Kearney McDonnell

"I am interested in exploring the space between abstraction and figuration primarily with oil paint. Major influences include Philip Guston, Cy Twombly, Alice Neel, Basquiat, and Robert Motherwell. My grandfather John Kearney was a Provincetown painter and sculptor, and our family retains a studio near Conwell’s. I have been coming to Provincetown since I was one, and moved recently moved here full-time following my graduation from Brown University’s Honors Visual Art program.

My hope is to continue my family’s tradition of painting, living, and exhibiting in Provincetown, as this place and the artists who have lived here have informed so much of my own artistic practice (my grandmother’s home is the former home/studio of Joe Kaplan, whose paintings still line the walls), and has always been my favorite place to spend time. It took me a long while to realize that the color palette that I had quite unconsciously tended towards, and occasionally work in opposition or response to, is completely reflective of the landscape of this town.

Though painting is my primary medium, I am also interested in sculpture, photography, and book arts. My other great love is psychology, and my hope is to work someday as both an artist and therapist. I find painting to be a therapeutic process, so for me, the two disciplines are very much related and influence one another greatly."