Lost to the Wind

Martin Keen

Located at the Fisheries Campus at Fort Wetherill

“Many have been lost during this pandemic. This work helps us to consider their departure and remember their spirit, lost to the wind.

The form resembles our local marsh grass which is so familiar to us. Yet it is precise, uniform and without color. There is life in its movement and reminds us of our own fragility. That we are still here and can move forward with grace.”

-Martin Keen, May 2021

Lost to the Wind is a site-specific piece for the Fisheries Campus of Fort Wetherill overlooking the entrance to Narragansett Bay. Consisting of fiberglass poles topped with freely rotating geometrically shaped “flags,” the artwork will react and reflect the wind. Scroll to read more about the artist.

 About the Artist:

Industrial designer and sculptor, Martin Keen has spent his life improving the function, look and utility of objects he uses in daily life. He created a new footwear brand known for practicality and function and launched a new line of furniture that greatly improves your working posture. Both born of his own personal need, these companies were started by Keen first building and testing the ideas himself. Keen has always built “sculptural” prototypes of his products, finding the most direct connection to good design and product form during this process. Making “art” sculpture is a natural extension of this creativity. No longer confined by rules of industry and manufacturing Keen now feels a new liberation that only one of a kind handmade objects can provide. “Form follows form vs. form follows function.

His love of sculptural form, structures found in nature, and sailing inspire his design aesthetic. Keen has also admires the sculptural work of Isamu Noguchi, Joan Arp, Barbara Hepworth and others.

Keen was born in 1965 in Somerset, England. He holds a BA in Industrial Design from The Ohio State University. In addition to racing sailboats on Narragansett Bay, Keen also enjoys beekeeping, tennis and travel.  He lives in Jamestown, Rhode Island with his wife.