Preview 19^th September 7pm – 9pm

Open 20^th – 4^th October 11am - 5pm

‘Bad Paintings’ is the second solo show by the Chester based artist Simon Kennedy. Kennedy returns to show his work at AirSpace Gallery after graduating from Staffordshire University in 2004.

Kennedy delivers work that is blunt yet poetic, he refuses to categorise his use of medium and as such enjoys the freedom of choosing whichever suits his subject. More recently he has been exploring the subject of celebrity, from the nouveau riche to the cursed genius. This, along with an increased desire to further examine the work of traditional painters, has led to ‘Bad Paintings.’

‘Bad Paintings’ is a series of works that looks at the basic principles of painting, exploring the use of shape, colour, harmony, and form. By reducing an image to these simple rules we are presented with what many viewers may see as bad paintings; Kennedy deliberately evades refined painting techniques, instead he chooses to represent the subjects to produce represented images of celebrities. The figures he represents are taken from glossy magazines; popular culture brings us stars that have risen to celebrity status by the very magazines that now drag their names through the mud. He removes the headline and the details, leaving us with merely a portrait of a person; the celebrity becomes an exaggerated and plastic version of who they were, commenting on the media’s obsession to judge by appearances.

 By using the title ‘Bad Paintings’ Kennedy confronts the assumed viewer’s opinion of ‘I could do that’ and asks the viewer to look further, now what do you see? Upon further inspection the viewer will begin to see that Kennedy references artists including Vermeer and Rembrandt, he also shows influence from more contemporary artists including Julian Opie. The works pay homage to these traditional painters and their techniques, combining the contemporary subjects with classic references. They are set up as traditional portraits, referencing classical themes such as Narcissism and still lives but with a modern visual language.