Kennell

Birds invite the past and the future and thus constitute a kind of language. Birds invite the past because they are descendants of dinosaurs. Biologically, birds today represent that distant reptilian past. Birds also invoke the future because they are ascendant. By occupying the sky, birds come to represent the space where the future lies, just beyond our grasp. If we can attain a birds-eye-view, we can see more of what lies ahead.

The bird form is very compelling to an artist like Don Kennell, who is inspired by nature, but also drawn to a modernist aesthetic. The colors and angles of birds inspire a modernist conversation about form, shape and color. The process of layering up metals to create the form gives the work an industrial modernist sensibility. Since much of the metal is also up-cycled, it further retains a postmodern awareness of multiple narratives.