A Name to Know: Kemar Keanu Wynter

Our monthly spotlight on a rising artist

Kemar Keanu Wynter is an artist you should know. He approaches painting in an alchemical way, having refined his processes over years of experimentation while still allowing for chance and surprise to occur in each. Though some may look at Kemar’s work and see a lively yet soothing abstract painting, the artist looks at the work as a language he’s discovered, knowing exactly where specific marks come from and what each splash of color refers to. The elements and phenomena that comprise each piece are akin to cooking, an act that Kemar is relating to each time he steps into the studio.

Name: Kemar Keanu Wynter
Mode: Painting
Homebase: Brooklyn, NY

INSIDE THE STUDIO

How would you describe the moment when you feel a work is complete?
I can tell in my gut when a painting is finished. I was a very anxious child which meant that when things felt stressful or out of order those feelings manifested as stomach aches. Now, a decade into my studio practice and hundreds of works under my belt, those stomach aches have been tempered into a low static hum. As I get to the latter stages of working, I can feel that hum swelling, reaching its apex as I put my brushes and buckets down. The agonizing part is waiting for the day or so it takes for the surfaces to dry so that I can peel them up off the floor, but when a painting gets pinned to the wall and every element in that moment seemingly locks into place— Silence, calm. An ease washes over my body and I can find resolution in the finished painting.

What was the process like of finding the materials (surface, paint, etc.) you feel best convey your practice?
Material selection is a relatively slow, methodical process initiated once I run up against a limitation in the studio. Prior to these last two years, I worked almost exclusively with heavyweight papers from French Paper Co. out in Niles, Michigan. The hinderance that arose stemmed from a desire to work beyond bodily scale, 6’ and beyond, and a realization that my oil pastel paintings would get to be too cumbersome to handle alone at that size with their delicate surfaces. Over the coming months, I researched synthetic papers to maintain some familiarity with past work and was led to Evolon, a synthetic microfiber commonly used in archival applications. I experimented with the microfiber consistently for half a year but it wasn’t until I had the desire to transition towards working with fluid acrylics that Evolon took a paramount role in the studio. With the microfiber structure being far more robust than that of typical papers and easily capable of absorbing multiple times its weight in water, you need only look at each painting to see how harnessing those properties were integral to making this latest suite a success.

Do you listen to anything while you work?
I go back and forth between music and audiobooks fairly often. I just finished Octavia Butler’s “Parable of the Sower” and “Parable of the Talents” last week which, though rough to paint to, and listen through, were incredibly vital to experience with the current state of affairs. I’d say my music tastes are somewhat eclectic but my current listening habits are triangulated between Toro y Moi, Kendrick Lamar and Nala Sinephro. If you want a sensuous, window seat view out to the cosmos, certainly go listen to Nala.

OUTSIDE THE STUDIO