Kevin Sloan
The Reef
2023

Name: The Reef
Brand: Kevin Sloan
Price: 5600 USD
Availability: InStock

About the Item

"The Reef" is a surrealistic still life by Kevin Sloan. Depicting a grouping of bleached coral on a grassy field, this work finds beauty in strife. Coral bleaching occurs because when coral is under stress the beneficial algae that helps to keep the coral healthy, nourished, and colorful is expelled. This is an increasingly wide spread phenomenon as algae within coral reefs are very susceptible to increased ocean water temperatures and pollution. Bleached coral is weaker, more prone to disease, and often cannot grow at a sustainable rate. However, coral bleaching isn't necessarily a death sentence. As coral bleaching becomes more common, environmental activists stress the importance of assisting coral where we can - namely by controlling pollution. They also stress the importance of regarding bleached coral as natural elements that need our protection in their weakened state. The artist's inclusion of bleached coral can be interpreted in multiple ways. That some reef systems have been rehabilitated suggests that this coral may be a symbol for weathering adverse situations.

Creator:

Kevin Sloan (1958, American)

Creation Year:

2023

Dimensions:

Height: 30 in (76.2 cm)Width: 36 in (91.44 cm)

Medium:

Canvas,Acrylic

Period:

2010-

Condition:

Gallery Location:

Denver, CO

Reference Number:

1stDibs: LU1387214107662

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Kevin Sloan

Kevin Sloan is a Denver-based painter working primarily with acrylic on canvas with forays into drawings, paintings on paper, and recently, ceramic and mixed media sculpture. Growing up in Des Moines, Iowa, his early interest in art was nurtured by student classes at the Des Moines Art Center and in particular by their artist-in-residence, Frank Limone. It was clear upon his high school graduation that he would study art in college. Kevin received a BFA in painting from Tyler School of Art in 1981 where he studied with Stephen Greene and Stanley Whitney. He continued his formal education at the University of Arizona studying with James G. Davis, where he received an MFA in Painting in 1984. His curiosity and love of travel led him to live and work in a wide variety of cities across the United States including San Francisco, New York City, New Orleans, Key West, and Santa Fe. All these locales have had a lasting impact on his practice. Kevin’s work is characterized by curiosity and bemusement toward the natural and human-made world. His frequently symbolic paintings are part of an ongoing inquiry into the relationship between the marvel of the natural world and the mundane and often blunt reality of the modern era. In addition to his studio practice, he has been a visiting artist-in-residence at universities around the United States and occasionally teaches upper-level painting classes in Denver. He exhibits regularly in one-person and group exhibits around the world. His work is found in numerous private and public collections worldwide including the Israel Museum, Jerusalem; Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, Arizona; Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico; Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, Florid; and the Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, Arizona. Kevin currently works in a converted church in the historic Denver neighborhood of Globeville where in addition to painting, he grows flowers and vegetables in the summer months. He shares his life with his husband Mark and two spirited Labradoodles, Otis and Poppy.