Inga Kennedy (“IKO”) is a contemporary artist and painter of (semi-) abstract landscapes and still lifes (acrylic and watercolour) as well as portraits (commissions). She was born in the Netherlands where she trained as an interior designer, graphic artist and art teacher. Since then she has lived abroad for many years where she taught art from time to time at local art institutes, but upon her return to the Netherlands in the early 1990’s she started teaching her own art classes and organized many workshops. Since the late 1990’s, again living abroad, she took up painting full time. Most of her work shows a boundary between reality and abstraction. Through her bold uses of colour she captures the silence of nature around us and expresses its specific emotion at a given time. Since 2013 she lives and works again in the Netherlands and whilst painting remains her main occupation she also spends time sculpting.
I always think in colour. When I listen to music or conversations I see colours, and sometimes these imaginary colours drown out the sounds. When painting – always with music in the background – colours prevail over form. It is through the use of these colours that I try to simplify the subject matter. I rarely go out without a camera, constantly searching for those special nuances in light, the ever changing and kaleidoscopic skies and (reflections thereof in) water. These photos form a starting point for my studio work. Generally speaking, my primary challenge is to create paintings that convey a bit of mystery as well as joy. To achieve this I aim for vivid, harmonious colours and strong compositional elements to emphasize an impression of peace and tranquillity.
Most of my paintings, regardless of the theme, are primarily inspired by the thin and intriguing line between sky and earth, the alchemy it evokes: the horizon as well as the enigmatic silence surrounding that line when trying to touch the infinite horizon, guided by colour.
