Kendrick, Neil "THE DOWNTOWN TOUR", San Diego Union-Tribune, San Diego, CA, March 30, 2006, Night and Day, p 35
excerpt from the review of THE DOWNTOWN TOUR at Simayspace Art Academy, San Diego, California, 2006
PECULIAR DIRECTION
by Neil Kendricks
Likewise, local sculptor Richard Keely's “The Sift Series” at downtown's Simayspace allows the work to find its own peculiar direction via the artmaking process. His latest mixed-media artworks on display through April 26 reflect the artist's tendencies as part artistic hunter-and-gatherer, part alchemist searching for a personal philosopher's stone hidden among the cultural detritus that finds its way into his studio.
In Keely's hands, an old leather hat and pink, plastic purses gently morph into strange, ambiguous forms that suggest the human body both within and without. During a recent gallery talk, the artist explained that his art wasn't about specific ideas per se. Rather, pieces like 2004's “Purge” and 2005's “Trophy” attempt to reach for other possibilities without sacrificing their mysterious ambiguity.
Neil Kendricks is a San Diego artist and writer, and the film curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego.