Kennedy Yanko’s (b. 1988, St. Louis, Missouri, USA) practice bridges painting and sculpture. She is known for combining salvaged industrial metal with her signature “paint skins”—large sheets of dried acrylic paint that she manipulates into sculptural forms. Through processes of welding, bending, and layering, Yanko transforms discarded materials into dynamic abstractions that challenge conventional distinctions between surface and structure.
At the core of her practice is an investigation of material transformation and the expressive potential of matter. Drawing on traditions of Abstract Expressionism, post-minimalism, and process-based art, her works explore the relationships between materiality, space, and perception through a highly physical and experimental approach.
Yanko has exhibited internationally at institutions including the Albertina Modern, the Brooklyn Museum, the Parrish Art Museum, the Rubell Museum, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit. Her work is held in major public collections such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Recent highlights include the solo exhibitions Epithets (2025) at James Cohan, New York, and Retro Future (2025) at Salon 94. In 2026, she was included in the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, In Minor Keys, where her installation The Bond Between Matter and Heaven further demonstrated her innovative approach to contemporary sculpture.