James Kennedy

I am a contemporary oxydation painter / sculptor, working and living in Montreal, Canada.
I explore the plastic and physical properties of large industrial steel plates and the links between geology, geography and industry. I use techniques such as oxidation painting, etching, photography, screen printing and laser cutting to create 3D oxidation paintings / steel sculptures.

My compositions include the abstract visual characteristics present on the surface of the material, the dark oxydation that occurs when I paint with acids on the steel, and plays of light and shadows behind the work made from openings I practice in the material using laser cutting or hand cutting tools.

I am mainly interested in the tension between the strength of the material and the lightness created by the openings and vast urban landscape scenes. This dichotomy constitutes the strength of my tone-on-tone artworks.

I renewed with my artistic path a few years after starting a design and fabrication company in Montreal, in 2005, called K-One, where I designed and created outdoor independent structures and interior / industrial design projects for companies such as Cirque du Soleil and Bell over a period of 10 years. In 2016, I decided to devote all my time to my art, affirming myself as a professional full time artist and fully reuniting with my artistic roots that originated from my childhood in my mothers art studio.

I have had representation from galleries in Canada (Montreal, Toronto and P.E.I.), one of them showing my work at “Affordable Art Fair” in the US. In 2016, I was invited by the Alliance Française de Toronto for a solo exhibition in Toronto with my Continent series. That year two of my early works from the Bridge series were selected for a 4 day exhibition in a gallery as part of “Contact” a photography festival in Toronto.