Seed and Beyond II

Date1964

Maker Leo Kenney born 1925, Spokane, Washington; died Seattle, Washington, 2001

Label TextAlthough Kenney’s paintings after 1962 are wholly abstract, their symbolism was deeply felt and their spell is even more intense than that cast by his self-referential allegorical pictures. Now the symbolism is universal and not simply personal. This intricate ovoid design suggests seeds deep within a living, expanding space. It is perhaps an embryonic form, or the cosmos.

Object number64.139

Photo CreditPhoto: Elizabeth Mann

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, University of Washington, Henry Art Gallery, Exhibition of Flower Paintings, 1964. Mount Vernon, Washington, Skagit Valley College, 1965. Olympia, Washington, State Capitol Museum,Governor's Invitational Exhibition of Washington Artists, 1967. New York, New York, National Institute of Arts and Letters, Award Winners Show, May 24 - June 25, 1967. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Leo Kenney Retrospective, 1973. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Map, Northwest Traditions, June 29 - Nov. 19, 1978. La Conner, Washington, Museum of Northwest Art, Leo Kenney - Celebrating the Mysteries: A Retrospective, June 2, 2000 - Oct. 1, 2000. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Asian Affinities, Aug. 28, 1999 - Jan. 2, 2001. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Robert Davidson: Abstract Impulse, Nov. 16, 2013 - Feb. 16, 2014 (New York, New York, Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, Apr. 12, 2014 - Sept. 28, 2014). Text by Barbara Brotherton. No cat. no., p. 36, reproduced fig. 11.Published ReferencesBrotherton, Barbara. Robert Davidson: Abstract Impulse. Exh. Cat. Seattle, Washington: Seattle Art Museum, 2013-14; p. 36, reproduced fig. 11 [not in exhibition].

Credit LineEugene Fuller Memorial Collection

Dimensionssheet: 19 1/2 x 15 1/8 in. (49.5 x 38.4 cm) mount: 20 7/8 x 16 5/8 in. (53 x 42.2 cm)

MediumGouache on Chinese paper mounted on painted composite board