojo Collection, Kansas City, Mo. (solo)
  • 2008 Cellar Gallery at 1924 Main, Kansas City, Mo. (solo)
  • 2007 The Late Show Gallery, Kansas City, Mo. (group)
  • 2007 Kansas City, Kan. Public Library, West Wyandotte branch (solo)
  • 2007 Bulldog Restaurant, Kansas City, Mo. (solo)
  • 2007 Steve Nuss Ltd, Westwood, Kan. (duo)
  • 2006-present The Cross Gallery , Kansas City, Mo. (group)
  • 2006 The Late Show Gallery, Kansas City, Mo. (solo)
  • 2006 Kansas City, Kan. Public Library, Main branch (solo)
  • 2006 Kansas City, Kan. Public Library, Mr. & Mrs. F.L. Schlagle branch (solo)
  • 2005 The Late Show Gallery, Kansas City, Mo. (solo)
  • 2003-present The Late Show Gallery, Kansas City, Mo. (group)
  • 2000-present Hobbs Building Open Studios, Kansas City, Mo. (group)
  • 2004 Muddy’s Coffeehouse, Kansas City, Mo. (solo)
  • 2001 Cultures Without Borders, Kansas City, Mo. (group)
  • 2001 Muddy’s Coffeehouse, Kansas City, Mo. (solo)
  • 2000 The Grand Nude, Kansas City, Mo. (group)
  • 1991 Art in the Woods, Overland Park, Kan. (group; Phillip Pearlstein, juror)

COLLECTIONS

  • H&R Block Art Collection, Kansas City, Mo.
  • Sprint Corporation Art Collection, Overland Park, Kan.
  • Heartland Spine and Specialty Hospital, Overland Park, Kan.
  • Private collections

PUBLICATIONS

  • 1996-present Numerous CD, DVD and video package designs, national
  • 1998-present JAM Magazine covers, Kansas City, Mo.
  • 1991 Pitch Magazine covers, Kansas City, Mo.
  • 1991 Kansas City Star advertising, Kansas City, Mo.
  • 1991 Popular Gardening, national

WORK

  • 1996-present Owner, BauWau Design (specialize in album cover and web design)
  • 1993-1996 Producer/Editor, Video University Productions (special interest video)
  • 1991-1993 Art Director, Group III Communications (magazine publisher)
  • 1987-present Musician, freelance drummer in jazz idiom

EDUCATION

  • 1990 B.S., Art and Design, Park College, Parkville, Mo.
  • 1989-1990 Course work, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, Mo.
  • 1987 B.M., Jazz Performance, Berklee College of Music, Boston, Mass.

NEW WORK

200710-05

Approaching Storm

Encaustic on plywood

33" x 48"

2007

Currently at The Late Show Gallery (816.474.1300)

STATEMENT

Picking chrysanthemums along the eastern fence,
Gazing in silence at the southern hills,
The birds fly home through the soft mountain air of dusk.
In all these things there is a deep meaning,
But when we are about to express it we suddenly forget the words.

Tao Qian (365-427), poet

When you look at the patterns of foam on water,
they never make an artistic mistake.
The order of nature is… indefinable.

Alan Watts (1915-1973), author

My work is fueled by a long time interest in our relationship to the natural world. All of it deals with places near my home in rural northeastern Jackson County.

The work represents an increasing amount of painting from memory, seeking to balance the inspiration from within with that from the subject in an attempt to expose a more personal connection – one that goes beyond the superficial or simply pictorial, in search of that elusive “order of nature.”

Greek for “to heat,” encaustic is an ancient medium dating back to the fifth century B.C. The word describes the necessity of working with the pigmented wax in its heated, or liquid state. As a material which itself comes from nature, beeswax is a fitting medium for landscape painting.

BIO

Drawing inspiration from the area around his home in rural Jackson County, Missouri, landscape painter Keith Kavanaugh has followed an unusual path.

He began his creative pursuits as a musician, completing a degree in Jazz Performance at Boston’s Berklee College of Music. It was at the prestigious Museum of Fine Arts that he discovered a connection between the spontaneity of improvisation and the act of painting.

Returning to Kansas City in 1987 to play music, he began studying visual art at Park College in Parkville, Missouri in 1988 with additional course work at the Kansas City Art Institute. Finishing his Art degree in 1990, Kavanaugh began working as an illustrator, graphic designer and art director in the magazine publishing business, eventually striking out on his own and forming BauWau Design. By the turn of the century the opportunity to return to painting was finally available.

A longtime interest in the natural world led Kavanaugh to the genre of landscape painting and to the unique medium of encaustic, or pigmented beeswax. Greek for “to heat,” encaustic is an ancient medium dating back to the fifth century B.C. The word describes the necessity of working with the pigmented wax in its heated, or liquid state. As a material which itself comes from nature, beeswax is a fitting medium for landscape painting. Its translucent and three-dimensional qualities allow for some beautiful techniques that set it apart from traditional media.

Whether applying those techniques to the snow-covered fields of rural Missouri or the fascinating variety of autumn leaves, Kavanaugh’s path will surely continue to new and interesting places.