Devin Kenny
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Devin Kenny (born 1987) is an interdisciplinary artist, musician, writer, and curator who works across music, text, sculpture, painting, videos, photography, garments, and performances. Kenny's work has addressed network technology and the Black Atlantic,
gentrification Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has ...
, the
prison industrial complex A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where people are imprisoned under the authority of the state, usually as punishment for various crim ...
, experimental music, subculture and countercultures, and alternative economies.


Early life

Kenny was born in Hyde Park, Chicago, and lived shortly afterwards in
West Hollywood, California West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. History Most historical writing ...
, where his mother Deranne Kenny was pursuing her acting career. He moved often in his early life as a result of his mother passing away from breast cancer when he was a child. He briefly lived with his half-sister who was in the Navy, residing in
Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially Unincorporated area, unincorporated, it is an edge city with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 ...
and
Jacksonville, North Carolina Jacksonville is a city in Onslow County, North Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 72,723, which makes Jacksonville the List of municipalities in North Carolina, 14th-most populous city in North Caroli ...
, and returning to the Hyde Park/ Kenwood neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, where he would remain until age 18.


Education

Kenny received a bachelor's degree in Fine Arts from
Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly known as Cooper Union, is a private college on Cooper Square in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-s ...
in 2009. In 2008, while at Cooper Union, he completed an exchange program at the
Gerrit Rietveld Academie The Gerrit Rietveld Academie, also known as Rietveld School of Art & Design and Rietveld Academy, is an art academy in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It was founded in 1924 and offers programs in fine arts and design. History The Instituut voor Kuns ...
in
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
. He participated in Trade School organized by Caroline Woolard and an early iteration of the Bruce High Quality Foundation University, originally a sponsored project from
Creative Time Creative Time is a nonprofit arts organization based in New York City. Founded in 1974, it supports the commissioning, production, and presentation of site-specific and socially engaged public art projects. History Creative Time was founded i ...
. From 2011 to 2013, he attended the
University of California Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the Cal ...
, graduating from the New Genres Department with a Masters in Fine Arts in 2013. Kenny has participated in multiple residency programs, including
Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture The Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture is an artists residency located in Madison, Maine, just outside of Skowhegan. Every year, the program accepts online applications from emerging artists from November through January, and selects 65 ...
in 2009, Whitney Independent Study Program (ISP) from 2014 to 2015, SOMA in 2013, the Core Program
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), is an art museum located in the Houston Museum District of Houston, Texas. The permanent collection of the museum spans more than 5,000 years of history with nearly 80,000 works from six continents. Follo ...
from 2017 to 2019, Shandaken Projects 2018, and the Rauschenberg Residency #44 in winter/spring 2020.


Teaching

Kenny has taught courses at
Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...
, Parsons New School of Design, The University of Houston, and the Block Program at The Glassell School of Art, and has been a visiting critic at
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
.


Work

Kenny's artistic works include sculptures, paintings, readymades, music, and sound/audio works, and have been exhibited in solo art exhibitions and group shows. Regarding the many themes Kenny takes up in his work, a 2019 review of his solo show at
MoMA PS1 MoMA PS1 is a contemporary art institution at 2201 Jackson Avenue in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens in New York City, United States. In addition to its exhibitions, the institution organizes the Sunday Sessions performance series, th ...
stated: Kenny's work fluctuates between social commentary and dark humor, and has addressed
social death Social death, sometimes referred to as social suicide, is the condition of people not accepted as fully human by wider society. It refers to when someone is treated as if they are dead or non-existent. It is used by sociologists such as Orlando ...
, Black erasure in NYC folk history,
reparations Reparation(s) may refer to: Christianity * Reparation (theology), the theological concept of corrective response to God and the associated prayers for repairing the damages of sin * Restitution (theology), the Christian doctrine calling for re ...
, ethnomathematics,
hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
and community activism. Kenny has performed at international art institutions and programs, including
Artists Space Artists Space is a non-profit art gallery and arts organization first established at 155 Wooster Street in SoHo, Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1972 by Irving Sandler and Trudie Grace and funded by the New York State Council on the Arts ...
, The Hammer Museum, The Kitchen,
Performance Space Performance Space, later Performance Space at Carriageworks, is an arts organisation based in Sydney, Australia, that develops and presents interdisciplinary arts and experimental theatre. History Performance Space was established in 1983 in a ...
, Artspace Auckland,
REDCAT Roy and Edna Disney CalArts Theater (REDCAT) is an interdisciplinary contemporary arts center for innovative visual, performing and media arts in downtown Los Angeles, California, located inside the Walt Disney Concert Hall complex. Named for ...
, Kunsthall Stavanger, Julia Stoschek Collection,
Contemporary Arts Museum Houston Contemporary Arts Museum Houston is a not-for-profit institution in the Museum District, Houston, Texas, founded in 1948, dedicated to presenting contemporary art to the public. As a non-collecting museum, it strives to provide a forum for visua ...
, and Performa.


Performance essays

Kenny is known for multiple types of performance, including “performance essays” or " performance-lectures", an experimental presentation format combining original speech, music, and other media, alongside multimedia and digital art, poetry and music.


Music

Kenny has created music under the alias Devin KKenny, “a play on the fact that an unfamous name often can be misspelled”, Lil Resin, Chainz Problematic, and Wieder Care, among others. His music projects typically are self-released concept albums, and are shown online (such as on the now-defunct Newhive platform) or in art spaces like NYC's The
High Line The High Line is a elevated linear park, greenway, and rail trail created on a former New York Central Railroad spur on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The High Line's design is a collaboration between James Corner Field Op ...
, and appear on independent radio such as
WFMU WFMU (91.1 MHz) is a non-commercial educational station, non-commercial, listener-supported, independent radio, independent community radio station city of license, licensed to East Orange, New Jersey, with studios in Jersey City. It is owned by ...
and KCHUNG, TV stations like KCET, DIY venues, and other music and entertainment spaces. Kenny's Studio Workout series rap mixtapes project accompanied a long-running
Tumblr Tumblr (pronounced "tumbler") is a microblogging and Social networking service, social networking website founded by David Karp in 2007 and is owned by American company Automattic. The service allows users to post multimedia and other content ...
blog with the same name. His Studio/WRKOUT was an exploration of the tropes of hypermasculinity in rap through Lacanian terms and diagrams, and an unauthorized collaboration with Chuck Inglish production. Some of Kenny's Studio Workout series was showcased in Julia Stoschek Collection Düsseldorf. Alone We Play explored intersections between internet culture and street life in U.S. cities. The
music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
for this project was directed by Jarrod Turner and released through MOCATV. Los Giros De la Siguiente (under the dkyk alias) draws parallels between being a subject of an oppressive state power and being in an abusive relationship. This project was sonically exploring connections between cumbias rebajadas and chopped and screwed hip-hop and was highly influenced by Kenny's time in Houston, Texas. Aspects of this work were shown in CAMH Houston; Santiago, Chile (as part of the Crónicas de estar y desaparecer Exhibition organized by Maricruz Alarcón and Margarita Sánchez);
Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...
, Norway as part of LEAN, curated by Legacy Russell, Associate Curator, Exhibitions; The
Studio Museum in Harlem The Studio Museum in Harlem is an African-American art museum at 144 West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. Founded in 1968, the museum collects, preserves and interprets art created by African A ...
; Shanghai, China (as part of the More More More exhibition); Berlin (sheet music was featured as part of the Strange Attractors exhibition in the Berlin Biennale 2018 curated by Nomaduma Masilela); and Long Island City, Queens, NY as part of the Rootkits Rootwork exhibition. Devin Kenny's fictional collaboration with Drag Lomax, which grew from research into Black erasure in
folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...
and early instances of counterculture in New York's West Village, has manifested in music video work shown on NYC's
High Line The High Line is a elevated linear park, greenway, and rail trail created on a former New York Central Railroad spur on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The High Line's design is a collaboration between James Corner Field Op ...
as part of the Musical Brain Organized by Melanie Kress, High Line Art Associate Curator. In 2021 Kenny made his first official release with New York-based avant-garde label PTP (also known as Purple Tape Pedigree). Devin Kenny has performed music for the influential GHE20G0TH1K party, and has collaborations with Chino Amobi a.k.a. Diamond Blackhearted Boy, avant-garde turntablist Maria Chavez, and musician/digital artist Albert Vyle Johnson. He also has created artworks centered on music such as 2Maintain for the Storefront for Art And Architecture, which centered on the use of the term ‘maintain’ in 1990s hip hop in relation to the nationwide rebellions against anti-blackness and the
Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a Decentralization, decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and Racial inequality in the United States, racial inequality experienced by black people, and to pro ...
movement in 2020.


Selected exhibitions


Solo shows

* "Ongoing, Individual Adaptability or How to Quiet Quit",
Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is a Modern art, modern and Contemporary art, contemporary American art museum located in the Meatpacking District, Manhattan, Meatpacking District and West Village neighbor ...
, 2022. * "Rookits rootwork”,
MoMA PS1 MoMA PS1 is a contemporary art institution at 2201 Jackson Avenue in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens in New York City, United States. In addition to its exhibitions, the institution organizes the Sunday Sessions performance series, th ...
, June 9-September 2, 2019. * “Wrong Window”, Aran Cravey Gallery, February 13-April 4, 2015. * "REVENGE BODY POLITICS (THE REPO MAN SINGS FOR YOU, THE SPEAKING IMPLEMENT READS FOR FILTH),”
Goethe-Institut The Goethe-Institut (; GI, ''Goethe Institute'') is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit German culture, cultural organization operational worldwide with more than 150 cultural centres, promoting the study of the German language abroad and en ...
/Ludlow 38, September 20-October 18, 2018.


Group shows

* “Coop Fund, Amalle Dublon & Constantina Zavitsanos, Devin Kenny, John Neff”,
Artists Space Artists Space is a non-profit art gallery and arts organization first established at 155 Wooster Street in SoHo, Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1972 by Irving Sandler and Trudie Grace and funded by the New York State Council on the Arts ...
, February 11-March 31, 2018. * “A New Job to Unwork At”, Participant Inc. September 9-October 14, 2018. * “Then They Form Us”, Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara, August 8, 2015 – October 25, 2015.


Selected publications


Poetry

* "Classic Man", Poetry Project, February 25, 2016.


Essays

* Devin Kenny's Decade in Internet, Rhizome, December 30, 2019. * Looking Back: BOMB on the Past Decade in Art], BOMB, December 23, 2019. * Feasts Under the Bridge, The New Inquiry. August 7, 2015. * Age of Sand/Book of Ledgers, Unbag, Spring 2017. * Altered States, Real Life. April 24, 2018.


Collections

* Whitney Museum of American Art
Not This featuring Betty Shelby, Brian Encinia, Jason Stockley, Jeronimo Yanez, and Peter Liang
(video), 2018.


References


External links

*
http://devin-kkenny.bandcamp.com/
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenny, Devin 1987 births Cooper Union alumni University of California, Los Angeles alumni American artists Living people Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture alumni