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Abbi Kenny, Beyond the Still Life

On her canvases, food becomes something more than sustenance: a record of memory, a symbol of identity and a window into other people’s lives.

Hudson Valley-based painter Abbi Kenny works within one of art history’s oldest traditions: the painted still life. Since the Dutch Golden Age, artists have used food to explore themes of abundance, mortality and the passage of time, and Kenny’s approach to the subject similarly transcends mere documentation. Diagnosed with celiac disease in 2021, she developed a deep, personal connection to food—not just as sustenance but as a cultural artifact that carries history and meaning. “We lived near the St. Lawrence market, and as I was shopping, I saw it was just really beautiful,” she told Observer. Initially inspired to simply paint her market hauls, food eventually became a lens through which she could reflect on memory, tradition and personal identity. Her condition made participation in certain rituals difficult, and that sense of exclusion heightened her awareness of the cultural and historical significance food holds, pushing her to explore it in her artwork. Food, as she put it, can be a container for bigger ideas.

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Over time, her art—which has been exhibited at Morgan Lehman Gallery in New York City, Collar Works in Troy, New York, and the RISD Museum in Providence, among other venues—has shifted from a surface-level exploration of food and memory to a more expansive and nuanced investigation into the connections between culture, context and personal history. Her process is an intricate blend of personal history and technical........

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