ARTIST STATEMENT 2020
The paintings in this body of work explore the interiors and landscape of Ireland, mostly centered around a few grand houses and castles we visited as we circumnavigated the island. Ireland has always captured my imagination: a green land full of history, and maybe just a little magic.
My wife, painter Judy Nimtz, and I began our 6 week painting trip in Dublin. From there we rented a cottage for a month out on the Sheep’s Head Peninsula in West Cork, near a town called Bantry. This was a remote corner of the country, wild and beautiful, and we ventured out to paint the landscape and coastline. In Bantry we visited the Bantry House, an 18th century grand house overlooking Bantry Bay, and I was granted permission to paint on-site. From those studies and references I was able to work up larger studio paintings evoking the ever-changing atmosphere of West Cork.
We then circled the island by car, heading up to wild County Sligo, visiting the famed Lissadell House, a place where the poet William Butler Yeats was often a guest. Further north we visited the rugged Inishowen peninsula (northern-most part of Ireland), then over to Belfast in Northern Ireland. Lastly, we headed south east to Huntington Castle in County Carlow, home of my friend and painter Harry Durdin Robertson. There we painted interiors and landscape of the ancient castle, taking in the history and lore of the place.
My paintings are about light and space, and I am compelled to create spaces where the viewer is invited in, to create their own narrative. As such my paintings are almost always devoid of people, but as I write this the emptiness of the interiors strikes me as surreal. The world in this moment resembles the emptiness of a Surrealist arcade, a De Chirico: a conspicuously empty place. When I made this body of work, completing it just as the world was changing, I was working in a state of happiness, getting to revisit those places that visually struck me with their beauty and history. I hope the work will resonate on two levels: as a reflection of our temporary collective experience, but more so as a reminder of the wonderful world we inhabit—the mysterious every day.
Kenny Harris
Venice Beach, CA
The paintings in this body of work explore the interiors and landscape of Ireland, mostly centered around a few grand houses and castles we visited as we circumnavigated the island. Ireland has always captured my imagination: a green land full of history, and maybe just a little magic.
My wife, painter Judy Nimtz, and I began our 6 week painting trip in Dublin. From there we rented a cottage for a month out on the Sheep’s Head Peninsula in West Cork, near a town called Bantry. This was a remote corner of the country, wild and beautiful, and we ventured out to paint the landscape and coastline. In Bantry we visited the Bantry House, an 18th century grand house overlooking Bantry Bay, and I was granted permission to paint on-site. From those studies and references I was able to work up larger studio paintings evoking the ever-changing atmosphere of West Cork.
We then circled the island by car, heading up to wild County Sligo, visiting the famed Lissadell House, a place where the poet William Butler Yeats was often a guest. Further north we visited the rugged Inishowen peninsula (northern-most part of Ireland), then over to Belfast in Northern Ireland. Lastly, we headed south east to Huntington Castle in County Carlow, home of my friend and painter Harry Durdin Robertson. There we painted interiors and landscape of the ancient castle, taking in the history and lore of the place.
My paintings are about light and space, and I am compelled to create spaces where the viewer is invited in, to create their own narrative. As such my paintings are almost always devoid of people, but as I write this the emptiness of the interiors strikes me as surreal. The world in this moment resembles the emptiness of a Surrealist arcade, a De Chirico: a conspicuously empty place. When I made this body of work, completing it just as the world was changing, I was working in a state of happiness, getting to revisit those places that visually struck me with their beauty and history. I hope the work will resonate on two levels: as a reflection of our temporary collective experience, but more so as a reminder of the wonderful world we inhabit—the mysterious every day.
Kenny Harris
Venice Beach, CA
RESUME
BORN American, 1974, Palo Alto, CA
EDUCATION
2015-2017 Laguna College of Art + Design, MFA in Painting
1992-1996 Colorado College, BA in Fine Art, Cum Laude
1998 Art Students League, New York, under Frank Mason
1994 Charles Cecil Studios, Florence, Italy
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2020 Ireland, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA and New York, NY
2018 Interior Worlds, Koplin Del Rio, Seattle, WA
2016 Recent Paintings, George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2015 New Paintings, Koplin Del Rio, Culver City, CA
2014 Recent Paintings, George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2013 Kenny Harris & Judy Nimtz: Terra di Sienna—Paintings of Southern Tuscany, Koplin Del Rio, Culver City, CA
2012 How We See: The Process of Observation to Realization (two Person show with Judy Nimtz), Barrett Gallery, Santa Monica College, Santa Monica, CA
2012 Tuscany, George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2012 China, Koplin Del Rio, Culver City, CA
2011 Normandy, George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2010 Istanbul, Koplin Del Rio, Culver City, CA
2008 Tales from the Road, George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2008 Recent Paintings, Terrence Rogers Fine Art, Santa Monica, CA
2007 Buenos Aires & South America, Gallery C, Hermosa Beach, CA
2006 Images from the Old World, George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2006 Transitional Light, Terrence Rogers Fine Art, Santa Monica, CA
2005 La Habana, Cuba, Gallery C, Hermosa Beach, CA
2005 Sacred Light/Common Space, Terrence Rogers Fine Art, Santa Monica, CA
2004 Kenny Harris, Terrence Rogers Fine Art, Santa Monica, CA
2003 Terrence Rogers Fine Art, Santa Monica, CA
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2019 Perennial, Koplin Del Rio, Los Angeles, CA
2018 Gesture, Prographica/KDR Gallery, Seattle, WA
2018 The Cityscape Show VIII, George Billis LA, Culver City, CA
2017 Liberty, Koplin Del Rio, Seattle, WA
2017 Intuitive Realities II, Q Art Salon, Santa Ana, CA
2016 Identity-Method: Degrees of Separation, Koplin Del Rio, Seattle, WA
2015 Observing Observing (a white cup), Prographica Gallery, Seattle, WA
2015 New to Seattle, Prographica Gallery, Seattle, WA
2013 In the City, George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2013 Wunderkammer, Koplin Del Rio, Culver City, CA
2012 Still Life: The Painted Image, Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, Hagerstown, MD
2012 Sublime, Koplin Del Rio, Culver City, CA
2012 City Streets, George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2011 The Buildings of New York, George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2010 En Plein Air, Kings Art Center, Hanford, CA
2009 Memories of the LA Billboard, Koplin Del Rio, Culver City, CA
2009 Summer in the City, George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2006 Artists For the New Century, Bennington Center for the Arts, Bennington, VT
2005 In the City, George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2004 California New Old Masters, curated by Donald Kuspit (catalogue), Gallery C, Hermosa Beach, CA
2003 Urban Anatomy, Gallery C, Hermosa Beach, CA
RESIDENCIES
2015 Borgo Finocchieto, Artist in Residence, Buonconvento, Italy
2013 Borgo Finocchieto, Artist in Residence, Buonconvento, Italy
2012 Monteverdi Tuscany, Artist in Residence, Castiglioncello del Trinoro, Italy
2012 Borgo Finocchieto, Artist in Residence, Buonconvento, Italy
2011 Borgo Finocchieto, Artist in Residence, Buonconvento, Italy
TEACHING
2018-Current Assistant Professor of Paintng & Drawing, Laguna College of Art & Design
2006-2018 Painting Instructor and MFA Mentor, Laguna College of Art & Design
GRANTS
2016 Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant
2015-2017 Albert K. Murray Grants
PRESS
American Art Collector, Mar. 2020, “A Look Inside” by John O’Hern
American Art Collector, Feb. 2017, “Place and Time”
American Art Collector, Dec. 2014, “Trapped Light”
Milieu Magazine, Fall 2014, “A painter’s eye: An inside look” by Donna Wilkinson
Epoch Times, Oct. 7, 2014, “Kenny Harris: Cityscapes with Current Context” by Wim Van Aalst
Fine Art Connoisseur, July 2013, “The Interior Worlds of Kenny Harris” by David Masello
ArtWeek LA, Oct. 21, 2013, “Kenny Harris and Judy Nimtz: Terra di Sienna—Paintings from Southern Tuscany”
American Art Collector, Oct. 2012, “A Fresh and Honest Look” by Joshua Rose
American Art Collector, Jan. 2011, “Le Quesnoy”
Poets and Artists, Oct. 2010, “Portals and Spaces at the Gloaming” by Grady Harp
American Art Collector, Nov. 2008, “The Art of the Roadtrip”
Whitehot Magazine, March 2008, “Kenny Harris” by Shana Nys Dambrot
Artweek, March 2006, "Kenny Harris at Gallery C" by Shana Nys Dambrot
Southwest Art, Oct. 2005, "Chasing the Light" by Bonnie Gangelhoff
Angeleno, May 2004, "Domestic Scene" by Bettie Goodwin
Southwest Art, Sept. 2003, "Emerging Artists Issue: 21 under 31"
EDUCATION
2015-2017 Laguna College of Art + Design, MFA in Painting
1992-1996 Colorado College, BA in Fine Art, Cum Laude
1998 Art Students League, New York, under Frank Mason
1994 Charles Cecil Studios, Florence, Italy
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2020 Ireland, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA and New York, NY
2018 Interior Worlds, Koplin Del Rio, Seattle, WA
2016 Recent Paintings, George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2015 New Paintings, Koplin Del Rio, Culver City, CA
2014 Recent Paintings, George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2013 Kenny Harris & Judy Nimtz: Terra di Sienna—Paintings of Southern Tuscany, Koplin Del Rio, Culver City, CA
2012 How We See: The Process of Observation to Realization (two Person show with Judy Nimtz), Barrett Gallery, Santa Monica College, Santa Monica, CA
2012 Tuscany, George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2012 China, Koplin Del Rio, Culver City, CA
2011 Normandy, George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2010 Istanbul, Koplin Del Rio, Culver City, CA
2008 Tales from the Road, George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2008 Recent Paintings, Terrence Rogers Fine Art, Santa Monica, CA
2007 Buenos Aires & South America, Gallery C, Hermosa Beach, CA
2006 Images from the Old World, George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2006 Transitional Light, Terrence Rogers Fine Art, Santa Monica, CA
2005 La Habana, Cuba, Gallery C, Hermosa Beach, CA
2005 Sacred Light/Common Space, Terrence Rogers Fine Art, Santa Monica, CA
2004 Kenny Harris, Terrence Rogers Fine Art, Santa Monica, CA
2003 Terrence Rogers Fine Art, Santa Monica, CA
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2019 Perennial, Koplin Del Rio, Los Angeles, CA
2018 Gesture, Prographica/KDR Gallery, Seattle, WA
2018 The Cityscape Show VIII, George Billis LA, Culver City, CA
2017 Liberty, Koplin Del Rio, Seattle, WA
2017 Intuitive Realities II, Q Art Salon, Santa Ana, CA
2016 Identity-Method: Degrees of Separation, Koplin Del Rio, Seattle, WA
2015 Observing Observing (a white cup), Prographica Gallery, Seattle, WA
2015 New to Seattle, Prographica Gallery, Seattle, WA
2013 In the City, George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2013 Wunderkammer, Koplin Del Rio, Culver City, CA
2012 Still Life: The Painted Image, Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, Hagerstown, MD
2012 Sublime, Koplin Del Rio, Culver City, CA
2012 City Streets, George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2011 The Buildings of New York, George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2010 En Plein Air, Kings Art Center, Hanford, CA
2009 Memories of the LA Billboard, Koplin Del Rio, Culver City, CA
2009 Summer in the City, George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2006 Artists For the New Century, Bennington Center for the Arts, Bennington, VT
2005 In the City, George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2004 California New Old Masters, curated by Donald Kuspit (catalogue), Gallery C, Hermosa Beach, CA
2003 Urban Anatomy, Gallery C, Hermosa Beach, CA
RESIDENCIES
2015 Borgo Finocchieto, Artist in Residence, Buonconvento, Italy
2013 Borgo Finocchieto, Artist in Residence, Buonconvento, Italy
2012 Monteverdi Tuscany, Artist in Residence, Castiglioncello del Trinoro, Italy
2012 Borgo Finocchieto, Artist in Residence, Buonconvento, Italy
2011 Borgo Finocchieto, Artist in Residence, Buonconvento, Italy
TEACHING
2018-Current Assistant Professor of Paintng & Drawing, Laguna College of Art & Design
2006-2018 Painting Instructor and MFA Mentor, Laguna College of Art & Design
GRANTS
2016 Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant
2015-2017 Albert K. Murray Grants
PRESS
American Art Collector, Mar. 2020, “A Look Inside” by John O’Hern
American Art Collector, Feb. 2017, “Place and Time”
American Art Collector, Dec. 2014, “Trapped Light”
Milieu Magazine, Fall 2014, “A painter’s eye: An inside look” by Donna Wilkinson
Epoch Times, Oct. 7, 2014, “Kenny Harris: Cityscapes with Current Context” by Wim Van Aalst
Fine Art Connoisseur, July 2013, “The Interior Worlds of Kenny Harris” by David Masello
ArtWeek LA, Oct. 21, 2013, “Kenny Harris and Judy Nimtz: Terra di Sienna—Paintings from Southern Tuscany”
American Art Collector, Oct. 2012, “A Fresh and Honest Look” by Joshua Rose
American Art Collector, Jan. 2011, “Le Quesnoy”
Poets and Artists, Oct. 2010, “Portals and Spaces at the Gloaming” by Grady Harp
American Art Collector, Nov. 2008, “The Art of the Roadtrip”
Whitehot Magazine, March 2008, “Kenny Harris” by Shana Nys Dambrot
Artweek, March 2006, "Kenny Harris at Gallery C" by Shana Nys Dambrot
Southwest Art, Oct. 2005, "Chasing the Light" by Bonnie Gangelhoff
Angeleno, May 2004, "Domestic Scene" by Bettie Goodwin
Southwest Art, Sept. 2003, "Emerging Artists Issue: 21 under 31"