By Lorelei Smillie
NKyTribune staff writer
Keith Klein is launching his newest collection of paintings at Cincinnati Art Galleries on Oct. 3. The exhibition, titled Whisper, will feature a variety of Klein’s work, which draws influence from classical realism and impressionism while maintaining a unique style.
“Whisper is about paying attention to the space in between and how it contributes to the subject just as much as the object does,” Klein said.
Klein’s work has been featured across Kentucky, Ohio and the United States. His paintings are part of the collections of the princess of Saudi Arabia, Cincinnati Bell, Convergys, Cincinnati Financial and other private collections nationwide.
The painter began studying art at age 10 with Anneliese Wahrenburg, a well-known Kentucky artist who fled the Holocaust during World War II. In her atelier, Klein was trained in the Hague school style of painting and met a variety of teachers and mentors who would go on to influence his work.
His upcoming show will include more than 60 pieces, ranging from still lifes to landscapes. The centerpiece of the exhibition is The Dragon Slayer, a painting Klein has been conceptualizing since he was 18. During his first show as a teenager at a gallery in Covington, he noticed a little boy running through the space and thought he would make a good model. Klein photographed the boy next to a large cow’s skull.
“I thought, someday I’ll make a painting of that. It’s been ripening ever since that time. I did a study of it. I did a drawing of it. It’s been sitting around and I got afraid of it. I thought, I’m not ready for this. I don’t have enough life experience. I don’t know what it is, but it’s too big for me,” Klein said.
Almost 50 years later, after the loss of both parents, Klein said he finally feels ready to unveil the piece in this show. The painting is a meditation on the human ego and the process of dealing with one’s own mortality.
As a child, Klein loved the atmosphere of a collaborative studio and the education he received through his teachers. To recreate that for others, Klein offers art classes five days a week in his studio in Florence, focusing on oil painting, acrylics, pastels and watercolor. He teaches younger students who often go on to study art full time.
The broader visual arts community has been in discussion recently about generative AI software and its capability to create digital art. While the possibility of AI replacement has raised concern in many industries, it has been particularly alarming for those who make a living through art.
When asked about the threat it poses, Klein said he doesn’t see it as significant.
“Everything that AI does has to be taken first from another person. There’s a vastness to the human soul, beauty in depth that goes beyond what any imitation of that can. Computers are amazing, but the brain is even more amazing. A person’s life experiences and how they filter into a piece of art is going to be far and away more interesting than something that’s generated,” Klein said.
The exhibition will be at Cincinnati Art Galleries, 225 E. Sixth St. in downtown Cincinnati, through Nov. 26.
“When you finish a painting and you put it in a gallery, it’s not about you anymore. It’s a mirror,” Klein said.
