Keith Roberts studied fine art at Newcastle upon Tyne Polytechnic and then at the Royal College of Art in London. He was awarded a place at the Delfina Studio Trust and in 2005 an Abbey Fellowship to study at the British School at Rome, an intensely rewarding experience that continues to inform his work. It was during this period that he first cut into the surface of the paintings literally opening new possibilities for the work.

 

In 2010 Roberts took a course in stone carving at the Portland Stone and Quarry Trust in order to experiment with different ways of making and refresh his practice. In 2012 a piece of sculpture became the central element in the show Regeneration Bell and Kindred Works. In 2015 a public commission administered by Oriel Wrexham presented the opportunity to further develop the use of the bell as a powerful symbol. This led to a prize winning installation in St Nicholas’ Church as part of the Deptford X festival in 2015. The Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art commissioned three new ambitious works for their 2017 exhibition War in the Sunshine, their first exhibition after a major refurbishment. Two more shows followed in 2017 both of which were part of the First World War Centenary commemorations, giving opportunity to further develop themes around conflict. In 2018 Roberts presented Tallyman, a large exhibition that responded to the chaos and upheaval that ensues when fearful populations are pushed from their own lands. At the end of 2019 Roberts produced a solo exhibition of painting and sculpture at St. Paul’s School in London called Other People.

 

Roberts’ work is deliberately slow to form in the mind of the viewer. Although his visual language is reductive it is pushed toward the poetic. At the heart of this work are things felt deeply regarding themes of loss, memory and silence.

Covid-19 restrictions permitting, Keith Roberts is to lecture on his work this summer in Rome as part of the Rome Art Program.

​