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Acrylic
Dimensions: 40 in. x 58 in.
May 31, 2022

The Artwork

Brenda Kingery says "My paintings have been described as Narrative Symbolism, beginning with thin acrylic washes. The next stage in the process may be as many as 25 layers of thin, hand-painted lines and more layers of washes that define the composition. The lines are almost like tapestries that are telling stories visually. Textile and dance are major components in my paintings. The paintings begin abstractly and move as in dance, becoming a visual record of cultures. Art becomes the embodiment of culture, recording visually a cultural identity."

The Artist

Brenda Kingery (Chickasaw) is an internationally exhibited contemporary artist working in mixed media. Born in Oklahoma City, Kingery earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts and history from the University of Oklahoma. She attended graduate school at Ryukyus University in Okinawa and completed a master’s degree in arts from the University of Oklahoma.

Kingery returned to Okinawa, where she taught drawing, painting, and Okinawan cultural history for the University of Maryland’s Far East Division. She later settled in San Antonio, Texas, where she taught at San Antonio College. Her artwork has been displayed in many private, corporate, and public collections around the world and is part of numerous permanent collections.

Kingery is the founding member of Threads of Blessing International, an organization that teaches textile art and design to women in developing countries to use their indigenous artistic skills. In 2007, Kingery was appointed by the president of the United States to the board of trustees of the Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts Development of Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Her efforts to empower women around the world led to her being named the Dynamic Woman of the Year for the Chickasaw Nation in 2017. Kingery was also inducted into the Chickasaw Nation Hall of Fame in 2019.