James Kennedy

I am a contemporary oxidation painter and sculptor based in Montreal, Canada. My practice explores the plastic and physical properties of industrial steel in relation to geology, geography, and industry. Using oxidation painting, photography, screen printing, and laser cutting, I create steel works that exist between painting and sculpture. My compositions engage the material’s surface, the dark tonalities produced by acid oxidation, and the shifting interplay of light and shadow generated by negative space. I am particularly interested in the tension between the material’s strength and the sense of lightness created through openings, a dichotomy that defines my tone on tone works.

After founding a design and fabrication studio in Montreal in 2005, I spent over a decade creating interior, industrial, and outdoor structures for clients including Cirque du Soleil and Bell. In parallel, I gradually returned to my artistic practice. In 2016, I chose to devote myself fully to my work as a visual artist, reconnecting with an artistic path rooted in my childhood spent in my mother’s art studio.

Until 2020, my work was presented through galleries in Canada and internationally, including a presentation at the Affordable Art Fair in San Francisco with Galerie Artêria. That same year, my work was featured at the Fonderie Darling in Montreal in connection with Ponts, a book initiated by writers, featuring 13 images of my bridge artworks, each paired with a short story inspired by the corresponding work. Since 2020, I have taken a deliberate pause from gallery representation to focus on public art and large scale projects. My practice has since expanded into permanent public installations, including a major co creation project with the Nation Naskapi de Kawawachikamach. In 2023, I was selected as a laureate of a public art competition organized by the Société des ponts Jacques Cartier et Champlain for the reuse of original steel from the original Champlain Bridge.