JANNE KEARNEY

At first glance, the most extraordinary paintings are photographically perfect renderings of young people, with black backdrops. Each delicate figure has angelic skin, realistic hair and hauntingly beautiful eyes. They wear expressions of sweet, ethereal adoration, with hearts radiating from their chests, into neon stars and fireworks. Love is in the air. The works are captivating, but when viewed through 3D glasses, the real magic occurs. Elements in some of the oil paintings actually appear to jump off their canvasses. It was impossible to stifle my gasp when I first experienced the visual punch from Kearney’s 3D pieces. The cleverly disguised brilliance was accomplished with regular brushes, paint and some inventive mastery. “I create each piece to look like a stand alone painting, but special effect glasses split the images into three planes of depth for a 3D experience, without the fuzzy-edged look of traditional 3D images,” Kearney said.

It’s easy to see why she was a 2015 finalist with Miasma, in the internationally renowned BP Portrait Awards in London. The piece features in her most recent solo exhibition, which communicates the experiences of young love and displacement, set against urban decay. While Dystopia (meaning noxious grunge, fear and hopelessness) sounds depressing, the pieces are uplifting, beautifully rendered representations of yearning for belonging. A rainbow motif runs throughout each piece, uniting them as a series. The diverse colours of the rainbow represent inclusivity, tolerance and acceptance in ancient traditions, and recent Western culture.
Excerpt from article by Jodie Whittaker, 2015

Kearny has exhibited widely and has an impressive award history. She most recently was a finalist in the Glencore Percival Portrait Painting Prize, the Wyndham Art Prize, Lethbridge Art Prize and the Stanthorpe Art Prize. In 2015, Kearny was a finalist in the Kennedy Prize, a semi-finalist in the Doug Moran, a semi-finalist in the BP Portrait Prize London, and a finalist in the 2015 Geelong College Art prize. She is a four-time finalist in the Calleen Art Award (2016, 2012, 2011, 2010) and has been a finalist in the Black Swan Portrait Prize, the Linden Postcard Show and the Portia Geach Portrait Prize, among many others.