"When I worked at a small rural museum near my home, an excavation under a building revealed a great quantity of shards that were quite beautiful as objects and also furnished very specific information about the history of the building and the people who occupied it. Identifying those shards with the assistance of Parks Canada and including them in the permanent collection of the museum was one of the projects during my curatorship. I'm often fascinated with old objects and the transformative effects of time. Living in the country and being surrounded by old things is an important influence on my work. Moreover, I live with a 'collector' who rarely discards anything and whose treasures fill our house and barns, providing me with endless material for art making.
I have been a figurative and narrative painter for many years, seeing the world from the usual perspective – as though through a window. In my work with artifacts I became fascinated with a 'seeing things from above' approach that continues to evolve. Toward that end I often arrange objects and paint them from the same perspective in which we view the ordinary implements of our everyday lives – looking down at a flat surface. By representing only fragments of the whole object, my works move toward abstraction.
When a dish is broken, something is lost forever. It can be repaired but it will never be the same. In rendering imperfect and incomplete objects my works focus on their beauty as well as become a metaphor for aging."
Brenda Kennedy has been exhibiting her work for more than thirty years. Born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario, she is a graduate of the Nova Scotia College of Art & Design. Brenda has lived and worked as an artist and teacher in Halifax, Montreal, France and North West Territories. Brenda currently resides in Glengarry County, Ontario with her partner, 1 dog, 5 cats, 20 chickens and 2 donkeys. Her work is in both public and private collections throughout Canada and the United States.
