Artist Detail

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Adam Kemp

Visual Artist: Jewelry - Visual Artist: Paintings - Visual Artist: Sculpture/Pottery

About the artist: Born in 1962 in the Essex countryside in a village called Ugly, Mr. Kemp grew up with parents who were passionate gardeners and Adam and his siblings spent endless hours outdoors, building walls and paths and creating special spaces with natural found objects. He was intrigued with the fact that his father would “paint with flowers”. His mum, dad and three brothers still reside in England.
Mr. Kemp attended Newcastle Upon Tyne University where he graduated with Honors. He lived and studied in Italy for a year where he worked as everything from an apprentice to bicycle detective to wood and antique restorer to tourist guide. Mr. Kemp then moved to Grand Forks to attend the University of North Dakota where he graduated with a Masters in Fine Arts. He has taught for five years with the North Dakota Museum of Art Summer Art Camp. Most recently he has been working with the Lutheran Social Services and their “Day Report After School Program.”
The body of work on exhibit at the Third Street Gallery is a collection of new work Mr. Kemp has been working on. He states “I am currently struggling to use my academic training in my everyday life.” The painting “Earth Mover” is work in which Mr. Kemp has taken elements of his everyday life such as carpet remnants and cockleburs and has painted them using traditional oil paint. Then there is a series of paintings commenting on the changing landscape of the Red River Valley by documenting the new landscape created by the dyke project. This is a wonderful opportunity for the community to view the variety of work created by one of Grand Forks premier artists.