Kenneth Addison

Kenneth Addison uses everything from brightly colored magazine clippings, to scratched and battered metal plates from the bottom of tap shoes, to using oil pastels and the batik process on Japanese paper. His original work depicts a social tapestry of images reflective of his commitment to change, relationships, and community.
“My images are more than pictures; they represent people’s lives and fond remembrances.”

Losing his parents at an early age, Kenneth was more determined to put his visual thoughts on paper. He remembers his turning point being when he won an award in sixth grade to attend an art workshop at the Westchester County Center one summer. He was the only child and the only African American in the group. From that point on, Ken felt a confidence in his work.

By high school, Kenneth was even more confident in his craft and his skills. His art teacher, however, did not share the same opinion. “My teacher told me I should consider another profession besides art. She completely ignored me and my work.”

After high school, Ken discontinued his artistic pursuits; not because of what his teacher had said, but because he really did not see art as a viable option for himself. “I did not know of any Black artist at the time. I didn’t think there were any, except for my close childhood friend, Jeffrey Horton. Little did I know there was also Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence, Lucille Malkia Roberts, just to name a few.”

In his young adulthood, Ken moved to California in the Bay Area. Eventually he took art classes at California College of Arts and Crafts and City College of San Francisco. As Ken worked fervently, his art gave him a new, yet familiar voice. This new voice allowed Ken to make social comment through a different media.

“All of my work speaks to interrelationships and the more noble qualities of African American life and community. I never use my work to tear down. I always use it to build up and edify. I think a lot of that is because my major audience is young people who may not have encountered the more noble qualities of their community.”

A native New Yorker, Kenneth Addison reflects that his scenes are derived from “a simpler, less chaotic time for the African American community.” Those scenes whirl and pulse with the rhythm of that time, yet in content, they are timeless.