Hello, I'm Rebecca.

I have always painted inches away from my canvas. From solitary owls to noble horses, loyal dogs to children playing, I’m most comfortable with large expanses of canvas, when I can work almost from within the painting, stepping away and then back in, until it is able to breathe on its own. 

My work has evolved to match the freedom and expansiveness that Vermont offers. Similarly, I co-created a paint recipe blending oils, wax, and chalk that captures the luminescence and movement of the animals and people before me. 

Recently, I began The Neighbor Project, a series of paintings that invites anyone to sit for me and allow me to capture them in a moment. These paintings are a celebration of the raw, messiness and beauty of being human alongside each other. 

From simplified images of children mid-leap to majestic animals who stop for a split-second, my paintings are an invitation to immerse yourself in a fleeting moment - to catch something of your own life in their eyes, and something of theirs in yours.

Rebecca Kinkead

Bio

Rebecca Kinkead is a Vermont-based artist who lives and works in Cornwall. She holds degrees in Political Science and French from the University of Vermont, and a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art from Minnesota State University. Her work began with clay and transitioned to paint in 1998. Kinkead has been awarded residencies at the Ballinglen Arts Foundation, County Mayo, Ireland; Baer Art Center, Hofsos, Iceland; Jentel Foundation, Banner, Wyoming; and most recently, the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, Vermont. Her work has been exhibited and collected nationally and internationally for over two decades.

Kinkead's search for authenticity manifests with an immediacy of process. The form of the sitter arrives with a sense of physical presence and vulnerability that the artist holds sacred in her work. The quote by Nikola Tesla is central to her painting process:

 “If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.”

Kinkead began The Neighbor Project in August of 2019 and has painted over 550 individuals to date. The project began on her porch in Vermont as an invitation to her neighbors and has since expanded to include chapters at a special needs preschool in MA, the Daystation in Burlington, and the Downtown Middlebury Portrait that will be exhibited at the Sheldon Museum in the spring.  On March 23rd, as social distancing became the norm across the globe, Rebecca began the FaceTime chapter of A Neighbor Project, inviting anyone around the world to sit for a thirty-minute portrait session over Face Time. She projected a map of the world on her studio wall, traced it, and began painting volunteers over FaceTime on 7” x 5” panels. The portraits are attached to the map wall according to their location. 

Curriculum Vitae

EDUCATION 

1998 BA Minnesota State University, Mankato, MN
1997 MS Minnesota State University, Mankato, MN
1990 BA University of Vermont, Burlington, VT

AWARDS & FELLOWSHIPS

2018 Ballinglen Arts Foundation, Fellowship in Rural Ireland, Ballycastle, Co. Mayo, Ireland
2018 Vermont Studio Center, Artist Residency
2017 Jentel Foundation Residency, Banner, Wyoming
2016 Baer Art Center, Artist Residency, Hofsos, Iceland
2004 Ballinglen Arts Foundation, Fellowship in Rural Ireland, Ballycastle, Co. Mayo, Ireland

SOLO & TWO PERSON EXHIBITIONS

• "Against Wings", paintings and poems (with poet Ben Humphries), Exhibition Gallery at the Johnson Building, Middlebury College, Middlebury VT, 2024
• Henry Sheldon Museum, Middlebury, VT, 2020
• A Neighbor Project, Studio exhibition, Cornwall, VT 2019
• Gallery MAR, Park City, UT, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
• Northern Daughters, Vergennes, VT, 2017
• Maine Art Gallery, Kennebunk, ME, 2016, 2017, 2018
• Whistler Contemporary, Whistler, BC, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
• Edgewood Orchard Gallery, Fish Creek, WI, 2015, 2016, 2018
• Edgewater Gallery, Middlebury, VT, 2013, 2014, 2016
• Clark Gallery, Lincoln, MA, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2015
• West Branch Gallery Stowe, VT, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015
• Cavalier Galleries, NYC, 2015
• Mclarry Modern, Santa Fe, NM 2010, 2012, 2013 

• Judy Saslow Gallery, Chicago, IL, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
• Landau Gallery, Belmont Hill School, Belmont, MA, 2007
• Cushing-Martin Gallery, Stonehill College, Easton, MA, 2006
• Nesto Gallery, Milton Academy, Milton, MA, 2006
• Christopher C. Brodigan Gallery, Groton School, Groton, MA, 2005
• The Great Hall, The Roxbury Latin School, West Roxbury, MA, 2005
• Minnesota State University, Conkling Gallery, Mankato, MN, 2003
• University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, 2003
• Fresh Art Gallery, Denver, CO, 2002

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

• I.D.E.A. Museum, Mesa, Arizona, 2017
• Bowery Gallery, New York, NY, 2017
• Gardner Colby Gallery, Naples, FL, 2013, 2014, 2015
• Rice Polak Gallery, Provincetown, MA, 2015, 2016, 2018
• Shain Gallery, Charlotte, NC, 2013
• Pryor Fine Art, Atlanta, GA, 2009, 2010, 2011
• Courthouse Gallery, Ballinglen Arts Foundation, Ballycastle, Ireland, 2004, 2005, 2011
• Barbara Krakow Gallery, Boston, MA, 2006, 2007, 2008
• Decordova Museum, Lincoln, MA, 2003, 2008
  

• New Art Center, Newton, MA, 2008
• Firehouse Gallery, Burlington, VT, 2007
• The Fessenden School, Newton, MA, 2003
• The Media Gallery, Boston, MA, 2001
• Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, MA, 2001
• Southern Minnesota Clay Center, St. Peter, MN, 1998
• Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, MN, 1998
• Minnesota State University, Mankato, MN, 1997, 1998
• Arts and Heritage Center, St. Peter, MN, 1997

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

• The Chronicle of the Horse, Spring issue, 2021
• Architectural Digest, February 26, 2021
• The Lancet, January 6, 2018
• The Chronicle of the Horse, Spring issue, 2016
• Boston Magazine, Spring issue, 2016
• Alan Maguire, Park Record, March 6, 2015
• Nicki Escudaro, American Art Collector Magazine, April 2015
• Xian Chiang - Waren, Seven Days, Vermont, April 2014
• CS Modern Luxury, April, 2013
• Bonnie Gangelhoff, Southwest Art Magazine, May, 2012
• Life and Dog Magazine, May, 2012
• Scott Iwasaki, The Park Record, February, 2012
• Jay Hamburger, The Park Record, January 2011
  

• Papas, Steven, Times Argus, March 6, 2011
• Journal of the Moffitt Cancer Center, Spring, 2011
• Southwest Art, December, 2010
• McQuaid, Cate Review, Boston Globe, May 8, 2008
• Genes, Culture, and Human Evolution, Linda Stone and Paul F. Lurquin, 2007
• Roanna Forman, Artscope Magazine, September 10, 2006
• Lincoln Journal, January 6, 2005
• McQuaid, Cate Review, Boston Globe, January 7, 2005
• Awodey, Marc Review, Seven Days (Burlington, VT), September 17, 2003
• Tougas, Joe Review, The Free Press (Mankato, MN), October 16, 2003
• McQuaid, Cate Review, Boston Globe, November 8, 2002
• Lincoln Journal, November 7, 2002

SELECTED COLLECTIONS

• Chautauqua Institution, Chautauqua, NY
• Baer Art Center, Hofsos, Iceland
• Oprah Winfrey
• Gayle King
• Pepsico
• University of Virginia Children's Hospital
• Powdr Corp
• Beijing Joy FM, Beijing, China
• Radisson Blu Aqua, Chicago, IL
• Putnam Investments
• David York, Museum of Dog, North Adams, MA
  

• Tufts Floating Hospital for Children, Boston, MA 
• Ballinglen Museum of Contemporary Art, Ballycastle, Co. Mayo, Ireland
• AstraZeneca, Waltham, MA
• Genzyme, Cambridge, MA
• Lightbridge, Burlington, MA
• Marriott Courtyard Hotel, Waltham, MA
• Meditech, Boston, MA
• Minnesota State University, Mankato, MN
• Fletcher Allen Hospital, Burlington, VT
• Chico Hot Springs, Pray, Montana

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