Lorraine Brooks, Actor, Director, Artist
In addition to my own art, I also am honored to be the representative of the work of KEITH SIMON, painter, and artist. Keith's work was influenced by the post-modern cubist ideas of Picasso, but more so the fundamental constructs of Pre-Columbian, Mayan, and Peruvian models. His pallete is earthy and bold - but he can also evoke the imagination with his use of black and white and charcoal.
Keith's works have been exhibited with important contributors to the Harlem Renaissance of the 1940s and 50s, including Norman Lewis, Alvin Hollingsworth, and Romare Bearden. He trained at Howard University under the famous African-American painters Lois Jones and James Porter, and studied ceramics and sculpture under John B. Kenny.
Keith found his most fascinating subject the human form, and more specifically, the male form. He developed a unique approach to depicting “maleness”, however many of his works encourage the viewer to explore the universality of human form and dynamics, rather than limiting the visual definition of “gender”. The viewer is invited to experience his highly stylized figures as expressions of his fluidity and interpretation of "body language", as his subjects are often pensive and self-involved.
Keith SIMON
Keith Simon was born in 1922 in what was then British Honduras, and is now Belize. His career as a painter spanned almost 60 years, much of it in London and Europe, and later, in the US. He began his art education in New York City at the Benjamin Franklin High School in Harlem, where he studied under sculptor John B Kenney, and where he earned the prestigious Saint-Gaudens Medal for excellence in drawing.
Keith later attended Howard University in Washington DC, where he studied painting under Lois Jones and James Porter, before leaving the US in 1952 to live in London.
As a painter Keith worked in both abstract and realist styles, using many diverse components to produce the final product. His chief influences were pre-Columbian art and architecture, especially of Mayan origin, and cubism.
Simon's works have been exhibited with important contributors to the Harlem Renaissance of the 1940s and 50s, including Norman Lewis, Alvin Hollingsworth, and Romare Bearden.
Simon found his most fascinating subject the human form, and more specifically, the male form. He developed a unique approach to depicting “maleness”, however many of his works encourage the viewer to explore the universality of human form and dynamics, rather than limiting the visual definition of “gender”. The viewer is invited to experience his highly stylized figures as expressions of his fluidity and interpretation of "body language", as his subjects are often pensive and self-involved.
For more information on Keith Simon or his works, please contact me on the "contact" page on this website
