Radical Chrome at Kenise Barnes Fine Art

April 3, 2025

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Partial panorama of Radical Chrome at Kenise Barnes Fine Art: two by me, three by Audrey Stone, tondo by Julie Maren, three by Jenny Kemp, one by Mary Judge

What’s the antidote to the waning light of the season? Color! I’m delighted to be sharing the walls at Kenise Barnes Fine Art with four other artists, all of whom are engaged with the power of pigment. The opening of Radical Chrome took place a couple of weeks ago, but the show is up through January 15.

The gallery is located in Kent, Connecticut, in a cultural enclave that consists of contemporary structures and some restored barns that house art galleries, design and antique businesses, and artisanal food shops—the aptly named Kent Barns. Kent is in the far western part of the state, just under two hours from Manhattan. Let me take you on a clockwise tour from the entrance, which you see below.

Entrance to Kenise Barnes Fine Art

These images offer a more inclusive view of the show. Starting from the far left: a small work by me and two by Mary Judge

Joanne Mattera, Tutto 5, 2022, oil and oil pastel on panel, 16 x 12 inches

Opposite the entrance, these two gorgeous pieces by Mary Judge, who is known for her symmetrical, often mandala-like paintings and works on paper. She uses the Italian Renaissance technique of spolvero to delineate the composition

Historically spolvero was used to transfer a design from a perforated paper template to a canvas by pouncing a small bag filled with fine charcoal dust. Contemporary master Judge uses the technique not as an intermediary element but to create the actual drawing using pigment powder

Above: Mary Judge, Primavera Pop 14, 2022, powdered pigment on paper, 34.5 x 34.5 inches framed

Below: Primavera Pop 28B, 2022, powdered pigment on paper, 34.5 x 34.5 inches framed

Continuing around the gallery: Joanne Mattera, Audrey Stone

Above: Joanne Mattera, Tutto 9, 2022, acrylic on canvas, 48 x 36 inches

My new series, Tutto, continues the themes I have been working with for some time: a divided field, emphasis on the horizontal, and saturated color

Below: Tutto 8, 2022, acrylic on canvas, 48 x 36 inches

Audrey Stone, Julie Maren

Audrey Stone, Coast to Coast 7, 2022, acrylic and flashe on canvas, 40 x 30 inches

Often inspired by personal events, Audrey Stone’s vibrational works are by turns meditative and retinally stimulating, the result of minute shifts in color progression. Each band of color may represent a single days work

Passing Through, 2022, acrylic on canvas, 50 x 40 inches

Coast to Coast 6, 2022, acrylic and flashe on canvas, 40 x 30 inches

Audrey Stone, Julie Maren, Jenny Kemp

Julie Maren, Bouquet, 2022; acorn tops, plaster, paint, brass; 50 inches diameter and six inches deep

Maren’s connection to the natural world is direct, as she uses acorn tops as the repository for color. Installations are dimensional, jumping the boundaries between painting and sculpture

Detail below

Jenny Kemp, Midsection, 2022, acrylic on linen mounted on canvas, 40 x 32 inches

Kemp’s biologically inspired paintings employ pattern and rhythm, suggesting organic growth. Gradations of hue deepen the sense of accretion and development.