Featured Artist: John Gale Kenney

John Gale Kenney was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1950. While attending college he discovered his interest in painting. Although a science major, he studied painting with Paul Edwards. He became heavily influenced by a friend of Paul’s, Andy Warhol. The pop art movement showed him that the creative process is limitless.

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After a successful career as a plastic surgeon, Kenney turned to oil painting as a means of expression. His skills utilizing light, tone, color and form were refined by his studies with Rick Weaver in Charlottesville, Virginia. Kenney works in oil and focuses on figure, still life and the every day.

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Oil painting is about the manipulation of light and geometric shapes. Kenney strives to create a mood for the viewer, whether as an abstraction or as contemporary impressionism. His works are in private collections throughout the Southeast. He exhibits in Virginia and South Carolina. He and his wife currently reside in the Lowcountry of South Carolina.

“Art allows you to look at the world around us differently.  The relationship between shape, line, color and tone come to life and constantly changed by light.  My oil paintings are about the manipulation of light and geometric shapes.  The direction and intensity of light controls the image and the texture.  I find inspiration in the every day.  My art is an expression of what I see and feel, whether as an abstraction or as modern impressionism.”