Debbi Kenote

BIO

Debbi Kenote, is a New York based artist who received her BFA from Western Washington University and her MFA from Brooklyn College. She has exhibited at galleries internationally, including shows at Kate Werble, Hollis Taggart, Duran|Mashaal Gallery, Cob Gallery, Fir Gallery, Page Bond Gallery, Peep Space, and the Peekskill Project. Her work has been on display at several art fairs, including Art Toronto, Art Papier, Future Fair and SPRING/BREAK Art Show. Kenote’s work has been published through the Galleries Now Weekender, Hyperallergic, Elle Magazine, Innovate Grant, and Art of Choice. Kenote has been an artist in residence at the Saltonstall Foundation, Cob x PLOP Residency, Vermont Studio Center, DNA Residency, Nes Artist Residency, and CAI Projects. In 2022 she was a finalist for the Innovate Grant and in 2021 she was shortlisted for the Hopper Prize.

ARTIST STATEMENT

The shapes of my stretchers are derived from quilt blocks and patterns. Growing up on a rural farm in the United States' Pacific Northwest region, I spent my earliest years amongst quilters and wood workers. My grandmothers were both seamstresses, and I wore garments handmade by them. Many of the men in my family were woodworkers, and I often sat at homemade tables eating from lathed vessels. Combining woodworking with fiber art is a direct reference to both practices' influences on my process, and the resulting forms are void of gendering.

My painting imagery is abstract, with references to the body and landscape. I often think back to early memories of hand drawn films depicting natural worlds anthropomorphically. I use color and form in a way that is meant to mimic body language. I find breath in empty spaces, where I allow my painted surfaces to expose hidden layers of dye. I think of dyed regions in my work as references to deep space and the unknown. Each work is a poetic amalgamation of fragmented memories, movement and imaginary destinations.

Interview with Debbi Kenote

Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you became interested in becoming an artist? 

I grew up on Fidalgo island in Washington State, close to the Canadian border. Out of a grouping of islands it's the only one with a bridge to the mainland. In the winter it felt like a small fishing town, and in the summer it was full of travelers heading to the rest of the San Juan Islands, Canada or Alaska. My family lived outside of city limits on a large piece of land, with my Mom’s extended family. My grandfather bought land in the 1970s, with savings he made from seasonal fishing excursions in Alaska. It became a multigenerational homesteading effort. I was homeschooled and spent a lot of my childhood exploring and playing in the old growth forest on our property. I was always interested in crafts and building things. My eldest sister took art classes at a local university. She lived at home and would often let me help her with her classwork. I quickly realized that I wanted to be an artist. Because I wanted to take art classes of my own, my parents and I decided for me to enroll in a public highschool. I had been making small acrylic paintings at home of landscape scenes around the island and I would submit these paintings to local art fairs. When I arrived at my first day of highschool, an art teacher had already seen my paintings and was excited to work with me. He generously brought in his own oil paints for me to use and taught me the fundamentals of painting. My four years there were very influential, and from there I applied for, and was accepted into, a BFA program.

Can you tell us about some of your most memorable early influences?

The property I grew up on is very large, around 50 acres. About a third of it is solid forest. Because I was homeschooled, my schedule was flexible and I spent a good portion of every day outside. I remember building tree forts and sculpture-like things, and burrowing tunnels through wild blackberry bushes. There was a lot of imaginary play - which I think set the stage for the world building within my paintings. Even though the island I lived on had a bridge to the mainland, my parents rarely made the trip. I remember seeing a lot of woodworking in my community. This was something my Dad and Uncles did as well. My grandmothers were both seamstresses, and I remember being fascinated by handmade clothing and quilts. My dad also has a strong affinity for puzzles, including three-dimensional ones. I think this had an effect on how I learned to construct in space. When I got to highschool, my world opened up drastically. I visited my first art museums on a trip to Paris when I was 18, and I was very moved by Rodin’s sculptures and paintings by Matisse and Manet.

Where are you currently based and what brought you there? Are there any aspects of this specific location or community that have inspired your work?

I’m currently based in Brooklyn, New York.  I moved here to pursue my MFA in 2014. I’ve been living in New York City for almost nine years, and it has greatly influenced my work. I remember learning about modern and contemporary abstraction while I was pursuing my BFA, but it wasn’t until I moved to NYC that I really saw it in person. The history of non-objective painting and sculpture here is incredible and it’s something I’m still discovering. In particular the female modernist painters. I think of artists like Pat Passlof, Deborah Remington, Dorothea Rockburne and Alice Trumble Mason. Many of them weren’t in my history books in school, yet their works are in museums here. The community I’ve found in NYC is like none other. I love that I can bike or take a train to any gallery or friend’s studio here. I miss being so intertwined with nature, but when I do have those experiences, I really soak them up. 

What is your studio space like? What makes your space unique to you? 

My studio space is on the top floor of a storage building. I’ve been there for over three years, so I’ve really settled in. It’s an old building, but it has a charged energy to it. There’s a large roof with an excellent view of the sunset. I work in two different spaces next door to each other. The first is a woodshop where I build my shaped stretchers, and the second is my studio where I dye and paint my canvases. My painting studio has a funky storage wall I built, so almost all of my tools and materials are behind it. It has a variety of sizes of doors built into the wall, and when you push on them they swing open. It’s very DIY. I love it. 

What is a typical day like? If you don't have a typical day, what is an ideal day?

I try to be in the studio Monday through Friday, and I do my best to not be in there on the weekend. I like to see shows on the weekend, and I think the work and I both need a break. Most days I wake up and do a quick workout,  then I hang out with my cat, make my breakfast and pack my lunch. My studio doesn’t have wifi, so I try to get all my emails and chores done before I leave. I’m fortunate to live less than a ten minute walk from my studio, so I like to take my time and walk through a little park that’s on the way. Neighborhood regulars and I usually exchange smiles during my commute. I’m the strange girl with paint on her clothes carrying too many things. I try to get to my studio around noon and leave around seven, sometimes earlier if I want to go to an opening at night. When I’m working with a deadline I stay much later. I work with batches of paintings at once. Some weeks are dedicated to building the stretchers, other weeks are spent dying and stretching the canvases. Once I get to the painting stage I slow down and work on one at a time.

What gets you in a creative groove or flow? Is there anything that interrupts your creative energy? 

Exercise is helpful for my creative flow. I find that even a quick daily stretch in the morning sets my body in motion for the day. Once I’m at the studio I like to make lists and check things off as I go. I also like listening to podcasts and music while I work. 

Having to answer emails or texts interrupts my creative flow. It helps that I paint with gloves on, which makes it more difficult to use my phone. I do my best to let friends know when I’m “gloved up” and won’t be responsive. I have to say that I am addicted to wireless headphones. On the rare occasion that both of my headsets run out of battery, I sit and wait for them to recharge before continuing with my day. 

How do you maintain momentum in your practice? 

I am a big proponent of making consistent effort versus overworking and burning out. When I was in undergrad I competed as a dinghy sailor for my university. It’s a very physical and mental sport. I learned quickly that the athletes who brought home wins were usually placing around third in each race of our tournaments. The idea is that it is strategic to pace yourself. To consistently place third versus a variety of firsts and lasts, averages out to a better score. I try to think of my studio practice that way, that it’s a lifetime of days not just one. It’s more important to show up for a half day than to not go in at all, and If I need a day or a week off, I take it.

What medium/media are you working in right now? What draws you to this particular material or method? 

I make my stretchers out of wood and stretch hand-dyed canvas over them. Then I work with acrylic paint on the surface. I like the effect dye has on canvas, it feels like a through line to colorfield painters like Helen Frankenthaler and Morris Louis. I grew up outside of the art world, so I feel a kinship to the craft aspect of working with fibers. I go back and forth between oil and acrylic. The last couple years have been mostly acrylic, which is helpful for the kind of layering I’ve been wanting with my more recent paintings.

Can you walk us through your overall process in making your current work? Does drawing play a role in your process? 

The shaped canvases in this current body of work are inspired by quilting blocks. A quilting block is the basic shape that repeats in a quilting motif. Once I have identified a series of shapes I want to build, I begin fabricating the stretchers. I like to work in batches, so there is a consistent theme with the work. Currently I’m working on a series of 12 paintings. Once the stretchers are built, I begin dyeing the canvas. I dye large pieces and after they’re washed I stretch them and apply clear gesso. Once I arrive at the painting stage, I work with each piece individually. I create a variety of physical and digital sketches before I begin. Once the sketch is solidified I project it onto the canvas and trace it in. The imagery on the canvas will change as I go, but I like having an idea sketched in before I start painting. I work on the surface with acrylic paint over the dye, and the final product leaves large areas of the dye underneath visible.

What is exciting about your process currently?

The thing that excites me the most right now is the relationship that dye has to the paintings overall. I enjoy seeing paint stop at the edges, while the dye continues as the canvas wraps around the stretcher. It’s very challenging to work on top of a dyed surface. Each painted mark and shape is placed with care, because I can’t repaint dyed areas if I mess up. Because of this I recently got a projector, which has helped me make sure my sketch is accurately placed before I begin. I often am asked if I use tape. I don’t with the exception of the edges where the painting stops. I like the challenge of working this way, and in the event that I do mess up, it’s like a new puzzle I can solve. Additionally, my sketching is more of a jumping off point than a finished product. Because of this I really enjoy seeing the whole surface as I work.

Can you talk about some of the ongoing interests, imagery, and concepts that have informed your process and body of work over time? How do you anticipate your work progressing in the future?

I talk frequently about the influence the landscape of the Pacific Northwest has had on my work. My family is still located there, so I spend a portion of every year visiting that part of the country. Spending time in old growth forests taught me something about abstraction that I’m still unpacking. I remember arranging logs, pinecones, pine needles and rocks into ephemeral installations. I like to think about the spatial relationship between shapes and their environment. I liken it to a person's body language in a room. I believe that abstraction is one of many lexicons in our world. Abstract painting uses fragments of existing visual language to transcend the ideas communicable with written or spoken words. It’s a mixture of visual elements, sensory elements and the unknown. At times I use this language to delve into my own psychology, at other moments I’m simply playing with aesthetics. Currently I’m utilizing shaped canvases inspired by quilting blocks as a portal or homage to timeless practices throughout humanity. Each shape contains many overlapping histories and I find that this is a fertile place for me to begin. 

Do you pursue any collaborations, projects, or careers in addition to your studio practice? If so, can you tell us more about those projects, and are there connections between your studio practice and these endeavors?

I previously worked as an art handler and in a variety of artist studios as an artist assistant. For the last nine months or so I have been fortunate to mostly be painting. Sometimes I create stretchers for friends, and this is something I enjoy doing. It’s exciting to see how other artists work. I will say that painting full time is like having a second job. Running a studio yourself is many different jobs in one. I spend a quarter or more of each day working on admin tasks. I’ve grown to enjoy this side of my art practice. 

Have you had any epiphanies recently that have changed the course of your work or caused you to shift directions?

I had an epiphany at the end of last year while I was struggling with a sketch for a painting. I was working on a deadline for two large paintings for a show, and I wanted them to compliment one another. The first came out very straightforward, but the second felt like it was in a different body of work. It took me about a week of frustration and sketching to realize I had to return to the original sketch I had used for the first piece. From there I began repeating the sketch in different ways, and it unlocked the inspiration for the next work. Since then I have been "zooming in" by focusing on my imagery. I start every piece where the last one ended, and it feels like I’m mining deeper and deeper in a more direct way than I had previously. It’s exciting.

Can you share some of your recent influences? Are there specific works—from visual art, literature, film, or music—that are important to you?

I don’t consciously use outside visual influences in my work. When I begin to feel stuck I will return to previous things I’ve made and study how I resolved them in the past. I am, however, influenced and inspired by other artists. Some of them are my contemporaries and some are from the past. Often I’m inspired by how they work with their materials or ideas. Some well known artists that inspire me are Isamu Noguchi, Elizabeth Murray, Emily Carr, Sam Gilliam, Charles Burchfield, and Alan Shields. In film, some of my favorites are Hayao Miyazaki, David Lynch and Ingmar Bergman. 

Who are some contemporary artists you’re excited about? What are the best exhibitions you’ve seen in recent memory and why do they stand out?

There are a lot of contemporary artists I’m excited about. Being from the West Coast, I have an affinity for the abstract painting happening there. Laura Owens, Rebecca Morris, Laurie Nye and Kristy Luck are some of my favorite painters showing in Los Angeles. I like the playful and non self-conscious energy they bring to painting. In New York City it’s a mixture of some of my peers and artists I look up to - there are many but three in particular that have stood out to me recently are Clare Grill, Victoria Roth and Kirsten Brätsch. 

For recent shows, there’s a show currently on display at the Pat Passlof foundation called The Feminine in Abstract Painting. It's really incredible. Last year there was a show called The Painter’s New Tools at Nahmad Contemporary that was a standout for me. Earlier this year I was in a group show at Kate Werble Gallery titled Pizza. It was a great survey of a variety of abstract painting that’s happening in NYC today. 

Do you have any tips or advice that someone has shared with you that you have found particularly helpful?

An artist I respect told me once to keep some of your secrets for yourself. I like this idea, because I think as artists we’re often expected to do the impossible. Living in our current digital landscape, it is easy to feel like you have to always be sharing your every move in the studio, and everything you make. These last few months I’ve really slowed down and have been sitting with the work longer. I think it’s helped me understand the series as a whole, and it helps avoid  the problem that too much feedback too early can create in a work. My advice to other artists would be to create a circle of trusted friends that you share your work with for feedback. Once you’re happy with it, don’t worry too much about the outside world.

What are you working on in the studio right now? What’s coming up next for you?

I’m currently working on a series of 12 paintings that I’m about halfway through. The paintings are all shaped stretchers based on quilting blocks derived from star shapes. It's been an exciting group to work on, and I’m thrilled to be showing them in the real world soon. I have two group shows coming up this Spring. One is with Duran|Mashaal at the Foire Plural art fair in Montréal. The other is at Good Naked in NYC. I’m also looking forward to a co-exhibition with Zuriel Waters that will open at the Marvin Gardens Annex in NYC this Fall.

Anything else you would like to share?

Keep making art! And thanks for having me :)

To find out more about Debbi Kenote check out her Instagram and website.