Real-Lives: Observations and Reflections by Dale Kennington

July 17 - September 26, 2015

Presented by Mike Schmitz and Family with generous support from the Friends of Dale Kennington.

From da Vinci to Pearlstein, the presentation of “reality” through visual expression has attracted, delighted, mortified and appealed to audiences dazzled by the skill of keen observation and technical expertise. While there are many definitions of Realism that define representational and figurative art, one artist, Dale Kennington, has managed to present us with a compelling collection of paintings that capture the essence of post-modernism in style and mood.

Kennington shares a dark and quiet American quality found in the work of Edward Hopper during the 1930-1940s, but she brings us into the 21st-century world of contemporary life through scenes of ordinary daily rituals such as a haircut, going to a bar, waiting for a train or watching a church choir. The artist makes us ponder the reality of living from an “outsider’s” position; one that feels both familiar and strange. Yet, the beauty and solemnity of Kennington’s paintings are so lush and provocative, one cannot help but stand before them and feel connected through shared human experiences common to our post-modern lives: fear, anxiety, wonder and camaraderie.

Kennington was born in Savannah, Georgia and has lived the majority of her life in Dothan, Alabama. She received a BA from the University of Alabama and in 2009 was recognized by the Alabama State Council on the Arts with the Governor’s Arts Award and the Alabama Bureau of Tourism and Travel as one of Alabama’s “Master Artists”. Her work is included in numerous collections including the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, the Columbus Museum of Art, the Wiregrass Museum of Art and the Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum at the University of Louisiana, Lafayette and the the Smithsonian Institute.

Exhibition organized by the Friends of the Mennello Museum of American Art.