Kim Keever moves from landscapes to abstracts in his water-tank works

Remember Kim Keever? Back in the summer of 2013, the New York based artist wowed us with his amazing landscapes created in 200-gallon tanks of water and what’s more, he let us in on his process with some fascinating set-up shots. Now, like many a painter before him, Kim has moved from landscapes to more abstract creations albeit within the context of his sculptural practice.

“In the past several years, I have taken an abrupt turn from the landscapes I’ve been making for some time,” Kim says on his website.

“Though I continue to make new landscapes, in the past few years I have been concentrating on images in the areas of figuration and abstraction, all within the confines of my large water filled aquarium.

“The new abstract series also entails a rather unusual way of using the tank. In some of the landscape images I would construct part of the landscape on a table in front of the tank, in the tank, and on a much larger table in back of the tank. Sometimes the dimension from front to back of the model would be more than 12 feet. With the new abstract series I am only using about a half inch to a foot of the space behind the glass in the water filled tank.

“This new method produces a rather flat surface to the photograph instead of the 19th Century depth of the landscapes. It also allows me an exploration of new colour compositions as well as creating and photographing almost random occurrences as the paint pigment and water mixture flow through the tank. This method allows new freedoms of exploration and creativity I have not had before.”

The dropping colourful pigments into liquid is an artistic trope that borders on the hackneyed these days, but in Kim’s hands – and his tank – the results have a vitality and a beauty that we’ve not seen for a long time.