ABOUT

October 20, 2019October 31, 2020 | Louella Kennedy

I live in Melbourne Australia. My artistic influences draw from women’s self-portraits and representations of women from the 16 centuries to contemporary times. Inspiration for my work comes from questioning misogyny in western philosophical tradition. I break boundaries with traditional mediums using them in a new way. Gouache and ink on transparent acetate and yupo are used which allow for hybrid layers which combine to create the finished work. The base layer on yupo utilises inks and the process is largely uncontrolled representing the living cells of my subjects evoked in the moment. The animal nature of woman that needed to be contained. A semi controlled layer of flowers printed directly onto the surface their residue a fleeting memory of nature representing women’s discursively constructed ‘lack of reason and moral ability’ and questioning the hierarchal distinction between masculinity and art and femininity and craft. The final figurative layer is a painstaking process working in reverse to create a mirror image of the subject.

I have studied a Bachelor of Arts encompassing philosophy and an Advanced Diploma in Illustration.

EXHIBITIONS/AWARDS
Competitions
Runner Up Fact or Fiction Art Prize 2020
Winner Fairfield Art Prize 2019
Kip and Co Art Series Bean Bag Competition – WINNER 2015

Exhibitions
Botanic Exhibition A Space Gallery 2020
Fact or Fiction Exhibition A Space Gallery 2020
Midway Show A Space Gallery 2020

Colour Space Gallery various Melbourne Venues 2018-19

Axiom of Devour for Melbourne Fringe Festival 2017
FIXATE for RAW Natural Born Artists 2017
Brunswick Street Gallery Small Works Exhibition 2017

Illustre Exhibition Prahran Melbourne Polytechnic 2016
Linden Postcard Exhibition 2016
Open Mind Exhibition 2016
Brunswick Street Gallery 2016
Penny Beam Gallery 2016
Open Thornbury 2016

Linden Art Gallery Postcard Exhibition 2015
Couch Fest at NCAT 2015
The Melbourne Clinic as part of National Mental Health Week 2015
Deakin Edge Federation Square for NCAT 2015
Brunswick Summer Arts Festival 2015

Press

April 26, 2021 | Louella Kennedy

My home was featured in 25 Beautiful Homes UK Magazine 2017 and Houzz online February 2017.

My Houzz: A Crush on Kitsch Gives a Townhouse a Quirky Edge

I was the winner of the Kip and Co Art Series Bean Bag competition 2016.

https://kipandco.com.au/blogs/kip-co/kip-co-art-series-2016

PURCHASE

October 30, 2020October 30, 2020 | Louella Kennedy

To purchase prints of my latest work click on the Saatchi Art logo below.

To purchase originals or enquire about other work please contact me.

COLLECTIONS

October 30, 2020 | Louella Kennedy

Painting a Philosophy of Misogyny November 2020

October 30, 2020November 9, 2020 | Louella Kennedy

Inspiration for my work comes from questioning misogyny in western philosophical tradition. The collective title of these works ties together the individual pieces, each named after an influential western philosopher and their viewpoint on women.

I use new and traditional mediums in a unique way. Gouache and ink on transparent acetate and Yupo are used which allow for hybrid layers which combine to create the finished work. The base layer on Yupo utilises inks and the process is largely uncontrolled representing the living cells of my subjects evoked in the moment. The animal nature of woman that needed to be contained. Often my work includes a semi controlled layer of flowers printed directly onto the surface their residue a fleeting memory of nature representing women’s discursively constructed ‘lack of reason and moral ability’ and questioning the hierarchal distinction between masculinity and art and femininity and craft. The final figurative layer is a painstaking process working in reverse to create a mirror image of the subject.

PURCHASE

To purchase prints click on Saatchi logo below.

To purchase originals please contact me. All originals are A3 in size unframed.

Domesticity August 2020

August 27, 2020October 30, 2020 | Louella Kennedy

Gouache on Acetate studies in domesticity.

Dream Home

Daddy for Dinner

Baked

Baked Study

Mixed Up

Let it Burn

Spilt Milk

Split Milk Study

Iron It OUt

Iron it Out Study

He Comes Home

Sprung

Fact of Fiction May 2020

August 27, 2020October 30, 2020 | Louella Kennedy

I came second in this competition and was awarded an Illustrators Australia membership!

Beyond the Bedroom June 2020

August 27, 2020October 30, 2020 | Louella Kennedy

For this series I am motivated by past ephemera, psychedelic art, and the scopophilic projection of women in culture throughout the ages. This series focuses on the fetishization of women in popular culture, and in particular pornography. The subjects from this series are all taken from 1970s Playboy magazines. Feminism in the 70’s largely retained the patriarchal attitudes of previous generations, Robert Crumb aptly stated “Free love meant free sex and food for men. Sure, women enjoyed it too, and had a lot of sex, but then they served the men.” This is clearly depicted within the pages of 70’s girlie magazines where women are served up for consumption!
My process involves drawing the female figure from the magazine and then situating her within suggestive patterns and icons. The icons or motifs are not suggestive when isolated from the female figure however the juxtaposition with the female nude shifts their meaning. I am interested in how society has imbued these motifs with symbolic meaning in this context. Next, I transfer the image to acetate using a permanent pen and paint the reverse side (working backwards) with gouache. A second piece of acetate is painted with gouache to create the background. Finally I place the two layers together, the top layer in reverse to create a flat glossy appearance like the pages of a magazine and the bottom with the rougher matte paint strokes faced upwards. This was my first time using acetate and these works were progress works for my midway show.