#kenrick mcfarlane

Kenrick McFarlane (American, b. 1990)

I\W: Can you talk about the pictorial language you have developed in your paintings?

Kenrick Mcfarlane: When I am painting it is like meditation, so in that sense I channel a lot of ideas, thoughts, and excitements that might be subliminal. For example, in my latest painting there are a lot of references to classical painting, but then there is also this animated or cartoonish language that evolves. I think my contemporaries are starting to see that a lot, that is how we grew up. That illustrated pictorial language is embedded in our visual language as artists. Animation tends to represent what is happening to us internally in an interesting way. When a character blows up or screams out and you see vibrations coming out of his mouth, there are certain things within that language that can really communicate emotions that perhaps words couldn’t do. The same potential is in classical painting. It is able to communicate certain things that are very profound and mysterious. Putting those two languages together wasn’t a conscious decision. I was just in the moment and following my excitement.

Kenrick J. Mcfarlane, William Harper