Artist Statement
I like to compare my new paintings with 1980’s “MTV,” where the drama and pulsing, seductive (visual) intensity of early music videos captivated my generation. The challenge of creating depth, resonance, and visual interest in my paintings has led me into a new sort of figurative abstraction. Quirky figures (or parts of the originals) appropriated from Rembrandt, Tiepolo, and other Old Master paintings are woven into swirling, glowing spaces that reinterpret their original effect. Intense color fields, visceral mark-making and fragmented spaces characterize my work, and have given the aesthetic foundation for each series of paintings.
Recently (2016) I was awarded a one-month artist residency at GlogauAIR in Berlin, Germany, where I found inspiration and connection amongst the international artist community there. My newer paintings reveal the influence of that experience - particularly in the shaped works.
I hope to capture a sense of movement and immersion - really, the Sublime - in my work, whether the pieces are very small or very large.
Biography
Kenneth has exhibited work in Hamburg, Germany and nationally in NYC (Parallax and ArtExpo fairs), with additional solo exhibitions in a range of venues, including Amarillo, TX, Edinboro, PA, and Hastings, NE. He has also curated two exhibitions on abstract painting, REVERB and REVERB II at the University of Northern Iowa and Bowling Green State University (respectively) in the past five years as a way of promoting painting to regional and academic audiences. He has enjoyed the writing/dialogue that accompanies abstraction as it requires some explanation to the contemporary viewer and, ultimately, helps to increase appreciation of painting.
His previous career (1990-2000) was in the U.S. Coast Guard, where he served as an officer and civil engineer.
He has three grown children, Nathan, Jesse, and Evan who all live reasonably close by his Iowa residence.
Hamburg Germany
New York City
Los Angeles
amArillo, tx
chicago, il
boston, ma
Hastings, NE
Edinboro, pa
ChampaIgn, il
bowling green, oh
louisville, ky
moberly, mO
cincinNati, oh
talahassee, fl
glasgoW, mt
cedar falls, ia
Installation View: Work from 2012 UNI Faculty Exhibition, with sculptures by Professor Erica Voss in foreground.
Summary Vitae
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
EXHIBITIONS CURATED
2014 REVERB II: Recent Abstraction in Painting
Co-curator for National Invitational Group Exhibition, Bowling Green State University,
Bowling Green, Ohio
2013 REVERB: Recent Abstraction in Painting
Curator for National Invitational Group Exhibition, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar
Falls, Iowa
SOLO AND TWO-PERSON EXHIBITIONS
2018 The Other Art Fair (Los Angeles)
Juried Solo Exhibition within International Art Fair
Los Angeles, California
2016 Synchronicity
Solo Exhibition
Prairie Lights Café, Iowa City, Iowa
Confluence
Solo Exhibition
Upper Iowa University
2015 Kenneth Hall: Recent Works
Solo Exhibition
Hastings College, Hastings, Nebraska
2014 Recent Works
Solo Exhibition
Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio
2013 Liminal Spaces
Solo Exhibition
Edinboro University, Edinboro, Pennsylvania
Coming Undone
Solo Exhibition
Process Art House, Amarillo, Texas
PARALLAX Art Fair
Solo Exhibition within art fair
New York City, New York
Research Highlights: Exhibitions Curated and Solo/Two-Person Exhibits
2014 REVERB II: Recent Abstraction in Painting
Co-curator for National Invitational Group Exhibition, Bowling Green State University,
Bowling Green, Ohio
2013 REVERB: Recent Abstraction in Painting
Curator for National Invitational Group Exhibition, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar
Falls, Iowa
SOLO AND TWO-PERSON EXHIBITIONS
2018 The Other Art Fair (Los Angeles)
Juried Solo Exhibition within International Art Fair
Los Angeles, California
2016 Synchronicity
Solo Exhibition
Prairie Lights Café, Iowa City, Iowa
Confluence
Solo Exhibition
Upper Iowa University
2015 Kenneth Hall: Recent Works
Solo Exhibition
Hastings College, Hastings, Nebraska
2014 Recent Works
Solo Exhibition
Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio
2013 Liminal Spaces
Solo Exhibition
Edinboro University, Edinboro, Pennsylvania
Coming Undone
Solo Exhibition
Process Art House, Amarillo, Texas
PARALLAX Art Fair
Solo Exhibition within art fair
New York City, New York
2012 Black Holes and Revelations
Solo Exhibition
Grand View University, Des Moines, Iowa
Fragments: Recent Paintings by Kenneth Hall
Solo Exhibition
Parkland College, Champaign, Illinois
2011 Fallout (2-Person Exhibition)
2-Person Exhibit
Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa
2010 Between Here and There; Painting and the Unseen
Solo Exhibition
Mt. Mercy College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
2008 Zones of Permeability
Solo Exhibition
ARC Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
Escape Routes: Recent Drawings and Paintings
University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa
Cosmic Rifts
930 Gallery, Louisville, Kentucky
2007 As Skin: Portals, Wormholes, and Breaches in the Levee
MFA Thesis Exhibition, Hiestand Gallery, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio
2004 Spatial Energies
Invitational Solo Exhibition, Arts Annex, Grandview, Ohio
Kenneth Hall
BFA Thesis Exhibition
Columbus College of Art and Design, Columbus, Ohio
Group Exhibitions, Residencies, and Conference Presentations
2018 Chris Vance 2018
National Invitational Exhibition
Moberg Gallery
Des Moines, Iowa
2016 GlogauAIR Berlin
One Month Artist Residency in Berlin, Germany
2016 Abstraction: Diverted Reality
National Invitational Exhibition
Moberly Area Community College, Moberly, Missouri
2015 FRESH PAINT BIENNIAL 2015
International Juried Exhibition
Manifest Creative Research Gallery
Cincinnati, Ohio
ART EXPO 2015
Invitational Art Fair
New York City, New York
2014 Regarding the Sublime
National Invitational Exhibition and Conference
North Park University Art Gallery
Chicago, Illinois
2013 The Artists
National Invitational Exhibition
McNutt Gallery
Iowa City, Iowa
2012 27th Tallahassee International
International Juried Exhibition
Florida State University Museum of Art
Tallahassee, Florida
ATINER (Athens International Conference on Visual and Performing Arts)
International Juried Conference (Presented Research Paper)
Athens, Greece
INPA 2 (International Painting Annual 2)
International Juried Exhibition-in-Print
Manifest Creative Research Gallery
Cincinnati, Ohio
2011 1st Annual Small Works
International Juried Exhibition
Goodkind Gallery
Glasgow, Montana
Americas 2011
National Juried Exhibition
Minot State University, Minot, North Dakota
** Included Merit Award and Purchase Award **
Paint Snob Invitational
National Invitational Exhibition
Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, Arkansas
First Fifty
Regional Invitational Exhibition
Hearst Center for the Arts, Cedar Falls, Iowa
2010 Texas National 2010
National Juried Exhibition (Juror: Judy Pfaff)
Stephen F. Austin University, Nagadoches, Texas
Magnitude 7
International Juried Exhibition
Manifest Drawing and Creative Research Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
Studio Visit, Volume 12
International Juried Exhibition-in-Print
Open Studios Press, Boston, Massachusetts
Object as Subject
Regional Invitational Exhibition
University of Northern Iowa Museum, Cedar Falls, Iowa
2009 Miami University Bicentennial Art Exhibition
Miami University Art Museum, Oxford, OH
2007 International Exhibition
International Group Exhibition, Marziart Gallery, Hamburg, Germany
Aktuell: Deep Interests, Passing Interests, and Current Events
National Juried Exhibition
Cade Center for Fine Art, Anne Arundel Community College, Arnold, MD
Juror: Carol Lukitsch, Independent Curator, Washington, DC
Resistance to Vision: Searching, Sifting, Finding, Seeing
National Juried Exhibition
Manifest Creative Research Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio
Cultivate Beauty
Juried Exhibition
930 Art Gallery, Louisville, Kentucky
Creative Quarterly Magazine, The Journal of Arts and Design
National Juried Exhibition-in-Print
Volume VIII, July 2007
Published: 244 Fifth Avenue, Suite F269, New York, New York
2006 Night of 1,000 Drawings
Invitational Exhibition
Artists Space, New York City, New York
2005 Graduate Students of Miami University
Juried Exhibitionion
University of Rio Grande, Rio Grande, Ohio
2003 Emerging Artists
Invitational Exhibition
Art Access Gallery, Bexley, Ohio
2002 Ohio Art League Fall Juried Exhibition
Juried Exhibition (Juror: Paolo Morsiani, former curator of PS 122)
Fort Hayes Art Gallery, Columbus, Ohio
Teaching Experience
2014 - 2021 Associate Professor
Painting I, II, III, Undergraduate Studio Drawing, Undergraduate Studio
Painting, Studio Art in Berlin (Study Abroad), Drawing I and II, Life Drawing
University of Northern Iowa
2008 – 2013 Assistant Professor
Painting I, II, III, Undergraduate Studio Drawing, Undergraduate Studio
Painting, Studio Art in Berlin (Study Abroad), Drawing I and II, Life Drawing
University of Northern Iowa
2007 Adjunct Professor
Drawing III/IV/V/VI (Stacked Course)
Miami University
2006 Instructor of Record (Graduate Teaching Assistant)
Beginning Drawing for Non-Art Majors
Miami University
DUTIES/SPECIALTIES WITHIN UNI ART DEPARTMENT
Associate Professor, Painting Area
BFA Program Coordinator
Academic Advisor
PUBLICATIONS AND REVIEWS
2013 “1980’s Inspire Painter; Process Art House to Display Artwork” Amarillo Globe-News,
March 3, 2013
2011 “Compare and Contrast; Collaboration links UNI artists/professors in ‘Fallout’ exhibition”
The Waterloo Courier, January 16, 2011
2010 “Artists Find Inspiration for Artworks in UNI Museum’s Collection” by Melody Parker
The Waterloo Courier, September 19, 2010
Studio Visit Magazine, Volume 12 (Summer 2010), Open Studios Press
Exhibition-in-Print
2007 “Resistance to Vision: Searching, Sifting, Finding, Seeing” by Dana Saulnier
Curator Essay to accompany exhibition at Manifest Gallery, November 2007
Creative Quarterly Magazine, Journal of Arts and Design, Volume VIII (July 2007)
Exhibition-in-Print
“Art Student Has Work Exhibited in Germany”, The Miami University Report, March 8, 2007
Educational Background
Master of Fine Arts; Emphasis in Painting
Miami University, Oxford, OH (2007)
Bachelor of Fine Arts; Emphasis in Painting (magna cum laude)
Columbus College of Art and Design, Fine Arts (2004)
Master of Science, Civil Engineering
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1997)