Warm and Cool Cut Torso, 12x16 inches oil on canvas panel by Kenney Mencher
$375.00
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FREE SHIPPING
THIS WORK IS ORIGINAL (NOT A PRINT OR GICLEE)
Shipping takes 3-4 Weeks
Yes, the main subject of this painting at first glance is a thick hot powerful bare torso with a defined six pack and big pecs and arms, but this painting is also about color.
I meant for this painting to be a study in contrasts in terms of color. Sometimes this is called nonlocal color. Local color refers to the actual color of an object, as opposed to colors created by transparencies, reflections, and shadows. In Impressionist paintings often the shadows are painted as blue even if the color of the object is red or orange. In a way, non-local color is the color that one actually sees rather than what we think it is. Have you ever looked at the shadows on pavement and they look blue but the pavement looks like it's brown?
This is called a warm cool color relationship.
Warm colors are made up of colors such as reds, oranges and yellows. While cool colors consist of blue, purple and greens and the shades off of those that are cooler in color temperature.
In this instance, the relationship of the blue skin tones against the orange skin tones is a cool (blue) to warm (orange) relationship.
This painting was done in the "alla prima" method. The alla prima is an Italian phrase that means 'at first attempt'. It refers to a wet-on-wet approach whereby wet paint is applied to previous layers of still-wet paint, often in a single sitting. Over the years, the technique has been adopted and adapted by artists from Van Gogh to Velázquez.
In particular I try to approach painting in several ways, I want the drawing skills, color, and anatomy to be accurate but I also try to make the compositions more interesting by avoiding a “bull’s eye” (symmetrical) composition in favor of a more exciting slightly off center or “asymmetrical” composition. I’m also attempting to work with brush work and thick and thin paint in a more stylized and calligraphic way. I want the paint to be thickest where the light is the brightest and thinner in the darker areas. The direction of the brush strokes is meant to follow and amplify the contours of the forms and make it feel more tangible.
The subject matter of most of my work is usually blatantly homoerotic or at the very least queer. I’m trying to ally with other queer and gay creators in representing people who are often marginalized by the rest of the world and make art that speaks to a community that often is silenced.
Information about the artist Kenney Mencher.
I was born in Brooklyn February of 1965. During much of my childhood I lived in Brooklyn, the Bronx, upstate NY, Sarasota, Florida and Manhattan. (Both my mother and father divorced and remarried.) The real hero of my childhood is my older brother Marc who literally changed my diapers, acted as my protector and as my role model.
I started to learn to paint and draw when I was six or seven years old and was convinced that I would be an artist from that age on.
As a teen at the High School of Art and Design I got my best training in Irwin Greenberg’s class where he taught me how to draw, oil paint and watercolor. I also attended classes at the Cooper Union and Art Students League.
My parents threw me out in my senior year of high school, so I earned my GED and worked construction on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. It was a rough time but my older brother and his partner Kirk rescued me by inviting me to move with them to Cincinnati, Ohio to live and study. While a college student, I worked in restaurants and painted as much as I could. After a year at the University of Cincinnati, I went back to the Bronx where I finished college at CUNY Lehman. Lehman is a fantastic college.
After completing my undergraduate studies, I lived in California and then Ohio completing my two masters’ degrees in Art History and Studio Art. After school I was lucky enough to have dual careers as an exhibiting artist and tenured professor.
In 2014 I began to work on paintings with a strong homoerotic content. Despite excellent sales and well received shows, the galleries I worked with wouldn’t show my new queer work, so I’ve been successfully working mainly directly with my collectors. This change has freed me and allowed me to focus on themes and subjects that, in the past, were rejected or resulted in censorship.
Things are going great! In 2016, after eighteen years of teaching art history and studio courses, I resigned a tenured professorship to pursue painting full time.
EDUCATION
1993-1995 University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
MFA Painting
1991-1994 University of California, Davis, CA
MA Art History
1988-1991 City University of New York, Bronx, NY
Magna Cum Laude; BA Art History
1988 University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
1981-1985 Art Students' League, Manhattan, NY
1978-1982 Art & Design High School, Manhattan, NY
EMPLOYMENT
1999-2016 Associate Professor of Art & Art History, Ohlone College, Fremont, CA
1998-1999 Instructor of Art History & Western Civilization, San Francisco University High School
1996-1998 Assistant Professor of Art & Art History, Texas A&M University, Laredo, TX
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2021 Lone Star Saloon, San Francisco, CA
It’s All About the Bears
2016 Tracy Center for the Arts, Tracy, CA
The Convict and the Boy, A Graphic Novel and Installation by Kenney Mencher with publication edited by the artist.
2012 Ohlone College, Fremont, CA
Renovated Reputations: Paintings, Installation and Mixed Media by Kenney Mencher with publication edited by the artist.
2012 Elliott Fouts Gallery, Sacramento, CA
Renovated Reputations: Paintings, Installation and Mixed Media by Kenney Mencher with publication edited by the artist.
2012 Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA
Renovated Reputations: Paintings, Installation and Mixed Media by Kenney Mencher with publication edited by the artist.
2012 Art Museum of Los Gatos, Los Gatos, CA
Renovated Reputations: Paintings, Installation and Mixed Media by Kenney Mencher with publication edited by the artist.
2011 ArtHaus Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Renovated Reputations: Paintings, Installation and Mixed Media by Kenney Mencher with publication edited by the artist.
2008 Sequential Art Gallery, Portland, OR
Cads and Coquettes
2008 Varnish Fine Art, San Francisco, CA
Lovers and Liars
2007 Elliott Fouts Gallery, Sacramento, CA
Faces and Farces
2007 Gallery 2611, Redwood City, CA
Clichés and Characters
2006 Klaudia Marr Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Kenney Mencher: Recent Work
2006 Elliott Fouts Gallery, Sacramento, CA
Apperceptions and Allegories
2006 Norton Studio Gallery, Pacific Art League, Palo Alto, CA
Being There
2006 Esteban Sabar Gallery, Oakland, CA
Similes and Sayings
2005 Elliott Fouts Gallery, Sacramento, CA
Hamlettes on Wry
2005 Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, Mountain View, CA
2004 Louie-Meager Art Gallery, Gary Soren Smith Center, Ohlone College, Fremont, CA
Dress Code
2004 STRS Gallery, Sacramento, CA
1997 Laredo Center for the Arts, Laredo, TX
Noir Images (Solo Show)
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2011 ArtHaus Gallery, San Francisco, CA
The Men's Room
2010 Elliott Fouts Gallery, Sacramento, CA
Go Figure
2010 ArtHaus Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Resurgence
2009 ArtHaus Gallery, San Francisco, CA
In Black and White: Monochromatic Paintings by Kenney Mencher and Caroline Meyer
2008 Art Museum of Los Gatos, CA
Sex, Politics and Misogyny, Peter Langenbach and Kenney Mencher
2006-07 Klaudia Marr, Santa Fe, NM
14th Annual Realism Invitational
13th Annual Realism Invitational
2006 Triton Art Museum, Santa Clara, CA
Beyond the Likeness: Self Portraits by California Artists
2003 Hang Gallery Palo Alto, CA
One More Thing Before I Go
1999 Jenkins-Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, CA
First Annual Realism Invitational
2001 Craighead-Green, Dallas, TX
Kenney Mencher and Connie Connally
1998 Jenkins-Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Small Works
1998 Jenkins-Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Nancy Switzer, Milt Kobayashi, and Kenney Mencher
________________________________________________________________
Ratings and Reviews
Art
Rated 5 out of 5
Kenney, another beautiful piece to add to my collection. Thank you for the fast shipping.
Ann
Rated 5 out of 5
Beautiful work, immensely talented artist, thought-provoking emotion is discovered regarding these captivating pieces by painter Kenney Mencher.
Nima
Rated 5 out of 5
James
Rated 5 out of 5
Very nice and thick paper on this print. Going to look great on the wall.
James
Rated 5 out of 5
Love it. Got the Frames in today to get it up on the wall!
Nima
Rated 5 out of 5
Such an amazing art, totally love it. And the shipping worked very well. Thx Kenney!
Joseph
Rated 5 out of 5
Beyond extraordinary! This was a gift for a friend of mine who'd spent the past six months recovering from cancer treatment.
Travis
Rated 5 out of 5
Gorgeous painting and lovely written note by artist
Joseph
Rated 5 out of 5
Art
Rated 5 out of 5
Thank Kenney for another amazing watercolor to add to my collection.
KC
Rated 5 out of 5
More outstanding work from Kenney Mencher that I am delighted to have in my home!
Jon
Rated 5 out of 5
Always great work, buy with confidence from Kenney.
ReadingMoose
Rated 5 out of 5
Couldn't be happier with my purchase.
ReadingMoose
Rated 5 out of 5
Utterly amazing work. I love looking at it!
Michael
Rated 5 out of 5
Thank you so much for the beautiful painting and the sketch . I Love them .
Kevin
Rated 5 out of 5
Beautiful artwork!! I look forward to purchasing more artwork from this amazing artist!!
Art
Rated 5 out of 5
Another amazing painting from Kenney!
Michael
Rated 5 out of 5
Many thanks !!!!!! I love it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
robert
Rated 5 out of 5
As always very zufrieden, Thank you
Benjamine
Rated 5 out of 5
Kenny is an amazing talent. The picture online does not do justice To the exquisite piece of art delivered to my home. Expertly packaged, prompt and A little something extra thrown in as a free gift. I couldn’t avast for a better experience.
markemoody435
Rated 5 out of 5
AMAZING! Photos don't capture the texture of the painting. Arrived carefully packaged.
Michael
Rated 5 out of 5
Thank you for this AMAZING and beautiful painting and the complimentary watercolor !!!
Jake
Rated 5 out of 5
I’ve purchased two painting from Kenney at this point, and I’ve yet to be disappointed. I love the character, personality, and charm that each of his works posses. Plus, Kenney is always great about getting each artwork shipped quickly and safely. So excited to add this piece to my budding collection!
THIS WORK IS ORIGINAL (NOT A PRINT OR GICLEE)
Shipping takes 3-4 Weeks
Yes, the main subject of this painting at first glance is a thick hot powerful bare torso with a defined six pack and big pecs and arms, but this painting is also about color.
I meant for this painting to be a study in contrasts in terms of color. Sometimes this is called nonlocal color. Local color refers to the actual color of an object, as opposed to colors created by transparencies, reflections, and shadows. In Impressionist paintings often the shadows are painted as blue even if the color of the object is red or orange. In a way, non-local color is the color that one actually sees rather than what we think it is. Have you ever looked at the shadows on pavement and they look blue but the pavement looks like it's brown?
This is called a warm cool color relationship.
Warm colors are made up of colors such as reds, oranges and yellows. While cool colors consist of blue, purple and greens and the shades off of those that are cooler in color temperature.
In this instance, the relationship of the blue skin tones against the orange skin tones is a cool (blue) to warm (orange) relationship.
This painting was done in the "alla prima" method. The alla prima is an Italian phrase that means 'at first attempt'. It refers to a wet-on-wet approach whereby wet paint is applied to previous layers of still-wet paint, often in a single sitting. Over the years, the technique has been adopted and adapted by artists from Van Gogh to Velázquez.
In particular I try to approach painting in several ways, I want the drawing skills, color, and anatomy to be accurate but I also try to make the compositions more interesting by avoiding a “bull’s eye” (symmetrical) composition in favor of a more exciting slightly off center or “asymmetrical” composition. I’m also attempting to work with brush work and thick and thin paint in a more stylized and calligraphic way. I want the paint to be thickest where the light is the brightest and thinner in the darker areas. The direction of the brush strokes is meant to follow and amplify the contours of the forms and make it feel more tangible.
The subject matter of most of my work is usually blatantly homoerotic or at the very least queer. I’m trying to ally with other queer and gay creators in representing people who are often marginalized by the rest of the world and make art that speaks to a community that often is silenced.
Information about the artist Kenney Mencher.
I was born in Brooklyn February of 1965. During much of my childhood I lived in Brooklyn, the Bronx, upstate NY, Sarasota, Florida and Manhattan. (Both my mother and father divorced and remarried.) The real hero of my childhood is my older brother Marc who literally changed my diapers, acted as my protector and as my role model.
I started to learn to paint and draw when I was six or seven years old and was convinced that I would be an artist from that age on.
As a teen at the High School of Art and Design I got my best training in Irwin Greenberg’s class where he taught me how to draw, oil paint and watercolor. I also attended classes at the Cooper Union and Art Students League.
My parents threw me out in my senior year of high school, so I earned my GED and worked construction on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. It was a rough time but my older brother and his partner Kirk rescued me by inviting me to move with them to Cincinnati, Ohio to live and study. While a college student, I worked in restaurants and painted as much as I could. After a year at the University of Cincinnati, I went back to the Bronx where I finished college at CUNY Lehman. Lehman is a fantastic college.
After completing my undergraduate studies, I lived in California and then Ohio completing my two masters’ degrees in Art History and Studio Art. After school I was lucky enough to have dual careers as an exhibiting artist and tenured professor.
In 2014 I began to work on paintings with a strong homoerotic content. Despite excellent sales and well received shows, the galleries I worked with wouldn’t show my new queer work, so I’ve been successfully working mainly directly with my collectors. This change has freed me and allowed me to focus on themes and subjects that, in the past, were rejected or resulted in censorship.
Things are going great! In 2016, after eighteen years of teaching art history and studio courses, I resigned a tenured professorship to pursue painting full time.
EDUCATION
1993-1995 University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
MFA Painting
1991-1994 University of California, Davis, CA
MA Art History
1988-1991 City University of New York, Bronx, NY
Magna Cum Laude; BA Art History
1988 University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
1981-1985 Art Students' League, Manhattan, NY
1978-1982 Art & Design High School, Manhattan, NY
EMPLOYMENT
1999-2016 Associate Professor of Art & Art History, Ohlone College, Fremont, CA
1998-1999 Instructor of Art History & Western Civilization, San Francisco University High School
1996-1998 Assistant Professor of Art & Art History, Texas A&M University, Laredo, TX
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2021 Lone Star Saloon, San Francisco, CA
It’s All About the Bears
2016 Tracy Center for the Arts, Tracy, CA
The Convict and the Boy, A Graphic Novel and Installation by Kenney Mencher with publication edited by the artist.
2012 Ohlone College, Fremont, CA
Renovated Reputations: Paintings, Installation and Mixed Media by Kenney Mencher with publication edited by the artist.
2012 Elliott Fouts Gallery, Sacramento, CA
Renovated Reputations: Paintings, Installation and Mixed Media by Kenney Mencher with publication edited by the artist.
2012 Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA
Renovated Reputations: Paintings, Installation and Mixed Media by Kenney Mencher with publication edited by the artist.
2012 Art Museum of Los Gatos, Los Gatos, CA
Renovated Reputations: Paintings, Installation and Mixed Media by Kenney Mencher with publication edited by the artist.
2011 ArtHaus Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Renovated Reputations: Paintings, Installation and Mixed Media by Kenney Mencher with publication edited by the artist.
2008 Sequential Art Gallery, Portland, OR
Cads and Coquettes
2008 Varnish Fine Art, San Francisco, CA
Lovers and Liars
2007 Elliott Fouts Gallery, Sacramento, CA
Faces and Farces
2007 Gallery 2611, Redwood City, CA
Clichés and Characters
2006 Klaudia Marr Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Kenney Mencher: Recent Work
2006 Elliott Fouts Gallery, Sacramento, CA
Apperceptions and Allegories
2006 Norton Studio Gallery, Pacific Art League, Palo Alto, CA
Being There
2006 Esteban Sabar Gallery, Oakland, CA
Similes and Sayings
2005 Elliott Fouts Gallery, Sacramento, CA
Hamlettes on Wry
2005 Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, Mountain View, CA
2004 Louie-Meager Art Gallery, Gary Soren Smith Center, Ohlone College, Fremont, CA
Dress Code
2004 STRS Gallery, Sacramento, CA
1997 Laredo Center for the Arts, Laredo, TX
Noir Images (Solo Show)
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2011 ArtHaus Gallery, San Francisco, CA
The Men's Room
2010 Elliott Fouts Gallery, Sacramento, CA
Go Figure
2010 ArtHaus Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Resurgence
2009 ArtHaus Gallery, San Francisco, CA
In Black and White: Monochromatic Paintings by Kenney Mencher and Caroline Meyer
2008 Art Museum of Los Gatos, CA
Sex, Politics and Misogyny, Peter Langenbach and Kenney Mencher
2006-07 Klaudia Marr, Santa Fe, NM
14th Annual Realism Invitational
13th Annual Realism Invitational
2006 Triton Art Museum, Santa Clara, CA
Beyond the Likeness: Self Portraits by California Artists
2003 Hang Gallery Palo Alto, CA
One More Thing Before I Go
1999 Jenkins-Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, CA
First Annual Realism Invitational
2001 Craighead-Green, Dallas, TX
Kenney Mencher and Connie Connally
1998 Jenkins-Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Small Works
1998 Jenkins-Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Nancy Switzer, Milt Kobayashi, and Kenney Mencher
________________________________________________________________
Ratings and Reviews
Art
Rated 5 out of 5
Kenney, another beautiful piece to add to my collection. Thank you for the fast shipping.
Ann
Rated 5 out of 5
Beautiful work, immensely talented artist, thought-provoking emotion is discovered regarding these captivating pieces by painter Kenney Mencher.
Nima
Rated 5 out of 5
James
Rated 5 out of 5
Very nice and thick paper on this print. Going to look great on the wall.
James
Rated 5 out of 5
Love it. Got the Frames in today to get it up on the wall!
Nima
Rated 5 out of 5
Such an amazing art, totally love it. And the shipping worked very well. Thx Kenney!
Joseph
Rated 5 out of 5
Beyond extraordinary! This was a gift for a friend of mine who'd spent the past six months recovering from cancer treatment.
Travis
Rated 5 out of 5
Gorgeous painting and lovely written note by artist
Joseph
Rated 5 out of 5
Art
Rated 5 out of 5
Thank Kenney for another amazing watercolor to add to my collection.
KC
Rated 5 out of 5
More outstanding work from Kenney Mencher that I am delighted to have in my home!
Jon
Rated 5 out of 5
Always great work, buy with confidence from Kenney.
ReadingMoose
Rated 5 out of 5
Couldn't be happier with my purchase.
ReadingMoose
Rated 5 out of 5
Utterly amazing work. I love looking at it!
Michael
Rated 5 out of 5
Thank you so much for the beautiful painting and the sketch . I Love them .
Kevin
Rated 5 out of 5
Beautiful artwork!! I look forward to purchasing more artwork from this amazing artist!!
Art
Rated 5 out of 5
Another amazing painting from Kenney!
Michael
Rated 5 out of 5
Many thanks !!!!!! I love it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
robert
Rated 5 out of 5
As always very zufrieden, Thank you
Benjamine
Rated 5 out of 5
Kenny is an amazing talent. The picture online does not do justice To the exquisite piece of art delivered to my home. Expertly packaged, prompt and A little something extra thrown in as a free gift. I couldn’t avast for a better experience.
markemoody435
Rated 5 out of 5
AMAZING! Photos don't capture the texture of the painting. Arrived carefully packaged.
Michael
Rated 5 out of 5
Thank you for this AMAZING and beautiful painting and the complimentary watercolor !!!
Jake
Rated 5 out of 5
I’ve purchased two painting from Kenney at this point, and I’ve yet to be disappointed. I love the character, personality, and charm that each of his works posses. Plus, Kenney is always great about getting each artwork shipped quickly and safely. So excited to add this piece to my budding collection!
