CARVED BY STEVEN KEAN
"My work is a study of both the land and the ocean here in Hawai'i," says printmaker Steven Kean. Based on the North Shore of O'ahu, Kean specializes in woodcut prints, carving into wood, rolling on ink, nd running the block through a printing press, applying paper and pressure to reveal each image. A lifelong surfer, he channels the feeling of being in the water directly into his art.
For Kean, the process matters as much as the finished piece. Each print begins as a sketch, then a hand-carved line. Slow. Tactile. Meditative. "There's a certain stillness I'm trying to achieve," he says, "the same stillness I feel in the water." This debut collection brings that process to two pieces inspired by the North Shore, The Centenarian and The Bay. Made in Hawai'i from our signature cotton broadcloth. Available now.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
A Pennsylvania native, Steven Kean has called the North Shore of O'ahu home since 2008, working primarily in the woodcut method of relief printmaking, driven by a passion for the process and a love of the ocean. His work has shown internationally, from exhibitions in Japan to hotels and resorts across Hawai'i and the Bahamas. A nine-year participant in the Haleiwa Arts Festival and twice its featured artist, Kean has also held multiple solo exhibitions of his woodcut prints. When he's not surfing or carving, he teaches art to youth across Hawai'i as part of the Hawai'i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts' Teaching Artist Roster.
