Kennedy, Michael
My main concern is to produce something that is first and foremost visual, and to deal with ideas that are developed and expressed visually. Although my work is contemporary it is informed by the traditions of European Modernism and I acknowledge a strong Surrealist influence.
I am particularly concerned with various forms of chance, especially in the choice and assemblage of a number of found shapes and forms. Only when, or as, these ‘chance encounters’ come together do they acquire significance and thus a title, although the latter is only occasionally a reliable pointer to the meaning of the piece. Sometimes I work towards the expression of a preconceived idea but in order to be successful these pieces too must be carried out with a large element of chance. Bringing disparate and unlikely elements together and reconciling them into a coherent whole is a large part of my working process, and one that is not dependent on reason.
Like much poetry my work allows for a great deal of personal interpretation. What each piece means for me is not necessarily the full and final meaning that it may have for others, and in any case to set this out in words may deconstruct and devalue the image to an unacceptable extent. The meaning can only be found and experienced visually. The various shapes and forms that I use frequently originate as ‘found objects’, while at other times they are appropriated, for example from printed sources. Usually these first come together as preparatory drawings and collage studies, most of which are quite small in scale and made in a sketchbook. They are then enlarged and further developed into prints or paintings. Drawing is important with many drawings being developed alongside preparatory studies and on a larger scale, independently of either painting or printmaking. My paintings are usually in acrylic and on panel although I do from time to time use oil colour, sometimes in conjunction with acrylic. In printmaking I normally make relief prints in linocut and stencil print. The stencil process is one that I particularly enjoy and I believe I have developed it in my own work in a very personal way and to a high level of skill.
My paintings have been exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, 2004, 2006 and 2008, and prints at the Royal West of England Academy, the Barbican and the Mall Galleries, London. I was included in the British International Miniprint Exhibition, 2006 and 2007, and in 2007 I was selected for ‘Small Print/Big Impression’, an international touring exhibition of miniprints.