Grace Kennedy: Five Weeks of Want 

Buster Levi Gallery is pleased to present Five Weeks of Want, paintings by Grace Kennedy at 121 Main Street in Cold Spring, New York. The exhibition will run from June 3 through June 26, 2022.  The opening for the show will be on Friday June 3, 2022 from 6-8pm.

Several years ago Kennedy was part of a group that met and painted together during the deepest part of winter – the five weeks of want. These were accomplished women - writers, illustrators, painters, cake artists; very creative people that she came to love very much from their spirited discussions while they painted; with topics ranging from politics to illness to art, these sessions continued for several years. 

Kennedy described the work; “The resulting paintings were sketches really, but have become time capsules and mementos of those lively days. One winter we would paint toys, or a model, and there was fruit, which apparently I anthropomorphized more than I realized at the time”. This show is focused on the paintings of those meetings. 

Kennedy may refer to the paintings as; ‘sketches really’, but if they are just sketches, they are keenly observed. Their subjects, whether they are pears, bowls, plates, other objects or the model are drawn/painted accurately. Their spatial relations make sense and allow the objects to exist within their setting comfortably. Though light is not an emphasis, each object is clearly rendered as a three dimensional form . 

What distinguishes the painting series as a whole, is the fluidity of the paint application.  It is where the apparent ‘sketchiness’ derives and the movement with the paintings gets it's dynamics. The brushwork appears to push from object to another separated only by different colors. In addition, the brushstrokes construct the forms, defining the directions of different planes. Furthermore, there is a transparency to the paint that suggests interior light as some of the objects appear to glow. 

These paintings, though casually constructed, are rich and rewarding. They are complex, while appearing simple. They display a discerning eye and an analytical mind that formulates a vision in the immediate.

Buster Levi Gallery is open Saturday and Sunday from 12-6 pm. 

Instagram: @beverlyfarmyard

Contact: gkennedy832@gmail.com