New Exhibition: As I Am, by Kendal O'Leary

As I Am explores the fluid boundaries between identity and experience. How we see our world reflects how we see ourselves, and how we see ourselves shapes our relationship with our world.  

The title “As I Am” invites the question of who: to whom does the “I” refer? One might assume the “I” refers to the octopuses in the artwork, but the exhibit goes deeper.  As the viewer explores the exhibit, they will encounter their own reflection in strands of dangling mirrors surrounding the prints moving in the space. Their movement sets the art in motion and their presence changes the environment. 

While the mirrors in the exhibit reflect the viewers, the octopus  mirrors her surroundings in a state of continuous transformation. Her survival depends on her ability to perceive the surrounding environment and adapt. Shapeshifting, extending, and mimicking textured surfaces of surroundings, she is defined by her creativity and sensitivity. As I Am invites a meditation on our current state of existence: How does what we see, feel and absorb define us?

Octopuses represent transformation: each portrait in this exhibit is an homage to the “in between” and transitions we all experience. Never performative or posed, the portraits by Kendal O’Leary are a tribute to the often silent, but raw experiences that foster diversity and honor the creative community. Octopuses continually reinvent themselves– inspiring us to be more agile and ingenious. 

As I Am is funded with generous support from the Myers Foundations.

Bio

Kendal O'Leary is a monotype print artist and candidate for the MA in Art and Art Education at Columbia Teachers College. Her love of art began early with her mom as she worked in her ceramic studio and encouraged her to explore mediums including ceramic sculpture, textile pattern design, and life drawing. In high school, Kendal developed an affinity for painting while working alongside her Uncle Brian O’Leary, an accomplished painter, in his Bowery studio. He challenged her to search beyond the work in front of her; to abandon expectations and to create fearlessly. In her monotype prints, she continues to unhinge her works from hesitations, resisting the urge to judge and define.

During college, Kendal fell in love with monotype printing. Unlike traditional printmaking techniques, monotypes resemble painting without a canvas. As she smears etching inks onto a plexiglass plate, she creates images of octopus with intense details, like the pores of skin and the mysterious, dense, translucency of deep water. When she graduated in 2011, she was eager to return to NYC. Along with a corporate job, she rented space in the Lower East Side Print Studio and continued art coursework at the School of Visual Arts and Art Students League where she was taught by Sharon Sprung and other professional artists. During the Pandemic, a family member’s near death from Covid inspired her to prioritize what made her life meaningful. In 2021, she quit her office job and committed herself to a future focused on art.

At Teachers College, Columbia University Kendal rekindled her mission to “fearlessly create”.  Since returning to the print studio for her fall 2022 independent study, she created numerous large monotype prints and embraced a new community of artists. Now, she hopes to share her art and encourage others to fearlessly create. 

Exhibition:  September 8th -October 20th, Offit Gallery

Opening Talk and Reception:  Thursday, September 21st, 6-7:30pm, 305 Russell / Offit Gallery

Poster Image: Flutter, by Kendal O'Leary