All purchased artworks will be shipped after the end of the exhibition on December 9th.
Faye Kennelly, Teal Chenille Teacup, 2024, Pigmented porcelain, 5 oz
Faye Kennelly is a New Orleans-based, yankee-raised visual artist, registered art therapist and licensed professional counselor. She received her undergraduate degree in studio arts with a focus in sculpture from Rhode Island College in 2010. She went on to graduate with a masters of Art Therapy Counseling from Marylhurst University in 2014. Since then Faye has blended various intersections of her identity. In 2022, she was invited to begin teaching at Clay Center of New Orleans. Later that year, she was awarded a scholarship through The London Clayworks and by April 2023 she was invited to begin teaching at their new location in Gentilly. Faye’s work has been featured in galleries from Rhode Island, Louisiana, California and Florida. Her current work is focused on layering surface texture with unexpected color palettes. Faye’s work straddles form and function, balancing design with utilitarianism.
This particular series addresses familial tradition and memory bias. Specifically, the series is inspired by the vague memory of a Chenille bedspread in a multigenerational home the artist spent summers in as a child into early adolescence. The house was built by her grandfather. Faye first wedges raw pigment into the porcelain clay body before throwing on the wheel, the work is sometimes then layered with a colored wash or slip then stippled with a plastic bristled brush in an attempt to mimic the dense tufts of fiber synonymous with vintage chenille blankets. Once the clay is bone dry Faye will begin to paint a freeform pattern on the surface using shellac, then the piece is carefully water etched. The work sometimes includes a third firing to gold luster the slip trailing detail on the lip of the vessel, which the artist refers to as “teeth”. Finally the vessel is sanded with fine grit sandpaper to highlight the separation of texture between buttery smooth and rough. Faye’s work often highlights duality. The “teeth” are sharp and serve as a reminder to slow down, to encourage a sense of presence with the object, to honor a ritual. Faye’s relationship to the creative process is intuitive and demands presence. She believes that her work invites curiosity and physical touch, as a means to explore relational engagement and attunement through sensory exploration. Faye’s work speaks to sincerity, earnestness and authenticity which is a reflection of her relationship to the art process, and relationship to her world and to adapting to living in the South.