James Kennedy Irish Artist

James Kennedy hosts Bonnie Rychlak exhibit @ The Viewing Room

2010-04-05T10:16:00.000-07:00

By Philip McCluskey • Apr 3rd, 2010 •

Photography by Julie Keyes.

Slowly climbing the stairs at 551 West 21st Street to the Viewing Room on Thursday, I realized I was going to see some impressive art. It wasn’t because I was familiar with the work I was there to see—by artists Wyatt Neumann and Bonnie Rychlak as curated by James Kennedy—but because the stairs I was on were packed. People milled about on each of the floors, taking in everything from a painting of a cross-eyed girl on a cheetah to a performance piece featuring someone “preparing for a dinner party” (Regarding the latter, I may have simply walked through someone’s apartment. They may have actually been having a dinner party).

Finally, I heard the din of a gathered crowd, and knew I had arrived at the first exhibition. It was Neumann’s “Moments Like This Never Last”, and it included a string of photos—only about four inches square—bisecting one wall of the room. The photos were in a perfect line, with no discernable theme apart from muted tones and fuzzy Polaroid-like warmth. Pictures of people in costume with funny faces, toilets, roadside motels, kids at play, motorcycle odometers. Landmarks and laughter, absurdity and beauty: this was seemingly a parade of Americana snaking across the fourth floor of a Chelsea art studio. Nothing seemed linear but their placement on the wall. And of course, the only way to see them was to join the slow-moving, single-file line of admirers. It didn’t allow for a stolen moment with your favorite picture. Traffic would back up.

Memory and Oblivion, by Bonnie Rychlak

The next exhibition, Memory and Oblivion, offered not only intriguing art—but a built-in guessing game. Each of artist Bonnie Rychlak’s works were hand-tinted photographs hidden behind textured glass. The result were vague shapes and colors that were recognizable enough to grab your attention, but nebulous enough to keep you guessing at their true form and meaning. The largest of the pieces (at 27” x 34”) was The Lesson Redo: what at first I thought was cooking demonstration, I later surmised was a meeting of Mafioso. Perhaps it was both—the culinary Cosa Nostra. I stood in front of it for minutes, trying to figure out exactly what it was…until I felt the urge to pull off the glass that made it unknowable. Through a lack of clarity, Rychlak had clearly made an impact on me.

The evening left me with two hopes: the hope that I get to see more work by these artists, and the hope that I hadn’t unwittingly ruined someone’s dinner party.

2010-03-29T12:43:00.000-07:00

Kipton Art / Studio Visit Saturday March 13th 2010

2010-03-15T06:46:00.000-07:00

Check out the video at http://vimeo.com/10146276

Gives you a chance to see the various series I work on concurrently.

The young collectors found it most informative.

Watch this space and also visit the upated press links @ www.jameskennedyonline.com

Spring's Slow Awakening

2010-02-27T05:35:00.000-08:00

Though much of this prolonged winter has been spent travelling back home and hibernating in the studio
creating initial models for a new series. There are several opportunities to view the work in the
coming weeks.

Galerie Werner Pittsburgh will be showing several works from 2009 in a series of exhibits that
include collaborations with Spanierman Gallery , New York. I am both thriled and flattered that these
paintings are nestled alongside arists who created paintings in the early part of the 20th century and were
carried by the strong and vital current of Abstract Expressionism and Constructivism.

On view through March 30th

Galerie Werner
44 Beaver Street,
Sewickley, PA 15143-1218

Within a more decorative setting Eve Kelly Herman has selected several works spanning a three year period
as part of her Mid Century Collection at Highland Park 20

On view through March 30th

HighalndPark20
Center44
222 East 44th Street
New York, NY 10017
Monday-Friday 9:30 am to 5:30 pm
Saturday 10:00 am to 5:00 pm

Still a few days left to view " Sum of Parts:" a painting created for Sylvester & Co's " Best of 2009 "

Sylvester & Co
154 Main Street Amagansett
NY 11930 | 631 267 9777

Affordable Art Fair Bruxelles was a huge success with an overwhelming response to the Spatial Works.
A big thank you to with Aline Herschberg
of ArlevArt Paris

Look forward to seeing you March 6th.

2010-02-24T06:06:00.000-08:00

Highline Open Studios

2010-02-23T11:45:00.003-08:00

Studios and Galleries will be open noon to 6pm Sat and Sun and there's a PDF map available on the Highline site James Kennedy studio

Highline Open Studios

2010-02-23T11:45:00.001-08:00

Studios and Galleries will be open noon to 6pm Sat and Sun and there's a PDF map available on the Highline site James Kennedy studio

James Kennedy

2010-02-23T10:20:00.000-08:00

James Kennedy was born in Northern Ireland and has been resident in the United States since 2003.He studied at the Royal Scottish Academy, Rhodec Academy, and the London School of Contemporary Dance.Much of my early work deals with the power and presence held within a horizon.Representational objects rarely appearing, but rather kinetic suggestions, incidents, weather - systems held within the “Moosdcapes “ , most of which involved oil glazing techniques where multiple layers of media would build the atmospheric substrates toward completion.In the early to late nineties the smooth, ominous layers of oil gave way to his fascination and experimentation with texture, resulting in large scale paintings containing a diverse range of alchemic reactions, mainly acrylic and wax builds with oil washes - visceral episodes on wooden panels.It was on a visit to London at the dawn of the millennium when I discovered an exhibit of Russian -Constructivists at the Royal Academy. My love of drawing and fascination with color proximities was immediately rekindled, and the long process toward creating the Spatial series began. The paintings are a rare combination of control and spontaneity, The serendipitous background washes essentially form the depth and architecture of each piece, the choreography of line and color follows.The folios featured on this site illustrate a progression in artistic process spanning ten years.