Kristan Kennedy (born 1972) is an American artist, curator, educator and arts administrator. Kennedy is co-artistic director and curator of visual art at the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA).[1] She is based in Portland, Oregon, and has exhibited internationally, working with various media including sculpture and painting.

Kristan Kennedy
Born (1972-10-28) October 28, 1972 (age 51)
Brooklyn, New York City, New York, U.S.
Alma materNew York State College of Ceramics
Employer(s)Portland State University,
Pacific Northwest College of Art,
Portland Institute for Contemporary Art

Early life and education edit

Kennedy was born on October 28, 1972, in Brooklyn, New York City.[2] She received her BFA degree in 1994 from the New York State College of Art and Design within the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, with a concentration on Printmaking and New Media. She moved to Portland, Oregon in 1995.[3]

Career edit

Kennedy has taught art history at Portland State University (PSU) and at Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA).[when?][4]

Kennedy is the co-artistic director and curator of visual art at the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA) where she curates programs for the annual Time-Based Arts Festival.[5] She joined PICA's staff in 2003, managing public relations and marketing campaigns for the organization.[3] In summer 2005, Kennedy moved positions to manage the visual program. In November 2017, Kennedy was promoted (alongside others) as an artistic director.[6]

She is the founding director of Portland's Precipice Fund, a grant for local emerging artists.[5] Since 2019, she is a board of trustee at Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Art.[5] Additionally, she sits on the advisory board for the Headlands Center for the Arts[when?] and is the former Board President of the Independent Publishing Resource Center. She has served as a juror, panelist, and advisor to several foundations and granting organizations, including Creative Capital, the Regional Arts and Culture Council, and Southern Exposure's "Alternate Exposure Grants".[7]

In April 2018, Kennedy was awarded the Bonnie Bronson Award,[8] a prestigious regional award administered by Reed College that annually awards "a no-strings-attached cash prize to an artist of outstanding merit who lives and works in the Pacific Northwest."[8]

Her printed ephemera work is held in several book collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, Dartmouth College, and the New York Public Library.[9]

Exhibitions edit

A select list of exhibitions by Kennedy:

Solo exhibitions edit

  • 2017 – "Other Colors", Fourteen30 Contemporary, Portland, Oregon[10]
  • 2014 – Kristan Kennedy meets a clock, Soloway, Brooklyn, New York[11][12]
  • 2013 – Fourteen30 Contemporary, Portland, Oregon
  • 2005 – Elizabeth Leach, Portland, Oregon

Group exhibitions edit

  • 2021 – Unquiet Objects, Disjecta Contemporary Art Center (now Oregon Contemporary), Oregon[13]
  • 2017 – Tomorrow Tomorrow, curated by Wallace Whitney and Stephanie Snyder, Canada, Manhattan, New York[14]
  • 2013 – OO, curated by Rob Halverson, Misako & Rosen, Tokyo, Japan[15]
  • 2013 – Paint Off/Paint On, Halsey McKay Gallery, East Hampton, New York[16]
  • 2013 – Kristan Kennedy and Gunta Stolzl, Zzzzzzz, Brooklyn, New York[17]
  • 2011 – Interior Margins, curated by Stephanie Snyder, Lumber Room, Portland, Oregon[18][19]

Curation work edit

  • 2021 – Dreams of Unknown Islands, created by Sasha Wortzel and curated by Kristan Kennedy, Oolite Arts, Miami Beach, Florida[20]
  • 2011 – Between my head and my hand, there is always the face of death, Feldman Gallery + Project Space, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, Oregon[21]

Publications edit

  • Kennedy, Kristan (2009). F.W.P.C.Y. Jank Editions, Publication Studio. Archived from the original on 2014-03-03.

References edit

  1. ^ Stangel, Matt (September 6, 2012). "Interview: PICA Visual Art Curator Kristan Kennedy (On All Things End Things)". Portland Mercury. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
  2. ^ "Kristan Kennedy". Portland Art Museum. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
  3. ^ a b Bernstein, Amy (September 5, 2011). "Interview with Kristan Kennedy". PortlandArt.net. Archived from the original on 2014-11-22.
  4. ^ "Cooley Gallery Acquires Paintings by Kristan Kennedy". Reed Magazine. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
  5. ^ a b c Gormley, Shannon (October 31, 2019). "A Portland Artist and Curator Has Been Appointed to the Board of Directors For a Major National Arts Organization". Willamette Week. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
  6. ^ "PICA Announces New Leadership Team". Portland Monthly. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  7. ^ "PICA Staff and Leadership". Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, (PICA). Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  8. ^ a b "Bonnie Bronson Fellowship Award: Kristan Kennedy". Reed College. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  9. ^ "Kristan Kennedy". Half/Dozen Gallery. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  10. ^ Kennedy, Kristan. "Other Colors, Exhibition". Fourteen30 Contemporary.
  11. ^ Snyder, Stephanie (2014). "Soloway, Soloway". www.artforum.com. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
  12. ^ "Kristan Kennedy at Soloway". artcritical. 2014-06-26. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
  13. ^ Miller, Briana (2021-01-12). "Art shows a bit more intense and cerebral this winter in Portland". OregonLive. The Oregonian. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
  14. ^ "Kristan Kennedy at CANADA, New York".
  15. ^ "OO at Misako & Rosen, Tokyo". Contemporary Art Daily. 2012. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
  16. ^ "SFAQ Pick: "Paint On, Paint Off" group exhibition at HALSEY MCKAY, New York". SFAQ / NYAQ / LXAQ. December 2, 2013. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
  17. ^ Dickover, Julie (2016). "Breaking the System: An Interview with Kristan Kennedy". At Length. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
  18. ^ Motley, John (November 30, 2011). "'Interior Margins,' featuring regional women artists working in abstraction". Oregon Live. The Oregonian. Archived from the original on 2012-05-18.
  19. ^ Scott, Aaron (January 26, 2012). "Interior Margins at the Lumber Room". Portland Monthly. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
  20. ^ "New Exhibit at Oolite Arts Contemplates Losses of the Last Year, Urges the Possibility of a Better Future". ReMiamiBeach.com. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
  21. ^ "Feldman Gallery + Project Space Hosts Exhibition Curated by PICA's Kristan Kennedy". Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA). Retrieved 2 March 2014.

External links edit