MKS is pleased to announce that a selection of Keane's Colombian refugee portraits have been chosen by Princeton University to be included in their newest building on campus.
Four paintings have been selected for reproduction and were flown in and installed earlier this month. This announcement is a long time coming--collaborators Sebastian Ramirez (PhD Anthropology candidate, Princeton University), Marino Rivera (Fundacion Colombia Nuevos Horizontes director) and MKS have been waiting to share the news since the work was selected last fall.
Please join us in celebrating the honor of having work on long-term display at Princeton -- for both the artist and for the individuals who volunteered to pose for these paintings. These sitters (many of whom are now friends) almost unanimously did so with the hope that it would draw attention to the situation of people just like them, who have become displaced due to the ongoing armed conflict in the country. They wanted to be part of something bigger than themselves, and hoped their participation in these paintings would draw attention to the important work of Marino Rivera's foundation, which provides them all with housing and services while transitioning to a post-displacement life. Keane structured the project and its contracts so that the foundation receives 50% commission on all sales from this body of work; currently the Abuela (below, far left) has sold and is in a private collection in Zurich, Switzerland. This project was independently funded by MKS (meghan.keane.studio) and gallery LIA LAB in Bogota, Colombia, run by Rodrigo Facundo. This series is currently being submitted to museums and public collections, and is being turned into an art book.
Meghan Keane, 2013
Untitled (Abuela, A., S.+O., Don Diego) | 60 x 36 inches each | acrylic on canvas