2007/08

Modern Artists Gallery Berkshire   'Black in Back'  December  07- February 08

'Salon Locale', The Gallery, London  August.
'Eyeplay', Bankside gallery, London  August.
'Semaphore', Chalmers Bequst Gallery, London November.
 Modern Artists Gallery Berkshire
Selected:
New Gallery Artists, Modern Artists Gallery Berkshire July-August.
'The Land Escape', Modern Artists Gallery Berkshire  April.
'The Figure - Transcribing The Human Form'  Campbell Hall Gallery  Western Oregon University  USA  April.
Islington Contemporary Art & Design Fair  Candid Arts Trust Galleries  London March.
'Winter Hues', Modern Artists Gallery Berkshire February-March.
'After The Heath', The Bull & Last Gallery  London  February-March.
2006
'Winter Salon', Hackney Museum, London, December-February 2007.
‘Semaphore’, group show, Chalmer’s Bequest Gallery, London, November.
Artist's Reception, Orange county, California, October.
‘Summer Show’, Mile End Art Pavilion, London, August-September.
‘Works On Paper’, group show, Flux Factory, Long Island, New York, May.
2005
’Secrets’: Royal College of Art, London, November.
The Affordable Art Fair: invited to exhibit and promoted at the event by Degreeart.com, London, October.
‘Popularity Contest’: Bath Spa University College graduate show, Studio 95, The Truman Brewery, London, July.
‘DegreeArt at Paintworks’: exhibition showcasing the work of degree students/graduates of the SouthWest, Paintworks gallery, Bristol, June.
Bath Spa University College annual degree show, Bath, June.
‘Summer Salon With A Twist’: Hackney Museum, London, May-July.
2003
‘Abstract Undressed’: a joint exhibition of painting, Wimbledon Theatre, London, May/June.
2002
‘Love In A Blue Time’: a group exhibition of work in response to the title of the Hanif Kureshi book, Byam-Shaw School of Art, London, May.
 

James Keniston explores the possibilities of painting through a variety of subjects as starting points such as human and animal forms, landscape and architecture.
Not always in one particular ‘style’ but an ongoing progression.  Creating smaller ‘bodies’ of work, which show the development of ideas and pre-occupations at a given time. 
Conveying line, form, shape and colour as well as the development of technical and material processes.  

"This ongoing work in this area stems initially from interpretations of landscapes  seen in the United States, particularly based upon scenes around the Grand Canyon, Mojave desert and sections of the forgotten Route 66 in Arizona. Seeking a reflection upon a place and the colours of nature, which can never truly be re-created by the artist.

Not wishing to linger over the paintings as nothing could ever really compare to the beauty of the natural world, I seek to capture a fleeting glimpse of something beautiful, a faded memory of some far away land.

The stark division between the land and the sky, and the umbers seen in the desert landscapes inform my work, formal in style, and indicative of a conscious ‘stripping down’ of the subject matter to its component parts: line and colour. 

Initially the palette of the landscape is used directly to build a painting, however, the more of these images produced the more they become further removed from their footing within an inquiry into the landscape. 

Formal concerns take over and the work becomes as much about the act of painting itself, as ‘theatre’ is set up by the palette, between the viewer and the canvas.