Michael Kennaugh
Broken Bridge
January 10 – February 21, 2026
Reception for the Artist Saturday, January 10, 3-5 pm, Artist Talk 4 pm
Moody Gallery is proud to present “Broken Bridge,” an exhibition of recent oil paintings and works on paper by Michael Kennaugh. “Broken Bridge,” Kennaugh’s eleventh solo show at the gallery since 2002, is on view January 10 – February 21, 2026.
Michael Kennaugh’s latest non-representational, geometric compositions are lively, highly structured, and obliquely poetic. These works, rendered in a mostly muted, somber palette, feature compactly arranged shapes. Each dense, grid-like composition is teeming with structures and forms that interlock with precision. However, they are not the product of calculations or numerous preparatory studies. Rather, the artist’s process is intuitive. Reliant on instinct and spontaneity, Kennaugh has little interest in traditional mimesis or referential replication. Instead, through his art making, Kennaugh strives to create a visual language of his own, a world unto itself. To do so, he paints, overpaints, works, and reworks his compositions to completion. Though his compositions are geometrically founded, Kennaugh does not strive to hide the fact that they are human made. Rather than aiming for a depersonalized, fully industrial style, Kennaugh employs expressive brushwork and leaves traces of his process, his starts, stops, edits, and changes. Kennaugh’s current style draws and builds upon a variant of modernist painting that was originated by Cézanne and carried through the twentieth century to the present day by countless luminaries. And though Kennaugh has evidently digested the artistic innovations of Cézanne, Picasso, Klee, Gorky, Braque, and more, his style is resolutely vital, fresh, and highly personal. Kennaugh embraces the sensuous capabilities of nonrepresentational painting and does not shy away from the evocative effects of abstract art. He christens his compositions, products of the artist’s emotions and experiences, with poetic, suggestive titles, sometimes appropriated from popular culture, thus adding a further layer of meaning to each work.
Michael Kennaugh (b. Wyoming, 1964) currently lives and works in Houston, Texas. Raised in Southeast Texas, Kennaugh earned a B.F.A. degree from Lamar University (1986) and a M.F.A. in painting from the University of North Texas (1990). Kennaugh also attended The American College of Switzerland in Leysin (1990) and participated in an artist residency at the William Flanagan Memorial Creative Persons Center in Montauk, Long Island (1996). Today, Kennaugh’s art can be found in the permanent collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Art Museum of Southeast Texas, the Houston Airport System, Tyler Museum of Art, Mobile Museum of Art, and Lamar University.
Moody Gallery is open Tuesday - Friday 10:30 am - 5:00 pm and Saturday 11:00 am - 5:00 pm. For more information, please call or email the gallery at 713-526-9911 or info@moodygallery.com. “Michael Kennaugh – Broken Bridge” can also be viewed online at www.moodygallery.com.