Nick Kennedy / Painting that Tells Time (17)

NICK KENNEDY
Painting that Tells Time (17)
 
2024
Acrylic and gouache on board, various clock parts
200mm x 200mm x 40mm
 
This work was produced on the occasion of the exhibition Always and Never the Same at Artshed Glaisdale, a duo show with the painter James Hugonin. It is one of 52 painted objects made especially for the show, which were displayed in an asymmetrical grid on the large gable wall of the gallery. 
 
It is part of an ambitious on-going series of work where Kennedy will make one ‘clock’ for every minute of the 12 hour period, 720 in total. Each work exists as a functional timepiece but will always be a part of this larger conceptual group.
 
All works are priced according to the amount of time spent making them. Parts + Labour. 
 
“Kennedy’s new work raises questions about the relationship between a painting and the artist’s labour that it incorporates. Each clock is set to its own unique time, referenced in its composition, but the price of each work is determined according to the time it took the artist to produce it.  While making the work he recorded a timesheet per clock – clocking in and clocking out to make a calculation of its value. Through this method of placing financial value on the work, the artist’s labour time is made explicit. As Kennedy remarks, 
 
I'm always interested in the way things work and how the world works. Time is a key social construct which enables us to organise and manage our lives. I’m interested in considering value in painting and its relationship to time.”

 
Harriet Suttclife, extract from exhibition text