Kenny Harris Painter

Kenny Harris has traveled around the world, painting on location. He is fascinated with subtle light effects and expressive painterly surfaces, focusing on interiors or cityscapes. His dynamic paint application describes the way the light pours through space, with scrapes and impasto embodying the texture of the surfaces depicted. The paint itself becomes plaster and wood or a glint of light reflecting off a dull surface worn smooth with age. The locations chosen for these paintings span the globe from Ireland, Lisbon to Italy, London, Paris, Havana and Istanbul. Harris has been traveling and painting for many years and this body of work reflects the many disparate spaces that capture his eye for light and texture. His wife, fellow painter Judy Nimtz, appears in many of the small paintings, in the act of painting at her easel or in other quiet moments. For his large compositions, Harris chose to focus on Havana, Cuba as his subject. The colorful emptiness of its arcades and interiors evoke a stillness charged with meaning. The Cuban people are waiting in anticipation for what is to come and these empty spaces are emblematic of this suspense. Harris’s paintings are at once both modern and nostalgic. Harris is represented by George Billis Gallery in New York City.

Painting is an art form that has spanned innumerable cultures, with artists using the medium to tell stories, explore and communicate ideas and express themselves. To bring abstract, landscape and still-life paintings into your home is to celebrate and share in the long tradition of this discipline.

When we look at paintings, particularly those that originated in the past, we learn about history, other cultures and countries of the world. Like every other work of art, paintings — whether they are contemporary creations or works that were made during the 19th century — can often help us clearly see and understand the world around us in a meaningful and interesting way.

Cave walls were the canvases for what were arguably the world’s first landscape paintings, which depict natural scenery through art. Portrait paintings and drawings, which, along with sculpture, were how someone’s appearance was recorded prior to the advent of photography, are at least as old as Ancient Egypt. In the Netherlands, landscapes were a major theme for painters as early as the 1500s. Later, artists in Greece, Rome and elsewhere created vast wall paintings to decorate stately homes, churches and tombs. Today, creating a wall of art is a wonderful way to enhance your space, showcase beautiful pieces and tie an interior design together.

No matter your preference, whether you favor Post-Impressionist paintings, animal paintings, Surrealism, Pop art or another movement or specific period, arranging art on a blank wall allows you to evoke emotions in a room while also showing off your tastes and interests. A symmetrical wall arrangement may comprise a grid of four to six pieces or, for an odd number of works, a horizontal row. Asymmetrical arrangements, which may be small clusters of art or large, salon-style gallery walls, have a more collected and eclectic feel. Download the 1stDibs app, which includes a handy “View on Wall” feature that allows you to see how a particular artwork will look on a particular wall, and read about how to arrange wall art. And if you’re searching for the perfect palette for your interior design project, what better place to turn than to the art world’s masters of color?

On 1stDibs, you’ll find an expansive collection of paintings and other fine art for your home or office. Browse abstract paintings, portrait paintings, paintings by popular artists and more today.