| ARTISTS |
Michael Kenny, R.A. (1941-1999)
Michael was born in Liverpool in 1941 and commenced his art studies at the Liverpool College of Art between 1959 and 1961, progressing from there to The Slade School, London, for a further three years, followed by The University of London Fellowship in Fine Art in 1965. Early recognition of Michael’s potential came with the Sainsbury Award in 1964.
From this period of formal training visits to Italy and Greece followed, leading in time, to a distinguished career as painter, superb draughtsman and sculptor. In the academic world he became visiting lecturer at The Slade, Head of Fine Arts Goldsmith’s College and, in 1995, Head of City and Guilds School of Art, London. He was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1976 and full Academician ten years later. He was appointed Treasurer of the Royal Academy in 1995.
As a sculptor his work is acknowledged world wide with significant pieces commissioned for the Union Bank of Switzerland, ‘Le Parc de la Courneuve’, Paris, Yokohama Business Park and Muraoka-cho, in Japan. Amongst a number of important commissions in the United Kingdom is a large installation for Docklands sited at the Canary Wharf exit from the Limehouse Link Tunnel.
Exhibitions, commentaries and assessments of Michael Kenny’s work are numerous: the essay by Peter Davis with a foreword by Sir Philip Dowson in Michael Kenny Sculpture, Scolar Press, 1999, is an informative and complete assessment of a gifted artist’s working life, brought to an untimely close. Given just three months to live in 1996 he survived another three years, a period of intensive activity of which ‘Countless Days’, sculptured in white Thassos marble in a striking example now at The Vineyard at Stockcross. Also in that collection is a number of Michael’s working drawings some relate to completed work but all are evidence of a vigorous active mind.
Noël Napier-Ford |
