Bob Keyes is a Maine-based and nationally-recognized arts writer and storyteller with specialties in American visual arts and the contemporary culture of New England. Born and raised near Boston, he has spent more than 15 years writing about arts and culture for the Portland Press Herald and Maine Sunday Telegram.

Bob has interviewed Wade Kavanaugh (co-owner of The Gem) several times over the course of Wade’s career as an installation artist. Now the tables will be turned and Wade will engage Bob in a conversation about his newly released book “Isolation Artist”. Don’t miss this special interview between Wade and Bob in The Gem’s Outdoor Theater at 6pm on Friday, October 1st. Please reserve you seats in advance. Seating will be limited.

The Isolation Artist: Scandal, Deception, and the Last Days of Robert Indiana is an extraordinary window into the life and death of a singular and contradictory American artist, Robert Indiana, whose work touched countless millions through everything from postage stamps to political campaigns to museums—even as he lived and died in isolation, with a lack of love, the loss of hope, and lots and lots of money.

With unparalleled access to the key players in Indiana’s life, journalist and author Bob Keyes tells a fast-paced and riveting story that provides a rare inside look into the life of an artist as well as the often-unscrupulous world of high-end art. The reader is taken inside the world of art dealers, law firms, and an array of local characters in Maine whose lives intersected with the internationally revered artist living in an old Odd Fellows Hall on Vinalhaven Island.

Bob Keyes’ book will be available for purchase and signing at the event.

PLEASE BRING A LAWN CHAIR FOR SEATING AND DRESS WARMLY. THANK YOU!