Kennedy Yanko Three Generations

Three Generations is a presentation of process. It’s a sequence of discoveries and blueprints that allude to the iterative aspect of refinement and becoming. Moreover, it’s a visible timeline of interaction—of how Yanko has engaged with and considered her materials, paint skin and metal, in recent past.

Recoil (2017) is an entirely metal work; Prototype (2018) is a largely metal work that incorporates faint moments of cream paint skins; and Regeneration (2021) is nearly a different species of work that backgrounds the metal elements and foregrounds the paint skin’s full capacity.

This painterly language—background and foreground—is an intentional, full-circle nod to Yanko’s beginnings with metal and to her current vantage point. When she first introduced metal to her paint skins, it was because she’d exhausted other supports (canvas, rubber) and was seeking a material as malleable as paint; something gestural, something kinetic. With metal, she found a new way to “paint.” She let the elements find their reciprocity before heightening the tensions between them, thus essentializing their relationship.

Now we understand Yanko’s trajectory: first, she had to experience metal in isolation, in its own right. She then needed to experiment with placing paint skins within the framework metal offered as she better understood the medium; finally she returned to the paint skins, honoring their potential and her first love.

With Three Generations we gain privileged access into the incremental strides that artists make as they endeavor, and we get to experience Yanko’s growth firsthand.

For information about the exhibition, please contact Storey Schifter at storey@salon94.com

For press inquiries, please contact Michelle Than at michelle@companyagenda.com