Dr Dean Kenning
Faculties, departments and locations
- Kingston School of Art
- Department of Fine Art
- School of Arts
Research Fellow
- Email:
- [email protected]
About
I am an artist and writer. I was born in Hounslow, where I did a Foundation in Art & Design at the local college. I went on to study Fine Art at Goldsmiths College and completed a PhD at the London Consortium in 2008, developing a critical theory of 'idiocy' in art.
I make motor and sensor based kinetic sculptures, seeking to generate pathos, humour, nervous attention and a feeling of life ('vitalist kinetics'). I also have a wide-ranging diagramming practice ('exploratory diagrams'), a research method traversing artistic form, theory and pedagogy. My video and performance-based works adopt a satirical and parodic approach to social and cultural material.
I was winner of the Mark Tanner Sculpture Prize 2020-21, making robotic 'crawlers' for the touring exhibition ‘Evolutionary Love'. Other recent solo exhibitions have taken place at Matt's Gallery (2019), Beaconsfield (2019) and Piper Keys (2018). I have shown works internationally at group exhibitions and events including Guest, Ghost, Host: Machine, Serpentine Marathon (2017); and EXO EMO, Greene Naftali (2017). Collaborative projects include the Diagram Research Group at Flat Time House (2020), the Capital Drawing Group at Bergen Assembly (2019) and Diagram Research Use & Generation Group (DRUGG) at the ICA (2015). I co-curated Poor Things with Emma Hart at Fruitmarket (2023), a sculpture show about social class. I'm represented by Division of Labour.
I have published articles on diagram theory and practice, artistic pedagogy, ‘idiot art', and the politics of the art world and art education in journals including Third Text, Arts, and the Journal of Visual Art Practice. Drawing Analogies: Diagrams in Art, Theory + Practice by DRG will be published by Bloomsbury in 2025
I supervise practice-based doctoral students at the Contemporary Art Research Centre and have overseen a number of successful PhD completions as first supervisor.
Qualifications
- PhD: 'The Political Nature of Art Today', London Consortium/Birkbeck College, 2008
- MA: Literature, Culture and Thought, Queen Mary, University of London, 2001
- BA: Fine Art, Goldsmiths College, 1997
- Foundation in Art & Design, Hounslow College, 1991
Domains
I have developed a diagram-based pedagogy in the areas of art practice, critical theory and philosophy.
'Exploratory diagramming' allows anyone to work through problems and construct new objects in real time by means of manual inscription: drawing analogies and plotting relations (across fields, states, etc.). These methods are used in workshops including 'Social Body Mind Mapping' and diagramming workshops for close reading of philosophical texts (e.g. ‘Plato's Caves' workshops), and 'Inside the Black Box of Generative AI.
These diagramming workshops have been run with students and lecturers at various levels (from A-level to PhD) and across institutions and disciplines, including Kingston University, London School of Economics, Institute of Education (UCL), Central St Martins (MRes Moving Image; MRes Art & Philosophy; MA BioDesign), University of Worcester and Goldsmiths College.
My research activity consists of art practice, practical pedagogy and art theoretical writing.
The art is produced through hands-on material and process-based experimentation, and in the spirit of DIY problem solving. It often engages directly with political, philosophical and scientific ideas and theories, for example in the areas of cybernetics, biosemiotics, political philosophy and Marxist economics.
My kinetic and animatronic sculptures and sound works are focussed not on technology for its own sake but on an experiential ‘vital aesthetics' of movement, particularly nervous or compulsive movement which is instinctively suggestive of 'life'. Pathos and alertness are introduced to moving objects through abject materiality and the non-slick manual nature of construction; through 'liveness' and non-predictability with regard to e.g. speeds and movement (floppy, juddering); and through the ways visitors trigger effects in non-obvious ways via sensors. If the possibility for emergence is one motivation for this – the allowance for contingencies to effect the way the work looks or sounds at any moment, then another motivation is to counter 'seriousness' and the gallery's authority through humour and B-movie special effects.
I have used the term 'exploratory diagramming' to describe a transdisciplinary method of abductive and figural-gestural thinking-through-drawing – as evident in artworks such as Metallurgy of the Subject; Making Sense, and images and animations for Capital Drawing Group (see Teaching for pedagogical use). I have written on ‘diagrammatology', drawing particularly on the theories of Peirce, Chatelet and Deleuze.
As First Supervisor I have overseen five successful PhD completions (all with no amendments): Rachel Cattle, Bill Leslie, Maryam Tafakory, John Hughes and Lucy Coggle.
I am interested in supervising practice-based doctoral candidates in the areas of kinetic/robotic and sensor based sculpture, art education, biosemiotics/cybernetics/emergence-informed practice, art and politics (political economy and class), AI and diagramming/diagrammatology.
Specialisms
- Contemporary Art
- Kinetic Sculpture
- Diagrammatics
- Art Education
- Politics of Art
Scholarly affiliations
- Diagram Research Group
- Ways of (Machine) Seeing
Publications
Exploratory diagramming and diagram theory: Greimas, Peirce and Châtelet
Kenning, Dean, 2021, Journal of Visual Art Practice (20), 3 pp 177-195, Published
What we do and what is done to us: teaching art as culture
Kenning, Dean, 2019, Arts (8), 1, Published
Art world strategies: neoliberalism and the politics of professional practice in fine art education
Kenning, Dean, 2019, Journal of Visual Art Practice (18), 2 pp 115-131, Published
Book Review of 'Who runs the artworld: money power and ethics' by Brad Buckley and John Conomos (eds)
Kenning, Dean, 2018, International Journal of Education Through Art (14), 3 pp 397-399, Published
Art & Politics: which side is art on
Kenning, Dean and Kern, Margareta, 2013, Art Monthly (369) pp 1-4, Published
What schools can offer art: towards an avant-gardist conception of gallery education
Kenning, Dean, 2013, Visual Culture in Britain (14), 3 pp 319-341, Published
Refusing conformity and exclusion in art education
Kenning, Dean, 2012, Revista de Gastroenterologia de Mexico, Published
Drawing analogies: diagrams in art, theory and practice
Burrows, David, Cussans, John, Kenning, Dean and Yacoob, Mary (2025). London, U.K.: [Published]
Poor things
(2023). Edinburgh, U.K.: [Published]
Vitalist kinetics
Kenning, Dean, Barratt, Martha, Roberts, John, Hart, Emma, Seers, Lindsay and Klassnik, Robin (2022). London, U.K.: [Published]
Reclaim the mural
Drew, Benedict, Hart, Emma, Jenkins, Dal, Kenning, Dean and Till, Corinna (2013). London, U.K.: [Published]
Deleuze’s living diagram pt. 1: from structural to intensive relations (the biological idea)
Kenning, Dean (2025). In: Burrows, David, Cussans, John, Kenning, Dean, Yacoob, Mary, (eds.), London, U.K.: pp 108-130 [Published]
Deleuze’s living diagram pt. 2: from structural to nervous analogy (Francis Bacon)
Kenning, Dean (2025). In: Burrows, David, Cussans, John, Kenning, Dean, Yacoob, Mary, (eds.), London, U.K.: pp 133-152 [Published]
Diagramming theory: diagrammatic drawing as a method of close reading across disciplines
Kenning, Dean (2025). In: Luís Almeida, Paulo, Bismarck, Mário, Catarina Silva, Maria, Alegria, Pedro, (eds.), Porto, Portugal: pp 161-174 [Published]
Foreword
Kenning, Dean (2020). In: Sharp, Andy, (eds.) pp 9-15 [Published]
The Zone
Kenning, Dean (2018). In: Duman, Alberto, Hancox, Dan, James, Malcolm, Minton, Anna, (eds.), London, U.K.: pp 413-420 [Published]
Dr Dean Kenning is a Research Fellow in The School of Fine Art at Kingston University. He is also a writer and an artist, most recently writing about art education. We interviewed him at the Royal Festival Hall, London.
Kenning, Dean (2016). In: Allen, Jo, Rowles, Sarah, (eds.), London, U.K.: pp 221-232 [Published]
Learning in art and design education
Addison, Nicholas, Burgess, Lesley, Kinsella, Victoria and Kenning, Dean (2015). In: Addison, Nicholas, Burgess, Lesley, (eds.), Abingdon, U.K.: pp 21-70 [Published]
Thinking through art: the social body mind map
Kenning, Dean (2015). In: Addison, Nicholas, Burgess, Lesley, (eds.), Abingdon, U.K.: [Published]
Circling the borders
Kenning, Dean (2010). In: Sassi, Andrea, (eds.), Reggio Emilia, Italy: pp 28-40 [Published]
Diagramming theory: diagrammatic drawing as a method of close reading across disciplines
Kenning, Dean(2024). [Published]
Ways of machine seeing: learning experiments in computer vision
Davey, Annie and Kenning, Dean(2024). [Published]
Work and work
Cooper, Andrew, Kenning, Dean and Russell, John(2024). [Published]
Metallurgy of the subject
Kenning, Dean(2018). [Published]
Exploratory Diagrams
Kenning, Dean(2018). [Published]
Nina Power and Dean Kenning in discussion
Kenning, Dean and Power, Nina(2018). [Published]
Art world strategies: neoliberalism and the rise of professional practice in fine art education
Kenning, Dean(2017). [Published]
Neoliberalism and the politics of professional practice in fine art education
Kenning, Dean(2017). [Published]
Panel 4
Cornford, Matthew, Rodriguez, Soraya and Kenning, Dean(2016). [Published]
Freedom and control within the art school
Kenning, Dean(2016). [Published]
The social body mind map
Kenning, Dean(2016). [Published]
Exploratory diagrams
Kenning, Dean(2015). [Published]
Social body mind mapping
Kenning, Dean(2015). [Published]
What schools can offer art: towards an avant-gardist conception of gallery education
Kenning, Dean(2012). [Published]
WORK
Cooper, Andrew, Kenning, Dean and Russell, John (2025) [Published]
Elective Affinities
Albina, Alice, Aridjis, Chloe, Aridjis, Homero, Barthélémon, François Hippolyte, Blake, William, Breton, André, Brothers, The Quay, Butler, Josephine, Buttimer, Colin, Carrington, Leonora, Cartwright, Jacob, Cartwright, Peter, Catling, Brian, Coleridge, S T, Dawood, Shezad, Farmer, Tessa, Flaxman, John, Gluzberg, Margarita, Guo, Xiaolu, Hanselaar, Marcelle, Jorn, Asger, Keller, Helen, Kenning, Dean, Kötting, Eden, Kötting, Andrew, Lawrence, T E, De Loutherbourg, Philip James, McCgwire, Kate, McKee, David, McNeilly, Stephen, Moretti, Simon, O'Kane, Paul, Riley, Mark, Sinclair, Iain, Iselin Sønderland, Oda, Suzuki, D T, Swedenborg, Emanuel, Zagórska-Thomas, Natalia, Watkins, Vernon, Wickey, Ben, Wilkinson, J J G and Wynd, Viktor (2025) [Published]
The Sleep of Reason Generates Monsters
Kenning, Dean (2024) [Published]
Hyper_DEFLATION
Kenning, Dean and McGinn, Rosie (2023) [Published]
Poor Things
Kenning, Dean and Hart, Emma (2023) [Published]
SURVIVAL UNIT
Kenning, Dean, Timberlake, John, Exley, Tom and Fernandes, Llewelyn (2022) [Published]
Evolutionary Love
Kenning, Dean and Fernandes, Llewelyn (2021) [Published]
The origin of life
Kenning, Dean (2019) [Published]
Psychobotanical
Kenning, Dean (2019) [Published]
Risograph prints
Kenning, Dean (2018) [Published]
Sick Monday
Scully, Liam, Scully, Vanessa and Kenning, Dean (2018) [Published]
Stuck Machine
Kenning, Dean (2017) [Published]
Dialogue of the Dead
Kenning, Dean (2017) [Published]
Diagramming Politics
Kenning, Dean (2017) [Published]
Diagram of Walter Benjamin
Kenning, Dean (2017) [Published]
Jackson 5 Flowchart
Kenning, Dean (2017) [Published]
Renaissance Man
Kenning, Dean (2017) [Published]
Building the Fetish
Kenning, Dean (2015) [Published]
Luxury Complex: Remembering Satan
Hulson, Marc, Craddock, Lisa, Sharp, Andy and Kenning, Dean (2015) [Published]
Plague of Diagrams
Kenning, Dean and Burrows, David (2015) [Published]
Cover illustration for 'Malign velocities'
Kenning, Dean (2014) [Published]
The Starseed transmission: a diagrammatic message from outer space
Rebelo, Ines, Berriman, Sovay, Plastique Fantastique,, Harris, Rowena, Sames, Lucy A. and Kenning, Dean (2013) [Published]
Untitled
Kenning, Dean (2012) [Published]
Inside the black box of AI: a diagramming activity
Kenning, Dean (2024). [Published]
The sleep of reason
Kenning, Dean (2024). [Published]
Attention, entropy and the arrow of time
Kenning, Dean (2020). [Published]
Gallery of work
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The Origin of Life (detail)
Kinetic sound installation, Beaconsfield Gallery 2019
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Renaissance Man
Kinetic sculpture (installation photo courtesy of Greene Naftali, 2017)
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Untitled (Blinking Eyes)
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The Origin of Life
Kinetic sound installation, courtesy of Beaconsfield Gallery 2019
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Untitled (Rubber Plant)
Kinetic sculpture, from Psychobotanical at Matt's Gallery, 2019
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Evolutionary Love
Robo 'crawlers' at Standpoint Gallery, 2021
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Evolutionary Love
Robo 'crawler' at Bury Art Museum, 2021-2
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Evolutionary Love
Robo 'crawler' at Standpoint Gallery, 2021
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Jackson 5 Flowchart
Drawing (felt pen on paper, Collection Grundy Art Gallery), 2012
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Diagram for Walter Benjamin
Risograph Print, 2017
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Social Body Mind Meta-Map
Risograph Print, 2017
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Being-In-Common
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Metallurgy of the Subject
Blackboard Drawing (Greene Naftali), 2017
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Making Sense
Lithograph, 2021
Videos of my work
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The Origin of Life, Beaconsfield Gallery 2019
Kinetic sound installation at Beaconsfield Gallery. 21 old synth keyboards played by silicone rubber 'fingers' connected to motion sensors and triggered by the movement of visitors around the space.
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Evolutionary Love, Standpoint Gallery 2021
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Meltdown Economics
Video produced in response to the 80s melt movie Street Trash as part of the artist project Sick Monday (organised by Dean Kenning, Liam Scully and Vanessa Scully).