James Kennedy was born in Northern Ireland and has been resident in the United States since 2003.

He studied at the Royal Scottish Academy, Rhodec Academy, and the London School of Contemporary Dance.

Much of his early work dealt with the power and presence held within a horizon.
Representational objects rarely appearing, but rather kinetic suggestions, incidents, weather - systems held within the “Moosdcapes" most of which involved oil glazing techniques where multiple layers of media would build the atmospheric substrates toward completion.

In the early to late nineties the smooth, ominous layers of oil gave way to his fascination and experimentation with texture, resulting in large scale paintings containing a diverse range of alchemic reactions, mainly acrylic and wax builds with oil washes - visceral episodes on wooden panels.

It was on a visit to London at the dawn of the new millennium when he stumbled upon an exhibit of Russian Constructivists at the Royal Academy. His love of drawing and fascination with color proximities was immediately rekindled, and the long process toward creating the Spatial series began." The paintings are a rare combination of control and spontaneity" he says. The serendipitous background washes essentially form the depth and architecture of each piece, the choreography of line and color follows.

The works featured on this site illustrate a progression in artistic process spanning ten years.