Kenney Mencher
Chicago, Illinois | kenney.mencher@gmail.com | kenneymencher.com
Figurative painter, art historian, curator, and educator. Current paintings and works on paper examine aging, masculinity, private rooms, mirrors, memory, and the social experience of looking and being seen.
Current Project
2026–present
Self-Directed: Pictures of Men, Age, and Everyday Life, ongoing series of paintings and works on paper.
Selected Solo and Two-Person Exhibitions
2021
It’s All About the Bears, Lone Star Saloon, San Francisco, California
2016
The Convict and the Boy: A Graphic Novel and Installation, Tracy Center for the Arts, Tracy, California
2012
Renovated Reputations, Ohlone College, Fremont, California
2012
Renovated Reputations, Elliott Fouts Gallery, Sacramento, California
2012
Renovated Reputations, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California
2012
Renovated Reputations, Art Museum of Los Gatos, Los Gatos, California
2011
Renovated Reputations, ArtHaus Gallery, San Francisco, California
2009
In Black and White, with Carolyn Meyer, ArtHaus Gallery, San Francisco, California
2009
Cool Shades, with Linda Sheets, Dahlia Woods Gallery, Dallas, Texas
2008
Sex, Politics and Misogyny, with Peter Langenbach, Art Museum of Los Gatos, Los Gatos, California
2008
Cads and Coquettes, Sequential Art Gallery, Portland, Oregon
2008
Lovers and Liars, Varnish Fine Art, San Francisco, California
2007
Faces and Farces, Elliott Fouts Gallery, Sacramento, California
2007
The Return of the Maltese Falcon, Dahlia Woods Gallery, Dallas, Texas
2007
Cliches and Characters, Gallery 2611, Redwood City, California
2006
Recent Work, Klaudia Marr Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2006
Apperceptions and Allegories, Elliott Fouts Gallery, Sacramento, California
2006
Being There, Norton Studio Gallery, Pacific Art League, Palo Alto, California
2006
Similes and Sayings, Esteban Sabar Gallery, Oakland, California
2005
Hamlettes on Wry, Elliott Fouts Gallery, Sacramento, California
2005
Solo exhibition, Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, Mountain View, California
2004
Dress Code, Louie-Meager Art Gallery, Ohlone College, Fremont, California
2004
Solo exhibition, California State Teachers Retirement System Gallery, Sacramento, California
2001
Kenney Mencher and Connie Connally, Craighead-Green Gallery, Dallas, Texas
1997
Noir Images, Laredo Center for the Arts, Laredo, Texas
Selected Group Exhibitions
2025
Smash the Cis-tem, Adler Arts Center, Libertyville, Illinois
2011
The Men’s Room, ArtHaus Gallery, San Francisco, California
2010
Go Figure, Elliott Fouts Gallery, Sacramento, California
2010
Resurgence, ArtHaus Gallery, San Francisco, California
2006–2007
13th and 14th Annual Realism Invitationals, Klaudia Marr Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2006
Beyond the Likeness: Self-Portraits by California Artists, Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara, California
2003
One More Thing Before I Go, Hang Gallery, Palo Alto, California
1999
First Annual Realism Invitational, Jenkins-Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, California
1998
Small Works, Jenkins-Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, California
1998
Nancy Switzer, Milt Kobayashi, and Kenney Mencher, Jenkins-Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, California
Selected Publications, Press, and Professional Activity
2023
“Artist Kenney Mencher Proves that Daddy Bears Are Classical Beauties,” Bear World Magazine
2022
“Galleries, Gay Male Art & Bear Bodies!” Bear World Magazine
2009
Mary Anne Kluth, “Kenney Mencher and Carolyn Meyer: In Black and White,” Shotgun Review; originally prepared for Artweek
2007
Rebecca Wallace, “Something to Talk About,” cover story, Palo Alto Weekly
2007
Articles on painting and studio practice, The Artist Magazine
Additional press includes American Art Collector, KQED, East Bay Express, San Jose Mercury News, Sacramento Bee, and regional arts publications.
Cover design and illustration for books by Jonathan Woods, Dave Zeltserman, Gil Brewer, and Hannah Gerber, 2007–2010.
Creator and instructor of online courses in art history, studio practice, and the business of art.
Selected Collections
Private and corporate collections include Josh Kornbluth; Howard Tullman; Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP; Founder’s Title & Trust; and Mary Kisler, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, New Zealand.
Education
1995
MFA, Painting, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
1994
MA, Art History, University of California, Davis
1991
BA, Art History, magna cum laude, City University of New York, Lehman College
Additional study: Art Students League of New York; High School of Art and Design, New York; Cooper Union weekend program.
Academic and Curatorial Appointments
2024–present
Adjunct Instructor in Humanities, College of Lake County, Grayslake, Illinois
2022–2024
Adjunct Instructor in Art History and Studio Art, De Anza College, Cupertino, California
2019–2023
Instructor in Art History, West Valley College, Saratoga, California
1999–2016
Professor of Art and Art History, Ohlone College, Fremont, California
1998–1999
Instructor of Art History and Western Civilization, San Francisco University High School, San Francisco, California
1996–1998
Assistant Professor of Art and Art History, Texas A&M University, Laredo, Texas
1995–1996
Curator of Visual Resources and Adjunct Instructor, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
Selected Lectures and Papers
2006
“The Figurative Tradition and Realism,” Pacific Art League, Palo Alto, California
2002–2003
Guest lectures, Hang Gallery, San Francisco, California
1998–1999
Guest lecturer, Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory, San Francisco, California
1997
“Pompeii as an Artifact of Civic Pride,” Laredo Rotary, Laredo, Texas
1996
“A Brief Tour of the Acropolis,” Classics Week, Texas A&M University, Laredo, Texas
1993
“Mannerism and Architecture,” University of California, Davis
1992
“Art as Ideology,” University of California, Davis
Selected Awards
1993–1995
Full Tuition Scholarship, University of Cincinnati
1991
Departmental Honors in Art, Lehman College
1991
Geldwerth Scholarship, Lehman College
1990
Jacob Hammer Memorial Award in Playwriting, Lehman College
1990
Raymond J. Sontag Prize, History Department, Lehman College