Debbi Kenote has a fascinating backstory. Spend a moment looking into it, and you’ll find references to her upbringing on Fidalgo Island, a small island off the coast of Washington State—a kind of rural utopia shaped by making, where she grew up surrounded by seamstresses, quilters, and woodworkers. That lived sensibility—and an innate sensitivity—is on display in the artist’s current exhibition, No place out of the wind, on view at Cristin Tierney Gallery.
On the occasion of the show, Kenote reflects on the evolution of her practice—from immersive installations to the intricately constructed shaped canvases she makes today. Rooted in poetry, abstraction, and sculpture, her paintings resist a singular narrative, instead inviting you to experience the lived impressions embedded in her work. They tell a story of home—of a sense of place, a moody dreamland, and spiritual encounters with nature, all filtered through an amalgamation of memories.
Here, she discusses her process, the role of craft and construction in her work, and the literary and artistic influences that continue to shape her thinking.
What were your early works like, and how have your works evolved over time?
I completed a BFA in Painting, followed by an MFA in Sculpture. At times I have felt misaligned with the rigid, male-centric history of painting, which has led me to explore other experimental avenues of the medium. During my MFA I made installations that visitors could physically enter, which I envisioned as three-dimensional painting worlds. When I graduated in 2016, I began experimenting with sculptural surfaces I could paint on, starting first with cubes, then jigsawed panels. Around 2021 I began crafting shaped canvases and joining multiple pieces together with brackets. This current work has really expanded from this direction.
