Kevin Teare

thumb|right|Kevin Teare">

Kevin Teare (b.13 September 1951) is an American artist. He is a 2006 recipient of a Joan Mitchell Fellowship Award for painting. His first exhibition was at The Indianapolis Museum of Art in 1975. At the age of 25 he was awarded a National Endowment Fellowship for Painting. Since then he has exhibited in museums and galleries internationally. More of his works can be found at: [http://www.KevinTeare.com KevinTeare.com]

Early life and education

thumb|right|Innings Relief">
1978
67" X 67"
Oil on wood & mortarBorn in Indianapolis, Indiana to William and Georgia Teare, his father was a an employee of International Harvester and a member of UAW Local 226 and his mother a newspaper woman who worked at The Indianapolis Star-News and The Nothside Topics. His parents would divorce in 1963 with his mother remarrying H.M. Avery, founder of Central Machine Works, the following year. His father died as the result or an automobile accident in August 1965.

Teare attended several local schools including Saint Francis de Sales, Orchard Park, Perry East, Brown County and Southport High School. He would also attend and graduate from Culver Military Academy . There he studied under Warner Williams the bas relief sculptor. Later he attended Ball State University, Indiana University and Bard College where he would receive an MFA.

In 1974 he would travel to New York City with his friend and mentor Ronn Johnson where he would be introduced the artists Max Gimblett and Jim Huntington. He would also meet the art dealer David McKee who would show him works by his favorite painter Philip Guston. On this visit he would also see for the first time "The Italians" by Cy Twombly at The Museum of Modern Art. A painting that would have a lasting effect on his work.

Art and Music

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thumb|right|There Are Exactly 57 Reds...">
(For John Frankenheimer)
2002
68" X 72"oil on linenThough a visual artist first and foremost, Teare has participated in several musical projects. In 1975/76 he played drums in the seminal "No-Wave" band, MX-80 Sound. In New York he also played with the performance artist Julia Heyward in Glo-National in 1981. In 1991-93 he performed with Brian Kelly, Julia Murphy and Pat Place, the material that would later be titled "Brian Kelly :Each Day Blues" a CD produced by Julian Schnabel. His drumming can also be heard on Kelly's composition "She Is Dancing" for the soundtrack of the 1996 film Basquiat by Schnabel.

In 1999, Teare released "The List Of Who Lives" a collection of self penned songs featuring guest performances by Jay Dee Daugherty (Patti Smith Group), Wayne Kramer (MC5), Richard Lloyd (Television) as well as Bob Neuwirth, Terence Stamp and Jeni Muldaur. The List Of Who Lives was voted "one of the three or four best self produced albums of the millennium" by MOJO Magazine and received The A&R Album Of The Week by CMJ.

Curating

thumb|right|Beatle Test Pi">
2006
36" X 36"
Oil on linenIn 1992 Kevin Teare curated the critically acclaimed exhibition "JFK: Myth & Denial" for The Fotouhi Gallery in East Hampton. The show included selections by such artists as Larry Clark, Kiki Smith, Sue Williams, Leon Golub, Mary Heilman, Jim Marrs, Allen Frame, Steven Kroninger and Tom Otterness.

Currently he is curating an exhibiton of artwork on The Beatles, titled:"The Drop T Logo" for November 2009.

The earliest work Teare is known for are the mortar and lattice paintings from 1975-80. These were shown at The Indianapolis Museum of Art and at 55 Mercer Gallery in New York at the behest of the sculptor Julius Tobias. In 2007 they were exhibited at The Islip Museum of Art for the "Surface Impression" [Surface Impression] show curated by Karen Shaw. Starting in the early 80's his work took a decidedly more political turn calling on his use of military and world history and utilizing symbols, flow charts and cartography as part of the painted compositions. The earliest of these works were shown in 1982 at P.S.1 in an exhibition curated by Marcia Tucker called: "Critical Perspectives".

Life & Teaching

Teare started teaching painting in 1999 at Lacoste School of Art in Provence, France. Since then he has taught drawing, painting and Art History at Southampton College, Dowling College and Suffolk Community College. He lives and works in Sag Harbor, N.Y. with his wife, the artist Mary Boochever.

Quotes:

"I came here with goals and for the firstof those years I was sidetracked. I had to find out what this wasn't." [East Hampton Star]
"Ive always used art to make sense ofeverything." [East Hampton Star

References

S.L.Berry, "Indianapolis Star"...April 6, 2007
E. Fasolino, "East Hampton Star"...March 22, 2007
J. Cushley, "Mojo...#72" November 1999
P.Braff, "New York Times"...March 19, 1993
K.Levin, "Village Voice", "Vol. 37 #9"...February 26, 1992

Collections

Fort Wayne Museum of Art; Goldman Sachs, N.Y.C.; McDonalds Corp.Chicago; Morgan Guaranty, N.Y.C.; Marcia Tucker; Reed Smith Shaw & McClay Phila.

Notes

References

*Teare, K (2007). "Surface Impression", Islip Museum of Art.
*Teare, K (1988). East Hampton Star.
*Teare, K (2008). East Hampton Star.