Solo Performance, May 3rd, 7-9pm : “Kill It and Be Free” at Pen + Brush gallery (NYC)

Please save the date for my solo performance “Kill It and Be Free” : Thurs, May 3, 7-9pm

Kill It and Be Free Take 5

 

Performance, “Kill It and Be Free,” May 3rd, 7-9pm
Location: Pen + Brush, 29 E. 22nd St., NYC

RSVP: rsvp@sparkplug-pr.com

In Kill It and Be Free Kharis Kennedy approaches the body as a site of knowledge, a repository of awareness that can be resourced in the service of personal discovery. To this end she straps herself to a polygraph machine to access her inner, subconscious truth. Used predominantly for crime investigations, where suspects are asked a series of general and specific questions, a polygraph measures physiological reactions—breathing, blood pressure, and perspiration—to determine if the individual in question is lying or being truthful.

Informed by personal, ongoing moments in her life as a woman, mother, and wife, Kennedy asks herself questions to challenge the comforts of her previously perceived equilibrium and control. But it is ultimately the body, her physiological reactions, and the ritual of “coming to the table” which reveal much more than the questions asked.

For more information on this duration performance: Kill It and Be Free. Kennedy’s work is concurrently on view at Pen + Brush through May 5th in Angst and Contempt: New Painting.

Image: Kharis Kennedy, “Kill It and Be Free,” Caribbean Museum Center, St. Croix. Photo credit: Wyatt Gallery. Courtesy of Alaina Simone Inc. and Take Five in St Croix.

Opening Reception : “Angst & Contempt: New Painting” at Pen + Brush gallery

I am looking forward to being back in NYC and would LOVE if you can join me for the opening reception of “Angst and Contempt: New Painting” at Pen + Brush gallery! I am beyond honored and excited to have my work included in this timely exhibition.

Opening Reception: Thursday, April 5, 6-8pm
Location: Pen + Brush, 29 E. 22nd St., NYC
Exhibition Dates: April 5–May 5, 2018
Gallery Hours: Tues.-Sat. 12-6pm

Angst and Contempt: New Painting
Featuring: Kharis Kennedy, Dana Kotler, Stacy Leigh, Melita Osheoitz, Sarah Sagarin

Pen + Brush is pleased to present Angst and Contempt: New Painting, an exhibition that highlights the work of five early career artists navigating the grim realities of today’s world through the context of contemporary painting.

The artists featured in Angst and Contempt put their practice as painters to the test by addressing issues of disillusionment, nihilism, and frustration in a way that demonstrates new ways of expressing the human condition and its darkest facets. They have mastered a command that revisits German Expressionist, Modernist, Surrealist, and Weimar Republic eras while employing their own authentic gestures that often reflect on personal histories and experiences. The work challenges viewers to confront a loss of innocence, or perhaps a loss of empathy, that becomes inherent in living in today’s society.

While this exhibition does not overtly explore thematic links to one particular historical movement, it is notable that much like their predecessors, these contemporary painters are also creating during a time period of extreme social and political turmoil.

 

 

Exhibition : “Angst and Contempt” at Pen + Brush gallery (NYC)

Opening Reception: Thursday, April 5, 6-8pm
Location: Pen + Brush, 29 E. 22nd St., NYC
Exhibition Dates: April 5–May 5, 2018
Gallery Hours: Tues.-Sat. 12-6pm

Pony with Pleated Headdress and Smoking with Pleated Headdress

Angst and Contempt : New Painting
Featuring Kharis Kennedy, Dana Kotler, Stacy Leigh, Melita Osheoitz, Sarah Sagarin

Pen + Brush is pleased to present Angst and Contempt: New Painting, an exhibition that highlights the work of five early career artists navigating the grim realities of today’s world through the context of contemporary painting.

The artists featured in Angst and Contempt put their practice as painters to the test by addressing issues of disillusionment, nihilism, and frustration in a way that demonstrates new ways of expressing the human condition and its darkest facets. They have mastered a command that revisits German Expressionist, Modernist, Surrealist, and Weimar Republic eras while employing their own authentic gestures that often reflect on personal histories and experiences. The work challenges viewers to confront a loss of innocence, or perhaps a loss of empathy, that becomes inherent in living in today’s society.

While this exhibition does not overtly explore thematic links to one particular historical movement, it is notable that much like their predecessors, these contemporary painters are also creating during a time period of extreme social and political turmoil.

*** About Pen + Brush: For the past 124 years, Pen + Brush has been dedicated to promoting the work of women in the literary and visual arts. Pen + Brush supports the belief that art and literature created by women deserve to be recognized and valued on their merits–not judged by the gender of their makers. In 2015, Pen + Brush Gallery moved from its original location in Greenwich Village and re-launched in its current, expanded location at 29 East 22nd Street.

Learn more at www.penandbrush.org or follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@penbrush) and Instagram (@penandbrushnyc).

For more information please contact April Hunt (april@sparkplug-pr.com).

Press Release

Angst and Contempt Pen and Brush Gallery

 

Mashonda Tifrere’s ArtLeadHER and Pen + Brush gallery present: King Woman

King Woman, curated by Mashonda Tifrere, kicks off Pen + Brush’s fall 2017 exhibition and sets the tone for the coming year in exhibitions at Pen + Brush.

In collaboration with Pen + Brush gallery, ArtLeadHER presents “King Woman,” a show that recognizes works of art that are not only by women, but are the embodiment of autonomy, determination, and precision of skill.

The artists featured in this large-scale exhibition engage the viewer on humanist terms while harnessing the strength implicit in emotions, such as empathy and vulnerability. The mission of King Woman is to aesthetically prove that there is freedom, power and an inner ability to rule each of our own kingdoms as modern day women.

What’s more, this group exhibition will feature the work of 25 visual artists (including performance and video installations) and encompass contemporary women artists ranging from emerging to established creators. It is through this critical pairing of recognized and less well-known women artists, that we hope to showcase the talent, power and breadth of the work that women can create.

“King Woman” will feature visual artwork from Rebecca Allan, Azi Amiri, Ingrid Baars, Hunter Clarke, Donna Festa, Carole Feuerman, Lola Flash, Meredith Marsone, Yvonne Michaels, Stephanie Hirsch, Emma Hopkins, Khakis Kennedy, Kit King, Jane Olin, Reisha Perlmutter, Renee Phillips, Trixie Pitts, A.V. Rockwell, Victoria Selbach, Lynn Spoor, Swoon, Taira, Roos Van Der Vliet, Elizabeth Waggett and Lynnie Z.

About Pen and Brush:
For more than 123 years, Pen + Brush has been dedicated to promoting the work of women in the literary and visual arts. Pen + Brush provides a platform to showcase the work of professional emerging and mid-career female artists and writers to a broader audience with the ultimate goal of effecting real change within the marketplace. At Pen + Brush, we believe that art and literature created by women deserves to be recognized and valued on its merit – not judged by the gender of the maker. Learn more at: www.penandbrush.org