The Crisp-Ellert Art Museum and Flagler College are pleased to present new work by Portland, Oregon based artist Kristan Kennedy.
Kennedy pushes the boundaries of gesture and abstraction, laboriously working and reworking the surface of her paintings (most often on un-stretched, raw linen). She leaves them in dye baths for extended periods of time, washes and scrubs, affixes stray bits and pieces collected from her studio and from friends, all the while adding gestures with acrylic, sumi ink, and bleach, among others. These actions serve to ... view more »
The Crisp-Ellert Art Museum and Flagler College are pleased to present new work by Portland, Oregon based artist Kristan Kennedy.
Kennedy pushes the boundaries of gesture and abstraction, laboriously working and reworking the surface of her paintings (most often on un-stretched, raw linen). She leaves them in dye baths for extended periods of time, washes and scrubs, affixes stray bits and pieces collected from her studio and from friends, all the while adding gestures with acrylic, sumi ink, and bleach, among others. These actions serve to obscure details while uncovering others. This, paired with the artist’s penchant for utilizing armatures (or whatever architectural elements are handy) on which to drape her paintings, results in a body of work that is simultaneously subdued and uncontrolled, punchy and eloquent.
Kennedy’s work has recently been exhibited at Soloway, Brooklyn, NY, Fourteen30 Contemporary, Portland, Misako & Rosen, Tokyo, and Zzzzzzz, New York. As the Visual Art Curator at the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA), she focuses on commissioning new work by international emerging artists in the form of large-scale, site-specific installations and solo projects that exist at the borders of genres, including organizing music, performance art, publications, and new media projects as part of PICA’s year-round programming and for the organization’s annual Time-Based Art Festival. She currently teaches Contemporary Art History at Portland State University, where she also organizes their MFA Visiting Artist Program and Lecture Series.
This exhibition and related programming are generously supported through a grant from The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida.
Please note the museum will be closed from March 19-26 for Flagler College’s Spring Break, and will re-open on Monday, March 28.
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