Kenneth Ian Husband was born in 1980 in New York and showed an early interest in art, encouraged by his father. He used art as an escape from his parents' separation and substance abuse issues. He struggled with depression from a young age. After high school, he worked various jobs including as a commercial fisherman. Following a breakup, he rediscovered art and began creating abstract paintings using experimental techniques. His representational work combined impressionism with raw emotion. He had successful solo shows starting in 2009 and installations incorporating his life experiences. He recently moved to Pennsylvania to help his parents and continues pursuing his art career.

1. Kenneth Ian Husband was born on September 13th 1980 on long island NY, to Irene and Kenneth Husband.
His mother Irene worked most of his childhood as a casher and later was a full time home maker. His father
Kenneth was an artist in the 60's and 70's before becoming chairman of Sperry's Gyroscopes and then later
an inspector for the Long Island Rail road.
Kenneth was encouraged at a young age to express himself visually and completed his first brush painting
by age six. Kenneth and his father would frequent world class art museums and gallery's in NYC regularly
leading to his first main understanding of art. This understanding came from a trip to the Metropolitan
museum of art where his father and him were viewing classic renaissance paintings, across the hallway
there stood a huge canvas from Mero. A 20 foot by 20 foot canvas with two colored circles and nothing
more. Young Kenneth asked his father what the purpose of this painting was. He could not understand how
this abstract painting that required so little execution could sit just feet away from masters of the
renaissance. After his fathers explanation they continued their day and again on the train ride home
Kenneth scoffed about the Mero painting and his father again gave him an answer to why it deserved to be
in the museum. Again at the dinner table Kenneth put Mero on the chopping block but this time his father
posed a question, "If the Mero painting is so inferior to the renaissance masters why are you still speaking
about it. Of all the technical masters you viewed today still the only painting your speaking of is from that
talentless Mero, There must be a reason for that". And with that a cord struck with Kenneth, a deeper
understanding of art had just entered his mind, and that lesson would never be forgot.
Art had become a way for young Kenneth to escape the torments of his life. By the time of 12 he would
take every art class available and draw on his own free time, anything to distract from the obvious
separation and substance abuse of his parents. His beloved father was now on his 11th attempt at
becoming sober, entering into a long time inpatient rehab "topic house" and him and his mother were
continuously moving from one apartment to another, from one relative to another before finally settling in
with his fathers father in Manorville Long Island. All prior and during this time Kenneth used his art to
escape and grow, to imagine a world that did not exist.
By age 15 his father was sober and had reconciled with his mother, so now it was his mother, father,
grandfather and himself. They moved to Patchogue Long Island and finally Kenneth had the stability he had
sought in his childhood. Allthough things seemed ok on the surface Kenneth had started a new battle, this
time with depression, but as always his answer solution was found in art. As always Kenneth took as many
art classes the school would offer and it was there he discovered his second understanding of art, this time
a more personal understanding. Although his technique was sound he was rarely the best in the class, top2
or 3 maybe but never technically the best. He needed something else to put him over the top. It was his
senior year and it was the final exam, the project was to present the years notes in a creative way. Some
students would do obvious things, color a binder, message in a bottle and such, but Kenneth remembered
Mero, so simple, so impactful. His final project was a cardboard cut out wattu (a character from the star
wars series), He then baked a bluefish in the summer sun inside of a ziplock bag, also inside of the bag was
a rattrap holding the bluefish to his years notes. After attaching the bag to the cardboard cutout as Watto's
stomach he brought it in the school. It was a bulky project but nothing seemed to odd about it, the smell of
the rotted fish was not there due to the ziplock bag. As it was his turn the teacher asked what he had done.
Kenneth explained "All due respect Mr Schultz but if I had to go through crap to take these notes all year I
feel you should have to go through crap to read them, please check the stomach". With that the teacher
opened the bag and the foul smell filled not just the classroom but the entire art wing at the school. Mr
Schultz did view the notes briefly and then ordered it out of his room. Upon returning Kenneth received a

2. 100 on the project and it was by far the most talked about project that year. Years later Kenneth ran into
mr. Schultz and his wife, he shared that every year he tells his students that story explaining that art can be
much more then shading and composition.
After high school Kenneth went to Suffolk county community college. His parents were unable to help him
with tuition and after 2 semesters Kenneth had to leave due to financial hardships and find a job.
Construction held him over for awhile but within a year he found his non artistic calling, he became a
commercial fisherman on the Endorphin out of Montauk NY. Kenneth credits his hard work ethic and
mental toughness to the "Atlantic ocean work till you bleed college". During these years not much art
would get done. Instead he would be out to sea 300 days a year enjoying traveling the northern east cost of
the united states. After five years he felt it was time to settle down and start a family. Kenneth got a job as
a sign installer and 6 months later he found Katie. Things went well, first they got an apartment and later a
house. After a serious car accident Kenneth was unable to work for 6 months, during this time his job was
filled and he was unemployed, he decided to use this new freedom to renovated the house, it took 9
months. Shortly after completion of the house Katie left him for a friend of his, and Kenneth's life came
crashing down. Again the depression he battled with for so many years came rushing back. Kenneth was
left without a job, he left the house he built because he couldn't bare to be there, he rarely painted or
drew, he was no longer a fisherman and was forced to move back to his parents a broken shell of himself.
After moving back home Kenneth's father offered advice. "Kenny why not paint and draw, you use to find
so much joy in it. I just think it might help with your head". It was then Kenneth made a deal with himself, "I
will do one painting a day this way at days end I have accomplished at least one thing". Around this time his
old teenage friend Eddie was going through a very similar situation. They use to plain air paint together
and decided creating art again was something worth doing, and so they painted everyday. Eventually
Kenneth's Grandfather bought a shed and placed it in the backyard so they would have a studio and they
entered something of a golden age in there life and art. Working side by side and alone each rediscovered
themselves through art. For Kenneth who would consider himself in younger years as a surrealist in the
European teachings found his mentality no longer matched his style, He turned to freeform abstract using
what he called a "loss of control" technique. This instituted extremely thinned out paint of different
mediums to create a resistance between oil based and water based paints, as well as wood stains and
various other mediums. Laying the canvas flat on stretchers he would pour the paint on much like Pollock,
the main difference being that when Kenneth was done painting and satisfied with the visual look, over the
night the paint would drip over the ends of the canvas. Coming into the studio the next morning the
painting would rarely resemble what he had done the night before. This was an exercise in futility for
Kenneth, showing that no matter how much control we think we have in life ultimately things are out of
our control, all we can do is try and accept the changes that happen beyond our control.
During these "loss of control" paintings Kenneth was also painting more representational work that
combined his love of impressionism with the raw emotion found in expressionism. Often these paintings
would be done minimalistic as he try's to get the most emotion out of the least amounts of movement.
Kenneth began to show his work in 2009 but came into his own in 2010. By 2011 he was invited to have a
solo show at the university of Wisconsin and he still considers this to be one of his greatest achievements.
He was quoted as saying "imagine that, a non college graduate invited to show his work to people I always
considered above myself, the academics of the art world". By 2012 Kenneth had garnered several solo
shows throughout Brooklyn, and NYC as well as became a regular seller at these shows. Kenneth was
shown at art fairs such as the Armory fountain, South Hampton art fair, and art expo in Chelsea NYC .

3. Kenneth was not a fan of these art fairs though, he was never able to get a full booth to himself to
showcase his artwork and often felt without that he would just be one artist among thousands.
It was from Dr. Robert Baker Kenneth felt most comfortable showing his work. Dr. Bob owned a gallery on
long islands east end (circa something gallery) and was an art coinsure. After a solo show the year before
with Dr, Bob Kenneth brought in his unseen representational work and set up Kenneth's most successful
show to date. Kenneth's new work was much more then an idea he put on canvas, it was a journal of his
life. These paintings showed his most recent loss of his family's house and studio to superstom sandy as
well as the passing of his beloved grandfather. The paintings were about his upcoming move to
Pennsylvania and him taking care of his father who was recently blinded due to glaucoma. These paintings
were much more personal with the subject matter that went into his lifelong fight with depression and how
he lived the past year in a camper on his front lawn. Kenneth knew his paintings were what he wanted but
he still wanted more. He wanted to push the point that this was his life on view. It was then he came up
with the idea to dismantle his flood ridden studio and reassemble it inside of the gallery before he moved
off his property. Kenneth wanted to use this installation to push his paintings subject matter over the line
and show he was not just another artist, he wanted to show that he was on his way to be a top artist in a
otherwise full long island art scene. After months of preparation and the logistics of dismantling and
moving a 12 foot by 12 foot shed/studio 15 miles and reassembling it inside of a gallery, the show went off
better then he could of hoped, as well as getting press Kenneth had sold a total of 12 paintings as well as
many drawings and sketches, He sold more in one show then any east end artist that summer. Things went
so well Kenneth wanted to do it one more time on a larger scale with the artist who was side by side with
him the entire time, his long time friend Eddie Rehm. Working with Conception events They procured a
inaugural spot at the new 15000 square foot Conception Gallery for the show entitled "Brink". Among
Kenneth and Eddie were seasoned artists such as Greg Haberny, Stephen Hall, and Ka-son Reeves. It was
Obvious from the start that Kenneth's Installation "misappropriation of a modern artifact" was the feature
and garnered most of all the attention. Kenneth was featured in the Wall street Journal, PaperMag, and
Artillery Magazine to name a few as well as in the Primetime news including NY1.
Kenneth Has recently moved to his new home in York PA where he helps his father and mother and
continues to paint and live his dream each and everyday. When asked what his plans for the future are he
explained that he'll continue to fuse installations and paintings "I know i'm not the first person to do this,
but I am the first person to show Kenneth Ian Husband, and I think I can do it so anyone can understand it,
not just the art educated, I want my work to impact people, to have them leave understanding our lives
might be different but not by that much, I want them to see themselves when they look at my work". Right
now, some ware in York PA, Kenneth is getting his next show ready