Patrick Kennedy | Brian Williams
West Gallery | January 22 – February 27, 2021
Patrick is an artist and interior designer currently living in Torrington, CT, U.S. His design education was in London, England and he has done design work internationally. His teaching in the design field has been in Canada and the U.S. with the past 23 years at Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. He has shown his art in Canada and the U.S.
“Alchemy and visual stimulation have always been a focus of my work. Transformation is a fascination - mixing materials, elements and concepts resulting in something different, hopefully something provocative, and sometimes a variation on proven techniques, creating new and varied solutions.
With a background in design, my work is frequently graphic and sometimes dramatic - intended to speak for itself to each viewer.
My work is varied - including the use of wax in encaustic painting and often mixed with other elements, which allows for different forms of transformation through manipulation, to fuel my curiosity in creating an alchemical marriage of disparate materials.”
When asked, I say that I create Abstract Minimalist Geometric Wood Constructions. All of the wood components of my work are reclaimed. Creating work from materials that would otherwise be discarded has both an artistic sustainability factor and an economic appeal. Knowing that no trees died in vain, also allows me to sleep easier at night.
For thirty years I worked in film and television, so I came to sculpture late in life, but better late than never. Good to know that four years at St. Martin's School of Art in London were not completely wasted.
My method of working is primarily one of experimentation. The revelatory learning experience of handling materials and seeing how shapes stack and angles intersect, invariably provides a direction to follow. For several years I have been working with simple geometric forms, intrigued how massed small components can be developed into larger works. The simplicity and serenity of repetitive forms can have an appeal all of their own. I find that lighting plays a crucial role in adding a dramatic and transformative element to each piece. The massed flat white forms achieve a harmony of complexity between the forms and their shadows.