LOSANGELES (AP).- Artist Mike Kelley,described by colleagues as an "irresistibleforce" in contemporary art, has died,police said Wednesday. He was 57.
Kelley wasfound at his home Tuesday and it appeared he had committed suicide, South Pasadena Police Sgt.Robert Bartlsaid, without providing further information on the artist's death. An autopsy waspending.
"Kelley'swork in the 1980s was part of how one defined the Los Angeles arts scene. He had a remarkable abilityto fuse distinction between fine and popularart in ways that managed to perturb oursense of decorum," said Stephanie Barron,senior curator of modern art at the Los AngelesCounty Museum of Art.
A familyfriend who was concerned about Kelleywent to his home and called 911, Bartl said.
The friendtold investigators that Kelleyhad been depressed because he had recently broken up with his girlfriend,but no note was found, Bartl said.
"Mike wasan irresistible force in contemporary art. ... We cannot believe he is gone. But we know his legacy will continue to touch and challenge anyone who crossesits path. Wewill miss him. We will keep him withus," Kelley's studio said in a statement that theLos Angeles Times published on its website.
Kelley's workwas included in the upcoming 2012Whitney Biennial out of New York.
Kelley used many mediums andsource materials. "He was always breakingboundaries and challenging convention," Barron said.
Some of hisgreatest works were large scale installations, she said. "Some of hisroom-sized, full-gallery sizedextravaganzas are truly impressive."
Kelley was astudent of John Baldessari. His1994 retrospective organized by the Whitney,which came to LACMA in 1995, established himas a major figure in the art world, Barronsaid.
"Hiswork was widely collectedand exhibited internationally. He had a voraciousappetite for all kinds of art. He was enormously curious and worked incredibly at his craft.He was never afraid to thing really big. Artists like that don't come around very often," shesaid.
Born inDetroit, Kelley founded the band Destroy All Monsters with three othersin 1974.
He left theband in 1978 to attend California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, near LosAngeles.
"He wasextremely intense, very serious, phenomenally well read. He would go very deepinto his subjects, a real artist scholarbut with a real passion for whatever he wasinvestigating," Barron said.
Afterencounters with him, Barron said, "I always came away learningsomething new, thinking about things differently and in aweof his curiosity."
Although shecorresponded with him in the last couple of weeks, the last time she saw him was a month ago.
"It'sincredibly sad. It's hard to imagine somebody with the life force and intensity that Mike brought to bear is no longer with us. His impact will be seen withdistance as all the more powerful and we'll have to begin to process this," Barron said.
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