My work has been influenced by the impressionist, modernist and pointillist. I use figure to ground relationships to deliberately confuse the subject matter, allowing the viewer to find, him or herself, in the artwork. The use of small individual brush strokes and the placement of one color against the next gives an ever changing color palette to the piece.
The theme of my painting has been a search for stillness, a form of mediative calm. Painting is my escape from a world of too much noise and information. It’s a way to step away from those inner dialogues that keep us from being truly calm. My work is an oasis away from the complexities of modern living where one can reflect on what is essential.
Keith Breitfeller makes quiet paintings, works that lure you with their whispers of serenity.
Everyone loves a good mystery, and these do a good job of keeping their secrets.
-Adeaner, tackad
Keith R. Breitfeller was raised in Catasauqua, a small town in eastern Pennsylvania, in 1952. Keith had a hunger to explore beyond the boundaries of this little hamlet. He harassed his parents until they allowed him to take art lessons in Allentown, a nearby city. Later, he attended Kutztown College, then furthering his studies in New York Artist, Marion Pinto. The keystone of his methods was acquired at the Barnstone Studio, a Renaissance-type Master and Apprentice program. The heavy emphasis on the Golden Section and color theory continues to inform his work.
Residing in Philadelphia, Keith has exhibited locally for 30 years with solo exhibits at Vox Populi, Sande Webster Gallery, Abington Art Center, and Perkin’s Center for the Arts. Outside of the region, he has shown in Texas, Tennessee, Massachusetts, and in Austria. His work is included in many private and corporate collections in Athens, London, Dubai, and throughout the Northeast. In the last few years, he has completed many commissions.
1981 - 1984
The Barnstone Studios, Coplay, PA
1978 - 1980
Apprenticeship with artist Marion Pinto, New York, NY
1976 - 1978
Kutztown State College, Kutztown, PA
1970 - 1972
Northampton Community College,
Associates Degree, Advertising Art
2025
3rd Place, Absolutely Abstract, Philadelphia Sketch Club, Philadelphia, PA
1994
Discipline Winner (Painting), The Pew Fellowship in the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Vanessa Werring, Color, Composition, and Continuity: Four Decades of Art and Partnership, June, 2026
Photo Essay by Jeffrey Totaro, “Transformed: I. M. Pei–Designed Home in Society Hill”, Philadelphia Magazine, February 22, 2015
Don Brewer, “Keith and Brian,” DonArTNeWs.com, April 28, 2014
Bobbi Booker, “Sande Webster tribute …”, The Sunday Tribune, December 8, 2013
Philip Carroll, “Abstractions”, Short Film, 2012
tackad: "Reductive Pointillism," tackad, 2010
Jong Kyu, FunnelPages.com, 2010
Vincent Romaniello, Romanblog II: January 2010
Victoria Donohoe, “Show of seven”, Philadelphia Inquirer, August 14, 2009
Anne R. Fabbri, "Finding the nuggets in the Way Center’s mixed bag”, Broad Street Review, October 12, 2007
Philadelphia Home & Garden, Hollywood on the Delaware, Fall 2005
Hervey Sifuentes, “Pintores de Filadelfia...”, Zócalo De Ciudad, Acuña, November 5, 2005
Karen Williams, “Repetition and Transformation”, Philadelphia City Paper, January 15, 2004
Bell Cei, 10th Annual GALA Exhibition, Au Courant, June 26, 1998
Edward J. Sozanski, “Some portraits of an Artist’s Jazz Heroes”, Philadelphia Inquirer, April 23, 1993
Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, PA
Vincent Smith-Durham, Athens, Greece
Dr. Nasser Saldi, Dubai, UAE
Compass, Dallas, TX
Merck Pharmaceuticals, Philadelphia, PA
Teknion, New York, NY
Mr & Mrs Douglas Rosenthal, Washington, DC
Ms. Marcia Fisch, Cherry Hill, NJ
Global Industries, Voorhees, NJ
Federal Reserve Bank, Philadelphia, PA
Ms. Barbara Gohn, Philadelphia, PA
Jim Meyer & Susan Rovner, Rydal, PA
Lenore Steiner, Ambler, PA
Marty Salzman, Philadelphia, PA
Michael Rodack, Gladwynne, PA
Mr & Mrs Della Penna, Doylestown, PA
Mr.& Mrs. Rade, Huntington Valley, PA
The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Cuttino Mobley Houston, TX
Larry and Dolores Miller New Hope, PA
Mr. & Mrs. Joel Appel, Cherry Hill, NJ
James Brantley & Sande Webster, Philadelphia, PA
Matthew S. Canno, Philadelphia, PA
Harvey & Abbie Hoffman, Rydal, PA
Larry & Dolores Miller, New Hope, PA
D. Richard Gennett, West Chester, PA
Mr. & Mrs. J. Maxwell Smith, Media, PA
City View, Philadelphia, PA
Coventry First, Fort Washington, PA
Irma Blumenthal, Bala Cynwyd, PA
Pokotilow/Panzer, Penn Valley, PA
Johnathan, Rosefsky, Wynnewood, PA
Also Private and Corporate Collections in Dubai, London, Massachusetts, Texas and Washington State
2024
Pause, Waring Contemporary, Phoenixville, PA
2023
Respite, Gross McCleaf Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2022
Moment on South, with Brian David Dennis, Philadelphia, PA
2017
con·tex·ture, with Brian David Dennis, Studio, Wayne, PA
Northern Exposure, Inspired by Iceland, Gallery 1315, Philadelphia, PA
2016
Solo Series, Abington Art Center, Abington, PA
2015
Oberfläche, with Brian David Dennis, Galerie Göttlicher, Krems, Austria
2014
Abeyance, with Brian David Dennis, 110 Church Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2010
Continuum: New Works with Brian David Dennis, Sande Webster Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Current Work, with Brian David Dennis, Firehouse, Del Rio, TX
Abstractions, with Pat Mattina, Lyman-Eyer Gallery, Provincetown, MA
2009
Two Artist Show, Adrian J. Falcon Gallery, Del Rio, TX
2007
Pause, with Brian David Dennis, Sande Webster Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Out Loud & Proud, William Way Community Center, Philadelphia, PA
2005
Two Artist Show, Adrian J. Falcon Gallery, Del Rio, TX
Layers & Undercurrents with Brian David Dennis, Sande Webster Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Solo Exhibition, Vox Populi, Philadelphia, PA
2003
Pigment and Paste, with Brian David Dennis, Sande Webster Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Solo Exhibition, Vox Populi, Philadelphia, PA
2002
Solo Exhibition, Vox Populi, Philadelphia, PA
2001
Surfaces and Subsurfaces, with Brian David Dennis, Sande Webster Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Solo Exhibition, Vox Populi, Philadelphia, PA
1997
Solo Exhibition, Vox Populi, Philadelphia, PA
1995
Solo Exhibition, Vox Populi, Philadelphia, PA
1994
Solo Exhibition, Vox Populi, Philadelphia, PA
1993
Solo Exhibition, Vox Populi, Philadelphia, PA
1992
Brian & Keith, with Brian David Dennis, Stonewall, Allentown, PA
1990
Solo Exhibition, Vox Populi, Philadelphia, PA
1989
Solo Exhibition, Vox Populi, Philadelphia, PA
2025
Annual Juried Exhibition, Prince Street Gallery, New York, NY
2024
Art of the State, The State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, PA
2021
Twofold, InLiquid@Park Towne Place, Philadelphia, PA
2020
A Selection of Works by Gallery Artists, Gross McCleaf Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2019
Chance Encounter, InLiquid@Park Towne Place, Philadelphia, PA
2019
Annual Juried Exhibition, William Way, Philadelphia, PA
Stonewall @ 50, Drexal University, Philadelphia, PA
2013
Against The Odds, A tribute to Sande Webster Gallery, Lawrence Gallery, Rosemont, PA
2012
2012 Pop-Up, Bainbridge Club, Philadelphia, PA
Abstractions, Perkins Center for the Arts, Collinswood, NJ, Three Artist Show
Ode, Sketchbook Project, Brooklyn Art Library, Brooklyn, NY
2011
Sketchbook Project, Brooklyn Art Library, Brooklyn, NY
2010
Art Forte, Seattle, WA
Sketchbook Project, Brooklyn Art Library, Brooklyn, NY
1998-10
USArtists, Armory, Philadelphia, PA
2009
Off The Grid, Sande Webster Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2008
Group Show, Art Forte, Seattle, WA
2007
Pink, Perkins Center for the Arts, Collingswood, NJ
2004
Repetition and Transformation, The Philadelphia Cathedral, Philadelphia, PA
2002
Love, Life and Basketball, Sande Webster Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2001
Not Yet Housebroken, Vox Populi, Philadelphia, PA
2000
Absence of Color, Sande Webster Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
1998
Vox Populi at ICA, Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, PA
Out On The Farm, Vox Populi Group Show, Chester Springs Studio, Chester Springs, PA
1996
Color Coded: Abstraction and Identity in Contemporary Art, Sleeth Gallery, Buckhannon, WV
Mayfair, Muhlenberg College, Allentown, PA
1993-96
Paper Prayers, Manna Fundraiser, Philadelphia, PA
1994
Mosaic, Corestates Development Center, Philadelphia, PA
Sixth Juried, Painting Exhibition, The Baum School of Art, Allentown, PA
1993
Parlor of the Turn-of-the-Millenium Collector, Venue, Philadelphia, PA
A Collective Voice, Selections from Vox Populi, The Temple Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
1992
Vox Populi at the Community Education Center, Philadelphia, PA
1991-93
Works of Heart, Aids Task Force Invitational, Philadelphia, PA
1990
David Rodale Gallery, Allentown, PA
Art at the Armory, Philadelphia, PA
1988
Present Member Show, Vox Populi, Philadelphia, PA
1988-93
GALA Visual Arts Group Show, Philadelphia, PA
1987
Artist Fighting Aids, Philadelphia, PA
