EXPLOSIONS OF JOY: JESSICA KENYON
JESSICA KENYON
The joy of color explodes in Jessica Kenyon’s fine art photographs.
Bright billowing liquid clouds, caught in stop-motion, create gorgeous shapes, bursting with energy. Kenyon photographs ever-changing compositions of ink and flowers as they move through water.
Each image captures an ephemeral moment, a fact that adds to its beauty. Check out Ingrid Fetell Lee’s TED Talk on The Aesthetics of Joy to get more insight.
“My work is a meditation on impermanence,” Kenyon explains, “to capture a feeling of change… Compositions reveal themselves to me as the water pushes and pulls my delicate subject matter.”
While there is delicacy in the work, the resulting images exude strength and power.
“My artistic process is full of surprises and is a beautiful reminder of life's fragility and the highs and lows we all experience.”
Kenyon’s own life is a testament. In 2013, she suffered an injury which rendered her bedridden for over 2 years. She had to give up her job as a grants administrator for a non-profit. And she had plenty of time to ponder new ideas.
When she felt well enough, she began to experiment with photography at home, working with a makeshift photography studio she built around her dining room table.
The uncertainty and constant change Kenyon was experiencing became an inspiration for her. She became interested in shooting constantly moving subjects – liquid and smoke. She began to inject ink into water, and a whole new career was born.
Citing photographer Steve McCurry as an influence, and with a B.A. in Art History from Cornell University, Kenyon built her own new career as a fine art photographer. She moved to Durango, Colorado and opened a studio, where she produces both fine art works and images for commercial clients, such as Adobe, Anthropologie, and Urban Outfitters.
Each piece is a happy surprise. Kenyon’s newest work is inspired by her surroundings, with local fruit trees “exploding with blossoms.”
These color bombs looks especially impactful in large format. Kenyon’s sister, Christina, an interior designer, frequently includes large framed prints in her rooms. Check it out at Christina Croll Interiors.
Read more about Explosive Beauty. And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Wellness, Impact, Nature/Science, Food, Arts/Design, and Travel, Daily Fix posts.
Do you have amazing photos? Enter them in this week’s BN Photo Competition.
IMAGE LIST:
- Image: by Jessica Kenyon. “Crackling Vinyl.”
- Image: by Jessica Kenyon. “Abstract Flower Art No. 1.”
- Image: by Jessica Kenyon. “Neon Harvest.”
- Image: by Jessica Kenyon. “Summer of Love.”
- Image: by Jessica Kenyon. “Abstract Flower Art No. 4.: Peony.”
- Image: Dining room interior design by Christina Croll. Framed art by Jessica Kenyon. Courtesy of Christina Croll Interiors.
- Image: by Jessica Kenyon. “Cloud 9.”
- Image: by Jessica Kenyon. “Behave.”
- Image: by Jessica Kenyon. “Summer of Love.” Detail.
- Image: by Jessica Kenyon. “Free Like Me.”
- Image: by Jessica Kenyon. “Abstract Flower Art No. 14.: Ranunculus.”