LAURA KENNEDY | 2026 SOLO EXHIBITION
Laura E. Kennedy is a visual artist based in Nipaluna/Hobart, Lutruwita/Tasmania. Working in coloured pencil and mixed media on panel, Kennedy makes highly realistic drawings that aspire to the tradition of the European Masters – while being built from materials long dismissed as inferior, and quietly concealing the advanced technologies used in their making.
Central to her practice is a technique of her own development: successive layers of sheer pencil colour are fixed with spray lacquer, building depth and luminosity while sealing the surface without the need for glazing. The result is a drawing that holds its own against the material authority of oil painting – a quiet argument for the seriousness of her chosen medium.
Against the precision of the work itself, Kennedy’s titles are playful and intentionally long-winded, using humour to draw attention to the plight of animals and broader humanitarian causes. The titles of her most recent series address the enduring impact of colonisation on Indigenous people.
Kennedy was a finalist in the 2024 Archibald Prize with Fluroscuroreduo (diptych after Natasha Bieniek), a pair of miniature self-portraits in homage to Natasha Bieniek’s 2012 Archibald entry. Her work has been exhibited at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston, as part of the exhibition Strange Nature.