Biographical Sketch

Garry Kennard was born in London in 1948. His training in art came, in his very early years, from his father and, later, from his art teacher Alfred Taylor. In the sixties and seventies he exhibited his paintings and woodcuts in several London galleries, studied print making and printing for artists with the great printer Ian Mortimer and appeared in the BBC series ‘The Craftsmen’.

For ten years he lived in France, where he ran his own gallery. The gallery - Atelier La Serre - was used for exhibitions, lectures and concerts.  Now resident in the UK, he has recently exhibited his paintings and drawings in London, Oxford, Cambridge and Winchester.

A fascination with how the brain reacts to works of art has lead him to research, write and lecture on these topics. He has recently lectured at the Conway Hall, London, at Clare Hall, Cambridge University and at the BA Science conference at Exeter University. His essay ‘The Uses of Paradox’ was published by the University of Florida’s ‘Institute for the Psychological Study of the Arts’. His essay 'Art and Mind' was published in 'The Journal of Neuroscience' 2007.

Garry Kennard has an interest in mountaineering and has climbed in the Alps, Africa and has lead his own expeditions to the Nepalese Himalayas.

A detailed list of recent activity can be found here.

Art and Mind

Garry Kennard is now the director of ‘Art and Mind’, an organisation whose remit is to present to the public, by way of festivals and other events, what light current research in neuroscience can throw on contemporary culture. Six festivals and other events have been organised and have taken different themes. Art and the brain, humour, religion, language, architecture and birth and death have all been topics examined by these public events. Now in working in association with the University of Winchester, Art and Mind is planning more events for the coming years, including ‘Identity and the Brain – the Truth of Masks’ (March 2008).

You can find out more about this at www.artandmind.org. If you would like to be put on our mailing list please e-mail Garry Kennard at garry.kennard@btopenworld.com.

all images and text © Garry Kennard

Self portrait - Yellow background, 1998.