Debbi Kenote

Debbi Kenote is a New York-based artist who received her BFA from Western Washington University and her MFA from Brooklyn College. Formally rooted in abstraction, Debbi’s paintings and drawings take on natural and anthropomorphic forms. Filtering her view of the world through her own artistic lens, Debbi develops a visual lexicon that exceeds the limits of shape and communicates something beyond the surface of her painting.

Debbi Kenote’s Abstract Style and Practice

The works are as playful as they are mysterious, conjuring an unsettling feeling of peering into an unknown space. This space is not absolutely defined either; instead of denying the existence of a frame, Debbi works her painting to subtly push against and break free from its borders. Colourful shapes devolve into abstract patterns, curves, and bold blocks of colour, peeking out from the frame. She places multiple works of different structures together, forming puzzling installation pieces that suffuse distinct moods and demand to be explored.

Exhibitions, Press and Residencies

She has shown her work internationally, including at Kate Werble Gallery, Hollis Taggart, Fir Gallery, Duran|Mashaal, and the Cob Gallery. Her paintings have been on display at several art fairs, including Art Toronto, Art Plural, and SPRING/BREAK Art Show. Debbi’s work has been published in Elle Magazine, Maake Mag, The Hopper Prize, and Art of Choice. She has been an artist in residence at the Cob x PLOP Residency, the Saltonstall Foundation, Vermont Studio Centre, DNA Residency, Nes Artist Residency, and CAI Projects. In 2021, she was shortlisted for the Hopper Prize. She has curated exhibitions at Open House and SPRING/BREAK Art Shows in 2018, 2019, and 2021.