soCurio | art is for everyone

The painter Anett Kennedy is an international artist whose latest solo exhibits found place in Paris (May 2009) and Los Angeles (2008). In July 2010 her next solo exhibit takes place in Norway. Anett Kennedy, born in Oslo, left her home country to go study abroad at the age of eighteen. In the years that followed she studied languages in England, France, Switzerland and Spain and international politics in California. In between she would go back to Norway, either to study; journalism, or work; late 80ies she was headhunted to be a fashion editor in Tique, Norway´s first “glossy” fashion magazine. Painting was always her passion, but it was not until 1999 that she decided to put all her forces into the art. She sold everything she owned and went to California to study classical painting and thus become the best painter she could be. In 2009 Anett Kennedy moved back to Norway. She has Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and French, a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and a Bachelor of Fine Arts cum laude in drawing and painting and a certificate in pedagogy. Her artwork, figurative abstract oil paintings, has been exhibited in juried group- and solo shows in Norway, France and the United States. She is inspired by Francis Bacon, Richard Diebenkorn, Mark Rothko, Olivier Debré and Rembrandt. -In the process of creating a painting I shift back and forth between abstract and figurative work. The abstract is based on improvisation. At some point, with any luck, a compositional constellation begins to emerge and a connection takes place between me and the painting. -The most important for me is to experiment and discover the undiscovered in the process, says Kennedy. –I enjoy exploring the unknown landscape. It´s all about making a better and better world. I believe that a painting can be just as calming and exciting, interesting and dynamic, as nature, she says. Philippe Guston once pointed out that there is a mysterious element to the picture plane –“an imaginary plane that defies any traditional explanation”. I believe that the moment we become lost in a painting, we are closest to the space between heaven and earth that the Japanese describes as “Nakazura”, the silent place of all and nothing. An inexpressible place, between dream and reality, for escape and solace which hopefully, ultimately heals and leaves the viewer with a fresh way of seeing Home Base.