Kate Kennedy at Eclipse Mill Gallery
Social Satire with Wit and Originality
By: Charles Giuliano - Oct 05, 2025
Expect the unexpected in the brashly brilliant, printed, graphic collages in Kate Kennedy’s zippy and insightful exhibition “Graffiti” at the Eclipse Mill Gallery in North Adams.
They have the matte, flat impact of richly varied, silk screen prints. Talking with the artist I was surprised to learn that from Photoshop derived digital files they were commercially printed by Beck’s Printing in North Adams.
“Initially I went with a fine arts printer” she explained, “But the colors were muddy and they charged three times what I paid at Becks.”
The project has been labor intensive as well as mastering advanced Photoshop which she described as ‘Counter intuitive.” She told me that it entailed nine months of twelve hour days.
While the work derives from the look and psyche of Pop art that’s just a signifier and entrance portal to work that is like none other. It’s a mashup of in your face graphic design and zingy color. Then we wade into the weeds of her unique range of subject matter and scorched earth satire.
I real life, and as an artist, Kennedy takes no prisoners and does not suffer fools lightly, including our disgraceful felon and President Donald J, Trump. She deftly skewers him as an ersatz Hitler and fascist.
Numerous literary quotes lace their way through the exhibition. These range from quotes in Latin to all the great thinkers, leading poets and a generous dash of Rock’n’ Roll. To fully absorb the range of her thinking entails taking time with the work.
Press Release
A new art exhibit at Eclipse Mill Gallery entitled “Graffiti” is on view weekends from October 4th through October 26th, and by appointment (call 845-802-6813). The artist, Kate Kennedy, has produced digital collages comprised of her paintings, drawings, and photographs, overlaid with words, phrases, and timely quotes, and covering three areas: the personal, poetical, and political.
She took master classes continuously for ten years with the painter, Knox Martin, at the Art Students League of New York, and has exhibited at numerous galleries and museums in New York City, the Hamptons, and the Hudson Valley, before moving to North Adams.
Eclipse Mill Gallery is located at 243 Union St., North Adams, MA. For questions or to schedule a weekday viewing, call 845-802-6813.
Artist Statement
This exhibit is based on photos of antique boxcars, taken in Kingston, NY. The original photo from which all of these artworks were created is hanging by the entrance to the show. It was a day when I was looking for the beautiful in humble, time-worn things—old boats, antique street grates, trolleys, and the derelict boxcars. Like many of my photos, drawings, etc., the photo percolated for quite some time before I decided definitively on how to use it. The 20 pieces in this show were all created in 2025, although some elements have been used in earlier iterations.
Each artwork is a digital collage, visually comprised of my paintings, drawings, and photographs (except for the photos of Trump & Hitler, which are under license), and the accompanying graffiti. Many images carry grave messages, but there are puns, doggerel, and humor as well.
The scope of this exhibit is threefold: the personal relates to family, health & illness, farms, food, music, and quantum gravity (for no discernible reason I became very interested in it). The poetical speaks for itself, and ranges from ancient Latin to the Beach Boys, with a heavy emphasis on Eliot, Auden, Bob Dylan, and Shakespeare. Where phrases appear without attribution, they are from my original poems. Finally, the political. We are at a very dangerous turning point in this country, and I feel any and every form of protest is not only appropriate but necessary if we are to regain any semblance of a democracy.