Kenny McKay, born in 1941 in Mt. Vernon, NY, is the youngest of the artists who experienced lengthy hospitalizations, having lived with mental illness since childhood and having spent more than 20 years in Creedmoor State Hospital before returning to the community to live in a group residence.
Food is very important to Kenny and his early paintings reflect that. The coffee cup was a frequent subject. The prominent teeth are a frequent feature in his work. Kenny’s own teeth were removed while at Creedmoor as a form of preventive dental care. Birds with a Cup of Coffee 10 x24" – watercolor, marker and crayon - also incorporate a frequent feature in his work, blue birds. These blue birds appear friendly – sometimes they have a more demonic quality and sometimes they are green, Kenny’s favorite color.
In a way, McKay’s recent compositions come full circle, returning to the layering of the transparent images from his first coffee cup, but with so much more sophistication. Kenny is a remarkable artist andperson – so severely ill, yet so intelligent. Despite a limited formal education, he is knowledgeable about old movies and the Renaissance. Kenny's humor is apparent in his coffee cups and his recent works incorporate very funney word puns. Having spent so much of his life isolated – both in the hospital and in the community – yet his intellect and humor remain intact.
Food is very important to Kenny and his early paintings reflect that. The coffee cup was a frequent subject. The prominent teeth are a frequent feature in his work. Kenny’s own teeth were removed while at Creedmoor as a form of preventive dental care. Birds with a Cup of Coffee 10 x24" – watercolor, marker and crayon - also incorporate a frequent feature in his work, blue birds. These blue birds appear friendly – sometimes they have a more demonic quality and sometimes they are green, Kenny’s favorite color.
In a way, McKay’s recent compositions come full circle, returning to the layering of the transparent images from his first coffee cup, but with so much more sophistication. Kenny is a remarkable artist andperson – so severely ill, yet so intelligent. Despite a limited formal education, he is knowledgeable about old movies and the Renaissance. Kenny's humor is apparent in his coffee cups and his recent works incorporate very funney word puns. Having spent so much of his life isolated – both in the hospital and in the community – yet his intellect and humor remain intact.
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