Kevin Neal Gardner
Teaching artist Kevin Neal Gardner earned his MFA in Painting at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. Prior to that he was awarded a Certificate in Painting from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, PA, and his BA in Liberal Arts from St. John’s College, Annapolis, MD.
In addition to his workshop at Gage, Gardner is a Fellowship Instructor at the Herron School of Art – Indianapolis University Purdue University Indianapolis, IN, and has served as an Associate Instructor at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN.
Gardner's work has received numerous accolades, including the Future Faculty Teaching Fellowship at Indiana University, and several from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts: the Frances D. Bergman Memorial Prize for Excellence in Representational Painting, Michael Pearson Memorial Prize for an Outstanding Painting that Utilizes Philadelphia Architecture, Samuel David Memorial Prize for Cast Drawing, Lucille Sorgenti Scholarship for Outstanding Achievement and the John R. Connor Memorial Prize in Printmaking.
For additional information about Kevin Neal Gardner and to view his work, please visit his web site: www.kevinnealgardner.com.
Artist's Statement
After running into a friend I hadn't seen in a while, I asked how he was doing. "Things are much better now," was the candid reply I wasn’t expecting. The friend left before I learned what had happened – leaving me with more questions than answers - and it’s for this reason I still remember the encounter. Uncertainty is that much more interesting. I hope to convey this same expectant uncertainty in my work: a feeling that something has just happened or is about to, a moment of heightened awareness on the cusp of an event.
The domestic scenes I create – either interior or exterior – are not an observation of a place and time. These images depict a psychologically enriched environment, a place that is being influenced by the act of perception. I use architectural and spatial divisions, contrasting light sources, and personified objects (as well as objectified persons) to push forward the impression of eventfulness without viewing an actual event. These are representational scenes but they are not depictions of an objective reality. The viewer is neither a participant nor a voyeur, but instead the viewer perceives the image as a heightened awareness or an internal understanding.
I used to think that at some point I would become a master painter. I now realize that that I will always be learning and exploring in paint. Just as drawing requires some tension between the media and the support as with a pencil pulling against paper, I need something to struggle with. It’s for this reason that I reveal process in my finished work. Such process is shown through visible drawing, remaining graphic marks, various levels of finish and texture, and an overall effect for the viewer of seeing an image unfold.
After running into a friend I hadn't seen in a while, I asked how he was doing. "Things are much better now," was the candid reply I wasn’t expecting. The friend left before I learned what had happened – leaving me with more questions than answers - and it’s for this reason I still remember the encounter. Uncertainty is that much more interesting. I hope to convey this same expectant uncertainty in my work: a feeling that something has just happened or is about to, a moment of heightened awareness on the cusp of an event.
The domestic scenes I create – either interior or exterior – are not an observation of a place and time. These images depict a psychologically enriched environment, a place that is being influenced by the act of perception. I use architectural and spatial divisions, contrasting light sources, and personified objects (as well as objectified persons) to push forward the impression of eventfulness without viewing an actual event. These are representational scenes but they are not depictions of an objective reality. The viewer is neither a participant nor a voyeur, but instead the viewer perceives the image as a heightened awareness or an internal understanding.
I used to think that at some point I would become a master painter. I now realize that that I will always be learning and exploring in paint. Just as drawing requires some tension between the media and the support as with a pencil pulling against paper, I need something to struggle with. It’s for this reason that I reveal process in my finished work. Such process is shown through visible drawing, remaining graphic marks, various levels of finish and texture, and an overall effect for the viewer of seeing an image unfold.