JURIED MEMBERSHIPS
Cambridge Art Association, Cambridge, MA
Concord Art Association, Concord, MA
Connecticut Pastel Society
Danvers Art Association, Danvers, MA
IAPS International Association of Pastel Societies
Marblehead Arts Association, Marblehead, MA
The National Association of Women Artists, New York, NY
Newburyport Art Association, Newburyport, MA
North Shore Arts Association, Gloucester, MA
Pastel Painters Society of Cape Cod, Falmouth, MA
Pastel Society of New Hampshire
Pastel Society of America (PSA), New York, NY
Rocky Neck Art Colony, Gloucester, MA
SOLO SHOWS/GROUP EXHIBITIONS/AWARDS
Marblehead Art Association, Marblehead MA Solo Show 2023 “A Layered Life, Meaning in Collage”
North Shore Art Association, Gloucester MA Solo Show 2023 “Sanctuary In Nature”
Pastel Painters Society of Cape Cod “For Pastels Only” Juried Exhibit, 2020 Received Pastel Society of New Hampshire Award.
Copley Society of Boston, MA “Pastels Only” Juried Spring Exhibit, 2020
Pastel Society of San Diego, National Juried Show, March 2020 Second Place
Shared Vision: Pastels of Five New England Artists Harvard, MA, 2020
Newburyport Art Association, Newburyport MA New England Regional Show 2019
Beverly Farms Gallery, Beverly Farms MA Solo show “Seasons Passing” 2019
Endicott College, Beverly MA Artsfest Community Art Show 2018, 2019
Gallery 95, Porter Mill Studios, Beverly MA Solo shows, "Same Subject, Different Media" 2018, “Searching For Essentials” 2019
Danvers Art Association, Danvers MA Best in Show Spring & Fall Shows 2020, 2019, 2018, 2016
North Shore Arts Association, Gloucester MA Solo show, “Two Artists, Two Points of View” 2017
Pastel Journal 100 Competition Honorable Mention Abstract/Non Objective Category 2016
North Shore Arts Association, Gloucester MA First Prize Pastel Category 2016
Marblehead Art Association, Marblehead MA Honorable Mention Spring Show 2015
Marblehead Art Association, Marblehead MA Solo Show, “Looking Back, Moving Forward" 2015
Beverly Farms Gallery, Beverly Farms MA Solo “Les Petits Pastels de Provence” 2014
Beverly Farms Gallery, Beverly Farms MA Solo show, “Everchanging” 2012
Concord Art Association, Concord MA Group Show, “Scenes from Provence” 2010
MICHÈLE J KENNA
Michèle J. Kenna, a transplanted Canadian, has lived in Massachusetts for over 40 years. Growing up in a family involved in art and theater, Michèle pursued her own artistic aspirations by completing her Masters in Fine Arts at the University of Toronto. After raising two children in Beverly, MA, Michèle continued to study with nationally known American artists who taught and mentored her in the pastel medium, her primary influences being Frank Federico, PSA 2012 Hall of Fame Honoree and internationally renowned painter, Wolf Kahn.
Adult classes at the Montserrat College of Art in Beverly MA, have inspired Michèle to reach out beyond traditional boundaries and to challenge herself to more abstract ways of expression. With a studio at Porter Mill in Beverly, MA, Michèle continues to develop her unique style of landscape painting combining nature and abstract expressionism.
Michèle has exhibited her work in numerous galleries and art associations in the Boston area and the North Shore and has received many awards for her work. Michèle’s commissioned work is part of many private collections in the United States, Canada, and Europe.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Thoughts on the past two years . . . how my art helped me in tough times.
The loss of many loved ones and especially my life partner, Robert Benedict, has made it difficult to be inspired and motivated to create art. I can usually push myself to paint but it has been a real challenge in the last two years.
These losses have caused me to question the meaning of this fragile and ephemeral thing called “life.
I always think of Peggy Lee’s song that asks, “Is That All There Is?”
How can I give meaning to my life? The answer: art has given me meaning. I am so fortunate to crave creativity because the process has helped me to deal with these existential questions and to transcend the daily pain of these losses.
In my studio, I am able to lose myself in my work, to be utterly in the moment, mind and body connected, arms moving and putting down paint or pastel on paper. This is truly one of life’s most rewarding experiences. It is an act of creation, a sign of hope. Despairing thoughts slip away while making art, nothing matters except the paper in front of me.
As a result, I have created a new series of 40 collages, “A Layered Life," a totally new medium for me. Making these collages gave me the creative release to express my grief but also hope for the future. My “Journal 2020 Series," 20 smaller works in pastel, reflect my thoughts and feelings in honor of a dear friend who passed away from Covid.
What about my painterly pastel landscapes? I continue to explore semi-abstraction where I try to express the “moment” — the moment when one experiences a fleeting glimpse of a landscape or scene that stops and surprises them. A moment when one is moved by the beauty of a scene that they had not noticed before. I call this “a sudden mindfulness.”
