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b. 1998 | Boston, MA

lives and works in Kingston, NY

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Abbi Kenny (b. 1998 in Boston, MA) is an artist based in Kingston, NY. She received her MFA in Painting from Boston University College of Fine Arts (2024) and her BFA with honors in Painting and a minor in the Theory and History of Art and Design from the Rhode Island School of Design (2020). She is a Lecturer of Painting and Drawing at Purchase College, SUNY. In recent years, Abbi has lived in Brooklyn, Boston, Toronto, and Providence. While at RISD, Abbi participated in the European Honors Program in Rome, Italy. She is a recipient of the Royal Drawing School Dumfries House Estate drawing residency and grant near Cumnock, Scotland (2019), the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant in Painting (2022), a residency and Cottage Award at the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild Artist Residency (2024), and, most recently, a residency at the Vermont Studio Center (2026). Her work has been published in New American Paintings, Maake Magazine, and the Observer. She had her debut solo show, The Tasting Room, at Main Projects in Richmond, VA (2026), and her work has been exhibited at September Gallery in Kinderhook, NY; Field Projects in New York, NY; Morgan Lehman Gallery in New York, NY; and the RISD Museum in Providence, RI, among others.

Education

2024 MFA in Painting, Boston University, Boston, MA.

2020 BFA with Honors in Painting and a concentration in the Theory and History of Art and Design, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI.

2019 European Honors Program, Fall Semester, Rhode Island School of Design, Rome, Italy.

Solo and Two Person Exhibitions

2026

The Tasting Room, Main Projects, Richmond, VA.

2023

Negotiating Melting States and Soft Landmarks: Sarai Bustos and Abbi Kenny, Commonwealth Gallery, Boston University, Boston, MA.

Group Exhibitions

2026

(forthcoming) GAVONES, Calandra Institute at CUNY, New York, NY.

Wilt, The Living Room Project, Ulster Park, NY.

here where the body knows it can hurt, Vox Populi, Philadelphia, PA.

Twenty x Sixteen, Morgan Lehman Gallery, New York, NY.

Speakeasy Happy Hour curated by Luke Whittaker, UTOPIA, Kingston, NY.

2025

Visionary Deck Exhibition, CLBHUIS at Posthoornkerk, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Dogs & Cats, September Gallery, Kinderhook, NY.

Les Dîners de Gala, Main Projects, Richmond, VA.

The Viewing Room, Deanna Evans Projects, New York, NY.

Alt TXT, Field Projects, New York, NY.

Byrdcliffe Reflections, Kleinert/James Center for the Arts, Woodstock, NY.

Trick Mirror, Warner Gallery, Millbrook School, Millbrook, NY.

2024

Group Crit: MFA Painting and Sculpture 1969–2024, 808 Gallery at Boston University, Brookline, MA.

This Time Tomorrow, Morgan Lehman Gallery, New York, NY.

Eat With Your Eyes, Gallery 263, Cambridge, MA.

Boston University MFA 2024 Exhibition, Stone Gallery at Boston University, Boston, MA.

Gather & Devour, curated by Lily Hotchkiss and Francesca Rosati, SideRail Collective, Seattle, WA.

2023

Intersections: Artistic Dialogues in Boston’s Graduate Fine Arts Community, Piano Craft Gallery, Boston, MA.

Eat Me, curated by Natalie Kates, Collar Works, Troy, NY.

2022

Coming Home, Abigail Ogilvy Gallery, Boston, MA.

2021

Have You Eaten?, curated by Sonja John, The Yard: Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY.

Flat Files 2021, curated by Kate Mothes, Collar Works, Troy, NY.

2021 Emerging Artist Exhibition juried by Erika b Hess Cambridge Art Association at Kathryn Schultz Gallery, Cambridge, MA.

Rhode Island Community Invitational, Providence Art Club, Providence, RI.

Life on Venus III: The Organic, The Tub Hackney, London, United Kingdom.

Life on Venus II: The Human, The Tub Hackney, London, United Kingdom.

2020

Bull in a China Shop, Tchotchke Gallery, Online Exhibition, New York, NY.

RISD Senior Show 2020, Rhode Island School of Design, Woods-Gerry Galleries, Providence, RI.

The Color of Fruition curated by Kaylee Hennessey, Abby Ouellette, and Savanna Nelson, House of Venus Gallery, SoWA Pop-Pop, Boston, MA.

RISD Senior Show 2020, Rhode Island School of Design, Virtual Exhibition, Providence, RI.

BFA Show 2020, Serving the People, Virtual Exhibition

The Color of My Land curated by Alla Alsahli and Muram Bacare, Gelman Gallery, RISD Museum, Providence, RI.

Grant, Awards, & Residencies

2026

(January) Residency at the Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT. 2024 (August) Byrdcliffe Artists-in-Residence and Cottage Award, Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild, Woodstock, NY. 2023 MFA Merit Scholarship 2023-24, Boston University, Boston, MA.

2022

The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant, Montreal, Canada.

MFA Merit Scholarship 2022-23, Boston University, Boston, MA.

2020

Artist Relief Fund Grant from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.

Presidential Scholarship, Summer Workshop: Portraiture and Figuration Virtual Seminar taught by Catherine Opie, Helen Molesworth, and Nicole Eisenman, Anderson Ranch, Snowmass Village, CO.

2019

(August) The Dumfries House Drawing Residency and Grant, The Royal Drawing School, The Dumfries House Estate, Cumnock, Scotland, UK.

Curatorial

2024

This Time Tomorrow, Morgan Lehman Gallery, New York, NY.

2023

Surficial Deposits, Ramp Collective, Boston University, Boston, MA.

2021

Look Who’s Coming to Dinner co-curated with Luke Whittaker, Virtual Exhibition on Artland at Machines with Magnets, Pawtucket, RI.

Awards

2026 New American Paintings, MFA Annual Issue #183, 2026.

2026 Christa Terry, “Abbi Kenny, Beyond the Still Life,” Observer, March 17, 2026,

2025 Maake Magazine, Issue #17, 2025.

2025 New American Paintings, Northeast Issue #176, 2025.

2025 AHA! A House For The Arts, “Don’t Watch This Don’t Episode on an Empty Stomach,” WMHT, Troy, NY, August 13th, 2025.

2021 “Re-Emerging Together: Artists, Audience Reunites at Cambridge Art Association,” Artscope, July/August Issue 2021.

Collections

Fidelity Investments Corporate Art Collection

Last Updated 24.10.37

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