Kenette Louis

Lives and works in Los Angeles, CA

Artist statement

Kenette Louis (b. 1976, Nassau, Bahamas) is a Haitian-American abstract painter based in Los Angeles, working in acrylic and oil stick on hand-treated canvas. His work is shaped by spontaneity, memory, and the human form. Kenette’s earlier work, Blue Voyage (2025), was built around waves of movement — bold, atmospheric strokes moving in all directions, with no fixed orientation. Red Electric (2026), Kenette’s current body of work on canvas, marks a shift toward greater control: the line becomes more defined, running primarily north and south, with the vertical movement more deliberate, while still allowing parts of the line to stay free-flowing. Materials expanded to include oil stick alongside acrylic, giving the mark more grit and presence, and the artist’s own hand enters the work directly — moments of smearing and handprint, pulling his essence into the material itself. Running through it, the gestural red line represents the volatility of life: a heart rate, an emotional sound wave — soft, then erratic — rising and falling without warning. Red Electric marks a turn toward subject matter rooted in personal history and heritage.

Artwork