Meet
Cab Kenningale
14 March, 2023
By: Tal Levy
'Something’s Comin’ Round the Bend'
Spray Paint & Gloss on Canvas
120x155cm
Tell us about yourself.
I’m Cab Kenningale, painter and collage artist based in Suffolk U.K.
Where did your passion for art begin?
At first like most kids, using pens and crayons. I’d endlessly draw the characters of the day, Ninja Turtles, Mario and Sonic. I wasn’t part of a particularly artistic family so when I got to school and had access to art books and saw what was possible it was pretty mind blowing.
'Days of Wild Abandon'
Oil bar, Spray Paint & Fabric tape.
51x61.5cm
How would you describe your work to someone?
I consider all my work to be a landscape of sorts, I’m just painting what’s around me. Spray paint from utility companies on the floor, discarded plastic forming abstract shapes in hedges and tarmac channels in the sidewalk. I’m drawn to accidental mark making and giving it some special importance and value.
What are you currently working on?
I usually have 2-3 large scale stretched canvases on the wall and 4-5 artists panels laying on the floor. I have a bunch of modelling clay that’s been sitting on the shelf for the past couple of months, I’m waiting for an idea to grab me to start using it.
When you start a new work or project, do you plan what you’re going to create or do you improvise?
I move between painting directly to canvas, using a sewing machine and collaging pre cut pieces on panels. All the canvas lays either in big blue IKEA bags or on bulldog clips on the wall. I start by pulling out parts and layering them on the floor then decide which of the three methods works best.
'Point of No Return'
Spray paint, oil stick, canvas & screws on plywood
20x30cm
Can you highlight some of your influences and discuss how your influences have made an impact on you and your practice?
I have this exhibition catalogue of Raymond Saunders paintings from the 90s which I constantly go back to. I love all the classic assemblage artists, anyone who sticks things down. Looking at collage helps me understand layering and depth, important elements in my painting work.
What are your plans for the remainder of this year?
Teaching my son to hold a paintbrush. I will also be showing work in the upcoming Felt collection (@felt.collections) in September.