Through her abstract paintings, New York based artist Debbi Kenote communicates her inner moods and thoughts on surfaces that challenge the traditional rectangular canvas. At the moment, Debbi works on a series based on stars that brings together the artist’s microcosmic and macrocosmic musings on what it means to be alive today, researching human histories and astronomical stars through vivid colours, starry canvases and the stories and forms of quilting blocks.
In our interview with Debbi, we spoke about her obsession with abstraction, the importance of the lens in the creative act and the fertile place for play that she has found in painting.
Hello Debbi, thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. For those who don’t know you: please shortly present yourself and tell us how you got into art in the first place, especially painting.
I grew up in the Pacific Northwest region of the U.S., very close to the Canadian border. I come from a family of makers and farmers, so I saw a lot of hands-on crafting. There was always a project in motion, things like sewing, drawing, cooking, and building. From an early age, I knew I wanted to be an artist, although I didn’t know what that meant. I saw a lot of craft and local art, and I was very interested in it. The closest art museums to us were about an hour and a half away, either North to Vancouver, BC, or South to Seattle, WA. I visited my first art museum when I was 18 and traveled to Paris. I was part of a group of high school students and we fundraised to make the trip happen. We went to the Louvre and Musée d’Orsay and I was blown away. Later on, while studying art at University, I visited the closer Museums regularly.
