(Artwork above: “Wedding Reception” by Kenneth Marunowski)
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I always know when I am looking at something my eye doesn’t quite understand — and for me, that’s when art gets exciting. When I first glimpsed the work of Kenneth Marunowski my initial impression was: this is either total s*** — or it’s totally brilliant.
It took me about five minutes to figure out it was more of the latter (his collection of oil paints and Ph.D. in literacy and rhetoric studies were small hints) — but within about 30 minutes my vision found its focus and I began to unlock the visual magic for myself.
Ironicly I would later learn that Kenneth had the same gut response upon seeing the work of Cy Twombly— a modern American master, who has become one of Kenneth’s current main sources of inspiration and influence.
Kenneth was first introduced to art through a brother-in-law who drew with him as a kid and during visits to the Cleveland Museum of Art in his hometown. Classically trained, Kenneth received his BFA from Kent State University and later his Ph.D. in literacy and rhetoric studies.
Ken spent his junior year abroad at the Marchutz School of Fine Art in Aix-en-Provence, France studying painting and French, and visiting Europe’s top musuems.
After a ten year stint as an assistant professor of writing studies, Ken could no longer ignore his artistic calling and left the university to practice painting full time. In the summer of 2016, Ken was awarded an artist fellowship to the Marchutz School where he assisted students painting in the plein air tradition and executed many paintings himself. That same summer, Ken showed several paintings in his first international exhibition featuring three artists at Le Porte Bleu, a gallery in St. Antonin, France.
With the support of his wife Carly, Ken paints in the garage studio beneath their one-bedroom apartment in Bend, where the couple moved to from Minnesota three years ago. “I knew life as a painter wasn’t going to be easy. There are no guarantees: no steady income, no job security. It’s just me with my brushes, canvas and paints trying to make something
beautiful happen.”
Unlike most artists today who paint with synthetic polymer acrylics, Kenneth works entirely using oil paints following the style and traditions of the masters he studied in school.
On my first pass through the Kenneth’s studio I notice reflections and references to the grand masters I know best — the echos of Jackson Pollock, Cezanne and Kandinsky vibrating through the colors and lines.
Kenneth disappears and comes back with his favorite book on the Dutch-American artist Willem de Kooning — the master of abstract expressionism and the pioneer of New York School — and now it all makes sense.
Known for continually reworking his canvases, de Kooning was legendary for leaving his pieces with a sense of incompletion — as if the forms were still in the process of moving and settling and coming into definition.
In a similiar fashion, Kenneth’s work conveys an almost awkward sense of beauty mixed with chaos — like paint still mixing and in motion— unsettled marks both flowing and frozen, and a dynamic movement that feel as intuitive as impulsive. It becomes visual game — and when you look deeply and patiently enough the figures and structures begin emerge — hidden in the details whispering and waiting to be noticed.
After learning how to decipher his mark-making madness for myself, I had a chance to sit down with the artist to learn more about his process, inspirations and advice for young artists looking to get started.
What was the most important thing you learned from art school?
Upon returning to Kent State with all my newest work from France, I actually failed my Junior Review. I couldn’t believe it — in France the professors were telling me how gifted I am, and then when I returned to the U.S. all my same work was failed. Once I started painting according to the American style the school espoused, I started to get all A’s. It was really confusing at the time — but I now realize how much I benefited from studying both American and European styles of painting — which has shaped my work to this day.
What is your advice to younger people interested in getting into art?
I recommend that students start by studying other artists — and at least one of masters — closely and in-depth. I am an avid reader of art criticism and often incorporate what I find inspiring in other artist’s work into my own without appearing too derivative.
Can you describe your creative process?
I create my work as I move through life, catching glimpses of content as I walk about town or in the mountains, or through reading about art or looking at the work of other artists. The creative process doesn’t stop as I exit the studio. Creativity is truly a way of life for me.
Can you explain your process? How is it different from other artists in your genre?
My process is highly intuitive. It starts with one key decision — a starting point to explore. One day I might start with a color — purple, for example — and I will begin by exploring that color in relation to its opposite — yellow, for example. Another piece I may begin making random charcoal marks and seeing what type of composition develops naturally. But as I organize the composition I like to allow the elements of chance and spontaneity to enter the process. It’s all about the conversation. I start and finish every work by asking the same question, “What do you want to become?” I ask. I listen. I respond with my marks. Then I step back. I wait. I listen.
“What do you need?” I ask again. This is my process. I believe the gift of the painter, especially in abstract art, is to be open and sensitive to this conversation which is really a conversation with yourself — the canvas serving as a mirror.
When you step back from everything, what does it mean for you to call yourself an artist?
Despite all the madness and beauty, the approval and disapproval, the success and failures, the sales and the struggles — I just keep on painting. I am confident in my abilities and intellect. If others don’t get it, that’s fine, but there are those who do, and because I see art as a life-sustaining force, I want to help open the world of art to those who have yet to discover its magic.
We need to support the arts, to teach the younger generation how to appreciate art and how to invest time in sustained looking — I am in this for the long term — both as a artist and an educator.
Those interested in learning more about Kenneth’s art are welcome to schedule a private studio visit by calling him directly at 218-269-7882. Kenneth also offers private and group art classes on a personalized basis.
kennethmarunowski.com
@kenmarunowski