Hello, I'm Rebecca.

Rebecca Kinkead Studio

I have always painted inches away from my canvas. From solitary owls to noble horses, loyal dogs to children playing, I’m most comfortable with large expanses of canvas, when I can work almost from within the painting, stepping away and then back in, until it is able to breathe on its own. 

My work has evolved to match the freedom and expansiveness that Vermont offers. Similarly, I co-created a paint recipe blending oils, wax, and chalk that captures the luminescence and movement of the animals and people before me. 

Recently, I began The Neighbor Project, a series of paintings that invites anyone to sit for me and allow me to capture them in a moment. These paintings are a celebration of the raw, messiness and beauty of being human alongside each other. 

From simplified images of children mid-leap to majestic animals who stop for a split-second, my paintings are an invitation to immerse yourself in a fleeting moment - to catch something of your own life in their eyes, and something of theirs in yours.

Rebecca Kinkead

Rebecca Kinkead community portrait
Rebecca Kinkead Dog
Rebecca Kinkead Neighbor Project example

Bio

Rebecca Kinkead is a Vermont-based artist who lives and works in Cornwall. She holds degrees in Political Science and French from the University of Vermont, and a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art from Minnesota State University. Her work began with clay and transitioned to paint in 1998. Kinkead has been awarded residencies at the Ballinglen Arts Foundation, County Mayo, Ireland; Baer Art Center, Hofsos, Iceland; Jentel Foundation, Banner, Wyoming; and most recently, the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, Vermont. Her work has been exhibited and collected nationally and internationally (I've attached my CV which has collections listed at the end if you want to add a few examples) for over two decades.

Kinkead's search for authenticity manifests with an immediacy of process. The form of the sitter arrives with a sense of physical presence and vulnerability that the artist holds sacred in her work. The quote by Nikola Tesla is central to her painting process:

 “If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.”

Kinkead began The Neighbor Project in August of 2019 and has painted over 550 individuals to date. The project began on her porch in Vermont as an invitation to her neighbors and has since expanded to include chapters at a special needs preschool in MA, the Daystation in Burlington, and the Downtown Middlebury Portrait that will be exhibited at the Sheldon Museum in the spring.  On March 23rd, as social distancing became the norm across the globe, Rebecca began the FaceTime chapter of A Neighbor Project, inviting anyone around the world to sit for a thirty-minute portrait session over Face Time. She projected a map of the world on her studio wall, traced it, and began painting volunteers over FaceTime on 7” x 5” panels. The portraits are attached to the map wall according to their location. 

Curriculum Vitae

EDUCATION 

1998 BA Minnesota State University, Mankato, MN
1997 MS Minnesota State University, Mankato, MN
1990 BA University of Vermont, Burlington, VT


AWARDS & FELLOWSHIPS

2018 Ballinglen Arts Foundation, Fellowship in Rural Ireland, Ballycastle, Co. Mayo, Ireland
2018 Vermont Studio Center, Artist Residency
2017 Jentel Foundation Residency, Banner, Wyoming
2016 Baer Art Center, Artist Residency, Hofsos, Iceland
2004 Ballinglen Arts Foundation, Fellowship in Rural Ireland, Ballycastle, Co. Mayo, Ireland

SOLO & TWO PERSON EXHIBITIONS

Henry Sheldon Museum, Middlebury, VT, 2020
A Neighbor Project, Studio exhibition, Cornwall, VT 2019
Gallery MAR, Park City, UT, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
Northern Daughters, Vergennes, VT, 2017
Maine Art Gallery, Kennebunk, ME, 2016, 2017, 2018
Whistler Contemporary, Whistler, BC, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
Edgewood Orchard Gallery, Fish Creek, WI, 2015, 2016, 2018
Edgewater Gallery, Middlebury, VT, 2013, 2014, 2016
Clark Gallery, Lincoln, MA, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2015
West Branch Gallery Stowe, VT, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015
Cavalier Galleries, NYC, 2015
Mclarry Modern, Santa Fe, NM 2010, 2012, 2013 

Judy Saslow Gallery, Chicago, IL, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
Landau Gallery, Belmont Hill School, Belmont, MA, 2007
Cushing-Martin Gallery, Stonehill College, Easton, MA, 2006
Nesto Gallery, Milton Academy, Milton, MA, 2006
Christopher C. Brodigan Gallery, Groton School, Groton, MA, 2005
The Great Hall, The Roxbury Latin School, West Roxbury, MA, 2005
Minnesota State University, Conkling Gallery, Mankato, MN, 2003
University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, 2003
Fresh Art Gallery, Denver, CO, 2002

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

I.D.E.A. Museum, Mesa, Arizona, 2017
Bowery Gallery, New York, NY, 2017
Gardner Colby Gallery, Naples, FL, 2013, 2014, 2015
Rice Polak Gallery, Provincetown, MA, 2015, 2016, 2018
Shain Gallery, Charlotte, NC, 2013
Pryor Fine Art, Atlanta, GA, 2009, 2010, 2011
Courthouse Gallery, Ballinglen Arts Foundation, Ballycastle, Ireland, 2004, 2005, 2011
Barbara Krakow Gallery, Boston, MA, 2006, 2007, 2008
Decordova Museum, Lincoln, MA, 2003, 2008

New Art Center, Newton, MA, 2008
Firehouse Gallery, Burlington, VT, 2007
The Fessenden School, Newton, MA, 2003
The Media Gallery, Boston, MA, 2001
Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, MA, 2001
Southern Minnesota Clay Center, St. Peter, MN, 1998
Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, MN, 1998
Minnesota State University, Mankato, MN, 1997, 1998
Arts and Heritage Center, St. Peter, MN, 1997

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

The Chronicle of the Horse, Spring issue, 2021
Architectural Digest, February 26, 2021
The Lancet, January 6, 2018

The Chronicle of the Horse, Spring issue, 2016
Boston Magazine, Spring issue, 2016
Alan Maguire, Park Record, March 6, 2015
Nicki Escudaro, American Art Collector Magazine, April 2015
Xian Chiang - Waren, Seven Days, Vermont, April 2014
CS Modern Luxury, April, 2013
Bonnie Gangelhoff, Southwest Art Magazine, May, 2012
Life and Dog Magazine, May, 2012
Scott Iwasaki, The Park Record, February, 2012
Jay Hamburger, The Park Record, January 2011

Papas, Steven, Times Argus, March 6, 2011
Journal of the Moffitt Cancer Center, Spring, 2011
Southwest Art, December, 2010
McQuaid, Cate Review, Boston Globe, May 8, 2008
Genes, Culture, and Human Evolution, Linda Stone and Paul F. Lurquin, 2007
Roanna Forman, Artscope Magazine, September 10, 2006
Lincoln Journal, January 6, 2005
McQuaid, Cate Review, Boston Globe, January 7, 2005
Awodey, Marc Review, Seven Days (Burlington, VT), September 17, 2003
Tougas, Joe Review, The Free Press (Mankato, MN), October 16, 2003
McQuaid, Cate Review, Boston Globe, November 8, 2002
Lincoln Journal, November 7, 2002

SELECTED COLLECTIONS

Chautauqua Institution, Chautauqua, NY
Baer Art Center, Hofsos, Iceland
Oprah Winfrey
Gayle King
Pepsico
University of Virginia Children's Hospital
Powdr Corp
Beijing Joy FM, Beijing, China
Radisson Blu Aqua, Chicago, IL
Putnam Investments
David York, Museum of Dog, North Adams, MA

Tufts Floating Hospital for Children, Boston, MA 
Ballinglen Museum of Contemporary Art, Ballycastle, Co. Mayo, Ireland      
AstraZeneca, Waltham, MA
Genzyme, Cambridge, MA
Lightbridge, Burlington, MA
Marriott Courtyard Hotel, Waltham, MA
Meditech, Boston, MA
Minnesota State University, Mankato, MN
Fletcher Allen Hospital, Burlington, VT
Chico Hot Springs, Pray, Montana

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