Megan Kinney was raised in southern California where she received a BFA in drawing and painting from California State University, Long Beach in 2014 and a MFA from Claremont Graduate University in 2018. Megan is a multidisciplinary artist based out of Upstate New York.
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Recreating memories
Kinney’s work explores her identity through memories of being around her mother's side of the family and the stories they repeatedly shared with her. She creates collaged relief paintings that grasp on to what is now gone. Inspired by nostalgia and storytelling, her paintings revisit memories of shared joy and love with her family. Respecting that those moments and feelings will always be in the past- she bring in items that one chooses to remember and create paintings that become family heirlooms.
Her paintings are created by soaking canvas in gesso and vibrant acrylic paint then collaging it onto wood panels. Her artwork is an exploration of the medium she is using. She goes against the traditions of painting on a flat surface- the paint is used to make the canvas three-dimensional and still have texture of the canvas that as a painter she loves. The finished artwork is chunky and playful.