Next week Kharis Kennedy will unveil a series of new paintings as part of her solo exhibition, Comfort Animals, at The Greenpoint Gallery. Though Kennedy has been living in St. Croix for the last five years, her work is still imbued with trappings of high-society life and obsessive consumerism she picked up on while living in New York City. But a midnight-hued vision of her new home in the tropics is slowly beginning to take over.

“I left because I felt like I needed some emotional space to create,” Kharis explained. “I hadn’t realized that this kind of dark spiritual thing that’s so prevalent here would affect my painting. I wonder if I’m going to be one of these strange people who come here and live on the island forever.” The result of her relatively new setting and increased focus are paintings that depict a haunting cacophony of context and misperception. There’s an almost disturbing tension at the center of the work, something Kharis acknowledges.

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Source: Paintings Inspired by the Real Housewives and ‘Comfort Creatures’ Coming to Greenpoint