Nicolas KENNETT was born in 1967 in Kent, Great Britain.

He currently lives and works in Paris.

From 1986 to 1988, he was assistant to the American sculptor Cyril HECK.

From 1988 to 1994, he studied at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, from which he graduated with the Congratulations of the Jury.

 

“Incanto” or the enchantment of shifting

“Nicolas Kennett revisits the organic world through painted and sculpted matter. He oscillates between the dull surface of oil paint on raw wood panel which captures and retains the light and the shiny, sophisticated enamel covered sculptures. He conjures up visions of transformations, incarnations, and mysterious mutations. How does the human mind revisit animals and plants? Why is he venturing down this path?

Each work is a shift, like a revelation to oneself, the embodiment of a spirituality, the materialization of a great diversity of interior journeys through the materials shaped by the hand of the artist. It is the enchantment of matter in itself : matte or shiny, harsh or smooth, intense or light, thick or barely perceptible, pasty or amply modelled, rugged or even absent … seductive or repulsive, attractive or disturbing. It also leaves a large place for emptiness, ellipses, silence … free of interpretation. What is he trying to convey?

The artist plays on the diversity of media to serve the spirit which transforms the man and orients them to deliver their essence.

What is the vital impetus that springs from this flower? What hint of humanity can be seen in the eyes of this seal?

Nicolas Kennett invites us to explore our own imagination by strewing our path with clues, to consider our own projections in the face of revisited organic forms, to let operate the magic linked to the reinterpretation of animal, plant and organic life forms to better merge with them and finally perceive ourselves as a part of the whole.

He projects our humanity onto the kingdom of the living in order to create an echo in each of us, in order to make us feel the life that exists in them and vibrate at their tempo, in order to recognize them as ourselves. It is an ode to life … to nature and its emanations, to its magical and sacred dimensions, both trivial and brutal, literal and chilling, relentless and extraordinary, source of astonishment and fascination, hoping perhaps that we will know how to protect nature, and therefore also preserve ourselves … ”   Claire Corcia, December 2021

 

AWARDS and DISTINCTIONS :

Prix Saint-Germain-des-Prés

Prix de la Fonderie Susse

Cité internationale des Arts, Paris

Prix Renoir

Prix du Centenaire de la Biennale du Salon National des Beaux-Arts

 

SOLO SHOWS :

2023 : « More colour », Galerie Claire Corcia, Paris

2022 : « Incanto », Galerie Claire Corcia, Paris

2007 : « Constellations », Galerie P. Friedland & A. Rivault, Paris

2005 : « Ardoises », Galerie P. Friedland & A. Rivault, Paris

2004 : « Seven Heads », Galerie P. Friedland & A. Rivault, Paris

             « kennett chez La Fontaine », Musée Jean de La Fontaine, Château-Thierry

2000 : Galerie Suzanne Tarasiève, Barbizon

1997 : « Le Jardin », Galerie Dorothée Chastel, Paris

1996 : Galerie Suzanne Tarasiève, Barbizon

1995 : Atelier de Renoir, Essoyes

            Galerie Mouvances, Paris

1994 : Galerie Dorothée Chastel, Paris

1993 : Galerie Mouvances, Paris

1992 : Galerie Fauré le Page, Paris

            Closerie des Lilas, Paris

1991 : Jardin d’Acclimatation, Paris

 

GROUP SHOWS :

2007 : « Femme y es-tu ? », Artsénat, Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris

             « L’animal dans la peau », Musée d’Histoire Naturelle, Auxerre

2006 : « J’adore », Galerie P. Friedland & A. Rivault, Paris

             « Volte Face », Galerie P. Friedland & A. Rivault, Paris

             « Sensitivity », Triennale de sculpture, Poznan, Pologne

2005 : « Drôles de bêtes », Galerie P. Friedland & A. Rivault, Paris

          « Voilà l’été », Galerie P. Friedland & A. Rivault, Paris

2003 : Galerie Artcore

           « Animal et Territoire », Artsénat, Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris

2001 : Galerie Ollier, Fribourg

2000 : Art Paris, Galerie Suzanne Tarasiève, Carrousel du Louvre, Paris

1999 : Musée Bourdelle, Paris

            SAGA, Galerie Suzanne Tarasiève, Paris

1998 : SAGA, Galerie Suzanne Tarasiève, Paris

1997 : Musée de Cambrai

1996 : Atelier de Renoir, Essoye

            Ville de Pantin

1995 : Galerie des Saint-Pères, Paris

1994 : « Diplômés 93 avec les félicitations du Jury », ENSBA, Paris

 

PUBLIC and INSTITUTIONAL COLLECTIONS :

FRAC Ile de France

Ville d’Antony

Ville de Sceaux

Mairie de Pardies