KeNNEDY HarwooD
@kennedyharwood.artkennedyharwood.com
My paintings examine issues of labor and material value in “craft” objects and histories. I emulate specific surfaces like quilting fabric, wood finishes, and glitter, complicating their associations by juxtaposing them at dynamic shifts in scale. Differences in material associations are in fact distinctions of class, and the translation of these subjects in paint shifts their perceived importance. There are limitations to what paint can convey. While trompe l’oeil is present in both my technique and the content of the work, there is slippage between the real and the painted, high and low, maker and observer.
Traditions of craft are passed down to preserve both material knowledge and appreciation. I developed and affinity for craft while learning textile and carpentry at a young age. I marry these approaches in my painting to collapse multiple histories and methods into a single composition. I bring craft materials into my studio and reenact processes of play to create still lifes. Adornment and invention creep in—disjointed surfaces and flat forms encircle each other to create a series of framing devices that often point directly to the middle. These compositions emphasize lineages of making where ornamentation goes beyond the functional. Through painting, I hope to convey that the decorative and the abstract are both extraordinary and profound.
wax paper and glitter star 1 (how to forget a maker 1), 2024. Oil on handmade luan and pine panel. 10 x 8in
I made a bird house and donated it to Goodwill, 2024. Oil on handmade birch and pine panel. 10 x 8in