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BIOGRAPHY / CV
ALISTAIR KENNEDY, Painter / Mixed Media Artist. Based in Burton On Trent, England. Has resided previously in Edinburgh, Sheffield and Nottingham, before settling in Burton On Trent to be close to friends and family. Kennedy explores the texture and colours of landscape through his expressive paintings and photography. Producing a wide range of work in different media, exploring techniques and processes, he thrives on combining materials and creating experimental surfaces. The paintings are meticulously built up in layers over time, constantly reworking, scraping, and scratching back to underlying layers. Embracing ageing, deterioration, fragility, transience and imperfection. This process and its techniques feel very sculptural in nature, evolving like the landscape itself. Using drawings and photographs as a hook for each artwork, the idea is to create an emotional response to the landscape rather than to depict the landscape itself. This gives the work a sense of place, and yet can also evoke memories and personal interpretations in the viewer. His work often explores the margins of landscape, those overlooked, peripheral places. Utilising mark making techniques to visualise the temporary nature of existence. Interested in language and environment, each piece is a response to a situation or place. Narrative and its subversion play a key role in the development of the work. Each piece is both dialogue and argument. |
Freelance Visual Artist & Fine Art Practice
2004 - Present - As a Freelance Visual Artist, Alistair provides a wide range of services, that includes all aspects of creative consultancy, visual arts commissions, workshops, exhibitions and graphic design. Alistair's fine art practice covers a multi-diciplined appraoch, which utilises an ideas based framework and involves; painting, printmaking, drawing, collage, photography, installation, digital media and web.
PINT Contemporary Arts Festival
Creative Director and organiser of Burton On Trent's biggest and only multi venue arts festival. Combining the exhibition of innovative, fresh, creative and dynamic visual arts within traditional public settings. The festival champions local artists and delivers contemporary creative culture direct to the public.
Abbot Beyne School Artist in Residence
2004 - 2011. - The role of artist in residence at Abbot Beyne School came through working on local community based arts projects alongside East Staffs Arts, Brewhouse Arts Centre and FEVA Arts Collective. It provided access to a working studio within the schools arts college building and the opportunity to work with students on the progression of their artistic studies.
Post Graduation
Between 1999 and 2004 worked, at The Boots Company Head Office (now Alliance Boots), in Nottingham, as a Business Data Analyst and programmer. This involved IT Application Support and Development, responsible for both the analysis and development of information technology for property and finance business units. During this time continued with fine arts study and practice, producing new works for exhibition and working on commissions.
Education
1995 - 1998 Sheffield Hallam University: BA (Hons) Fine Art.
BA (Hons) Fine Art - Combined Media
This was very much an ideas based course with a broad practical format, including technical workshops and personal exhibition development in combined media. The decision to choose this course was its ideas and theory bias and because it wasn’t specific to a single discipline like just painting, or just sculpture. It allowed for a great deal of freedom and for the development of ideas to be realised in any media. During this time Alistair was also involved in individual and group exhibitions, the co-organisation of arts festivals and site specific ‘happenings’. These included the Sheffield ‘Electric Frontiers’ Open Arts Festival, An Experimental Film Forum and the ‘Salt’ film society.
1994-95 Spent a gap year in Edinburgh living, working with, and learning from professional Artists. Through this Alistair became involved with community based voluntary organisations and Arts projects. This lead to working on various projects within the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the Drambuie International Film festival.
National Diploma Photography, Film & Video 1992 -1994
Studied photography, film and video, which involved producing a range of artwork using lens based media, learning film and video production techniques and writing for film or television.
National Diploma Graphic Communication for Print & Publication 1989 - 1991
Studied graphic design and communication, which involved producing a range of design work from varied briefs, utilising traditional hand lettering skills, offset lithographic printing practices and desktop publishing.
2004 - Present - As a Freelance Visual Artist, Alistair provides a wide range of services, that includes all aspects of creative consultancy, visual arts commissions, workshops, exhibitions and graphic design. Alistair's fine art practice covers a multi-diciplined appraoch, which utilises an ideas based framework and involves; painting, printmaking, drawing, collage, photography, installation, digital media and web.
PINT Contemporary Arts Festival
Creative Director and organiser of Burton On Trent's biggest and only multi venue arts festival. Combining the exhibition of innovative, fresh, creative and dynamic visual arts within traditional public settings. The festival champions local artists and delivers contemporary creative culture direct to the public.
Abbot Beyne School Artist in Residence
2004 - 2011. - The role of artist in residence at Abbot Beyne School came through working on local community based arts projects alongside East Staffs Arts, Brewhouse Arts Centre and FEVA Arts Collective. It provided access to a working studio within the schools arts college building and the opportunity to work with students on the progression of their artistic studies.
Post Graduation
Between 1999 and 2004 worked, at The Boots Company Head Office (now Alliance Boots), in Nottingham, as a Business Data Analyst and programmer. This involved IT Application Support and Development, responsible for both the analysis and development of information technology for property and finance business units. During this time continued with fine arts study and practice, producing new works for exhibition and working on commissions.
Education
1995 - 1998 Sheffield Hallam University: BA (Hons) Fine Art.
BA (Hons) Fine Art - Combined Media
This was very much an ideas based course with a broad practical format, including technical workshops and personal exhibition development in combined media. The decision to choose this course was its ideas and theory bias and because it wasn’t specific to a single discipline like just painting, or just sculpture. It allowed for a great deal of freedom and for the development of ideas to be realised in any media. During this time Alistair was also involved in individual and group exhibitions, the co-organisation of arts festivals and site specific ‘happenings’. These included the Sheffield ‘Electric Frontiers’ Open Arts Festival, An Experimental Film Forum and the ‘Salt’ film society.
1994-95 Spent a gap year in Edinburgh living, working with, and learning from professional Artists. Through this Alistair became involved with community based voluntary organisations and Arts projects. This lead to working on various projects within the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the Drambuie International Film festival.
National Diploma Photography, Film & Video 1992 -1994
Studied photography, film and video, which involved producing a range of artwork using lens based media, learning film and video production techniques and writing for film or television.
National Diploma Graphic Communication for Print & Publication 1989 - 1991
Studied graphic design and communication, which involved producing a range of design work from varied briefs, utilising traditional hand lettering skills, offset lithographic printing practices and desktop publishing.