Keith Milow (born 29 December 1945) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

artist. He grew up in

Baldock Baldock ( ) is a historic market town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. The River Ivel rises from springs in the town. It lies north of London and north northwest of the county town of Hertford. Nearby towns inc ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, and lived in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

(1980–2002) and

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

(2002–2014), now lives in London. He is an abstract sculptor, painter and printmaker. His work has been characterised as architectural, monumental, procedural, enigmatic and poetical.

Biography

Keith Milow was educated at The Knights Templar School in

Camberwell School of Art Camberwell College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art and design university in London, England. The college offers further and higher education programmes, including postgraduate and PhD awards. ...

, 1962–1967, and

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public university, public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City, London, White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design uni ...

, 1967–1968. In 1970 he received a Gregory Fellowship from

Leeds University The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed ...

, which was followed in 1972 by a

Harkness Fellowship The Harkness Fellowship (previously known as the Commonwealth Fund Fellowship) is a program run by the Commonwealth Fund of New York City. This fellowship was established to reciprocate the Rhodes Scholarships and enable Fellows from several co ...

to the USA. During the 1970s, Milow was considered part of the British artistic avant-garde along with artists such as Richard Long,

Gilbert & George Gilbert Prousch, sometimes referred to as Gilbert Proesch (born 17 September 1943), and George Passmore (born 8 January 1942) are artists who work together as the collaborative art duo Gilbert & George. They are known for their formal appearance ...

Michael Craig-Martin Sir Michael Craig-Martin (born 28 August 1941) is an Irish-born contemporary conceptual artist and painter. He is known for fostering and adopting the Young British Artists, many of whom he taught, and for his conceptual artwork, '' An Oak ...

, Mark Lancaster, Tim Head, Nicholas Pope, John Walker, David Tremlett,

Barry Flanagan Barry Flanagan OBE Royal Academy, RA (11 January 1941 – 31 August 2009) was an Irish-Welsh people, Welsh sculptor. He is best known for his bronze statues of hares and other animals. Biography Barry Flanagan was born on 11 January 1941 i ...

Art & Language Art & Language is an English conceptual artists' collaboration that has undergone many changes since it was created around 1967. The group was founded by artists who shared a common desire to combine intellectual ideas and concerns with the cre ...

and

Derek Jarman Michael Derek Elworthy Jarman (31 January 1942 – 19 February 1994) was an English artist, film maker, costume designer, stage designer, writer, poet, gardener, and gay rights activist. Biography Jarman was born at the Royal Victoria Nursing ...

. According to art historian Jo Melvin, Milow "helped to shape and define a critical period of new and experimental art practices in Britain when the distinctions between painting and sculpture and equally importantly between figuration and abstract collapsed". Throughout his career Keith Milow has been pre-occupied with the form of the Latin

cross A cross is a religious symbol consisting of two Intersection (set theory), intersecting Line (geometry), lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of t ...

which resulted in several hundred cross sculptures as well as drawings. During the 1990s, he produced series of disc-shaped sculptures (' tondi') that pay tribute to what he considered the great artists of the 20th century. Paintings from this period frequently contain names from this personal canon of modern art. Some of his painting and drawing demonstrate a mathematical precision that has the appearance of being computer-generated. Often his work is the result of a direct response to other artists' oeuvres, notably the Dutch painter

Piet Mondrian Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan (; 7 March 1872 – 1 February 1944), known after 1911 as Piet Mondrian (, , ), was a Dutch Painting, painter and Theory of art, art theoretician who is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. He w ...

. In the words of Jo Melvin: "Milow's work is infused in the history of painting, the subject of painting and its meaning. Something else slips through in the game of chance. It is a piece of magic – the combination of mystery with structure, order and process". Awards included the

Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (), commonly referred to simply as the Gulbenkian Foundation, is a Portuguese institution dedicated to the promotion of the arts, philanthropy, science, and education. One of the wealthiest charitable founda ...

Award (1976), the

Arts Council of Great Britain The Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. It was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England (now Arts Council England), the Scottish Arts Council (l ...

Major Award (1979), the Edward Albee Foundation Award (1983) and the

Pollock-Krasner Foundation The Pollock-Krasner Foundation was established in 1985 for the purpose of providing funding to visual artists internationally to further their artistic practices. It was established at the bequest of Lee Krasner, who was an American abstract expr ...

Award (2017). In 2015, he was nominated for the Charles Wollaston Award of the

Royal Academy Summer Exhibition The Summer Exhibition is an open art exhibition held annually by the Royal Academy in Burlington House, Piccadilly in central London, England, during the months of June, July, and August. The exhibition includes paintings, prints, drawings, sc ...

and in 2017 for the Daiwa Foundation Art Prize.

Exhibitions

In 1970 Keith Milow had his first solo show with Nigel Greenwood Gallery, an exhibition that sold out with

Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

being one of the buyers.Melvin (2016), p. 4. Greenwood continued to show Milow until 1992. Other galleries that held solo exhibitions of his work include Duffy & Sons, New York (1973), Hester Van Royen Gallery, London (1975),

Kettle's Yard Kettle's Yard is an art gallery and house in Cambridge, England. The director of the art gallery is Andrew Nairne. Both the house and gallery reopened in February 2018 after an expansion of the facilities. History and overview Kettle's Yar ...

Gallery, Cambridge (1976), Gallerie Albert Baronian, Brussels (1977), Park Square Gallery, Leeds (1977), Roundhouse Gallery, London (1978), Galerie Loyse Oppenheim, Geneva (1979), Annina Nosei Gallery, New York (1981, 1982), Alexander Wood Gallery, New York (1987), John Davis Gallery, New York (1988), Gallery 630B, New Orleans (1990), Nohra Haime Gallery, New York (1990–99), Aicart & Aijtink, Hilversum (2007–13), and Dadiani Fine Art, London (2017). Group exhibitions included the ' Young Contemporaries' at

Tate Britain Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in En ...

(1967), 'Six at the Hayward',

Hayward Gallery The Hayward Gallery is an art gallery within the Southbank Centre in central London, England and part of an area of major arts venues on the South Bank of the River Thames. It is sited adjacent to the other Southbank Centre buildings (the Royal ...

(1969), ' Works on Paper',

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

(1971), British exhibition,

Art Basel Art Basel is a for-profit, privately owned and managed, international art fair staged annually in Basel (Switzerland), Miami Beach (US), Hong Kong and Paris. Art Basel provides a platform for galleries to show and sell their work to buyers, an ...

(1975), 'Arte Inglese Oggi', Palazzo Reale, Milan (1976), 'British Painting 1952–1977',

Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

(1977), 'British Art Now',

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, often referred to as The Guggenheim, is an art museum at 1071 Fifth Avenue between 88th and 89th Street (Manhattan), 89th Streets on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It hosts a permanent coll ...

(1980), 'Aspects of British Art Today', Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum (1982), ' Modern British Sculpture', Whitechapel Gallery (1986), 'Modern British Sculpture',

Tate Liverpool Tate Liverpool is an art gallery in Liverpool, Merseyside, England, and part of Tate, along with Tate St Ives, Cornwall, Tate Britain, London, and Tate Modern, London. The gallery was an initiative of the Merseyside Development Corporatio ...

(1988), 'Contemporary British Artists: Mirror up to Nature',

Denver Art Museum The Denver Art Museum (DAM) is an art museum located in the Civic Center of Denver, Colorado. With an encyclopedic collection of more than 70,000 diverse works from across the centuries and world, the DAM is one of the largest art museums betwe ...

(1998), 'United Enemies: Sculpture in 1960s and 1970s Britain',

Henry Moore Institute The Henry Moore Foundation is a registered charity in England, established for education and promotion of the fine arts — in particular, to advance understanding of the works of Henry Moore, and to promote the public appreciation of sculpt ...

(2011–12), '

', Royal Academy of Arts (2015–17, 2019), and ' BP Portrait Award',

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

(2019).

Collections

Works of Milow are included in public collections, such as

Tate Galleries Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

Imperial War Museum The Imperial War Museum (IWM), currently branded "Imperial War Museums", is a British national museum. It is headquartered in London, with five branches in England. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, it was intended to record the civ ...

Henry Moore Foundation The Henry Moore Foundation is a registered charity in England, established for education and promotion of the fine arts — in particular, to advance understanding of the works of Henry Moore, and to promote the public appreciation of sculpt ...

, Leeds City Art Gallery, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Museum of Fine Arts (Budapest),

(NYC), Guggenheim Museum,

Walker Art Center The Walker Art Center is a multidisciplinary contemporary art center in the Lowry Hill, Minneapolis, Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is one of the most-visited modern and contemporary art museums in ...

Dallas Museum of Art The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) is an art museum located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, along Woodall Rodgers Freeway between St. Paul and Harwood. In the 1970s, the museum moved from its previous location in Fair Park to the A ...

Art Gallery of Ontario The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO; ) is an art museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located on Dundas Street, Dundas Street West in the Grange Park (neighbourhood), Grange Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto, the museum complex takes up of phys ...

National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

and Art Gallery of South Australia. An important commission of 1998 was the piece ''20th Century – Thames'', consisting of four large tondi in the lobby of

One Canada Square One Canada Square is a skyscraper in Canary Wharf, London. It is the third tallest building in the United Kingdom at above ground level,Aviation charts issued by the Civil Aviation Authority and contains 50 storeys. It achieved the title of ...

(

Canary Wharf Canary Wharf is a financial area of London, England, located in the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The Greater London Authority defines it as part of London's central business district, alongside Central London. Alongside ...

, London). KeithMilow-tondo.jpg, ''20th Century – Thames'', 1998 KeithMilow-cross.jpg, Cross sculpture, 2005 KeithMilow-afterwords.jpg, ''After Words'', 2008 Keith Milow, Men's Eyes (2016).jpeg, ''Men's Eyes'', 2016

Sources

* Debrett's ''People of Today'' 2006, ed. Charles Mosley, London 2006 (page 1134) * (1987)
''Emerging Artists 1978–1986, Selections from the Exxon series''
Exhibition catalogue Solomon K. Guggenheim Museum, New York. ISBN 0-89207-063-6 (page 117)

References

External links

*
TateDadiani Fine Art
{{DEFAULTSORT:Milow, Keith 1945 births Living people People educated at The Knights Templar School, Baldock Alumni of Camberwell College of Arts Alumni of the University of Leeds Harkness Fellows English contemporary artists English male painters 20th-century English painters 21st-century English painters English sculptors English male sculptors 20th-century British sculptors 21st-century British sculptors English printmakers 20th-century British printmakers 21st-century English LGBTQ people English gay artists Postminimalist artists 20th-century English male artists 21st-century English male artists