2006, Stealing Time, 30x40x1.5 inches, oil on gallery wrapped canvas, by Kenney Mencher
FREE SHIPPING Shipping takes 3–4 Weeks
This ships from Round Lake Beach, Illinois. A suburb outside of Chicago.
I use UPS and sometimes US Post.
This painting is called Stealing Time, and it’s one of those works that came from a mix of frustration, humor, and a big shift in my career. I painted this in 2006, not long after I was dropped from Hang Gallery in San Francisco. The folks there said my work was “wry and perverted”—their words—and they didn’t want to represent me anymore, even though those edgier pieces were the ones my collectors actually loved. I was moving work consistently, especially the ones that played with puns, clichés, and humor.
After the split, I was picked up by a gallery in Sacramento that gave me full creative freedom. That’s when I started working on a show I called Hamlets on Rye and returned to the ideas that excited me most—punny, theatrical setups with layers of narrative. Stealing Time came out of that.
The concept was sparked by a visual pun. I wrote out lists of clichés and scenarios and used them to stage photoshoots with my friends. We'd dress up, drink a little, and turn my studio into a weird little theater. For this one, I had my friends Dave and Valerie pose. Valerie’s actually the one on the left, dressed in what she called a monkey organ grinder costume—complete with vest, hat, and drawn-on mustache. Dave is on the right, in a costume he used to wear on Halloween based on a weird old Six Flags commercial character.
The black handbag at the center came from my painting classroom—I used to store supplies in it. The watch hanging from it is one I used to wear while teaching, just a cheap Timex that helped me keep track of time in rooms with no clocks. The sunglasses in the foreground belonged to a student of mine named Monkey (yes, that was really her name), and I stood up for her at her wedding. So all these props carry real personal stories.
I painted this on a 30x40 inch gallery-wrapped canvas using oil paint and linen canvas which was very smooth. This is when I was working a bit more photorealistically so it doesn t have much texture. I used softer sable and mongoose brushes for this. I even varnished the painting to have a smooth photo realistic quality. The lighting is dramatic, casting strong shadows that give a sense of space and depth, almost like a still from a noir film or a retro commercial. The space is tightly organized: everything pulls your eye to the center, where the act of “stealing time” is happening.
I’ve included some close ups of areas that are either slightly scuffed or scratched. (THe painting is ten years old and has hung in several of my homes, museum and gallery shows. So look closely at the details.
The style blends realism with a kind of staged absurdity. The anatomy and proportions are fairly natural, but the figures feel like characters in a play. The exaggerated clothing, mustache, and expressions push the whole thing just slightly out of realism into something stranger. There’s also some influence from cinema and old-school portraiture, the psychological charge of Velázquez, and Edward Hopper.
This is part of my Fresh Finds collection—a series where I’m pulling work out of my archive that hasn’t been available for years. I realized that instead of letting them just sit in storage, it would be better to release them now. These pieces are part of my legacy as an artist, and I think it’s a good time to invite collectors—new and old—to own a piece of that story.
Details
Title: Stealing Time
Artist: Kenney Mencher
Year: 2006
Medium: Oil on gallery-wrapped canvas
Size: 30 x 40 inches
Style: Narrative realism with stylized elements
Condition: Excellent
Frame: Unframed, gallery-wrapped edges (ready to hang)
Technique: Oil with bristle brushes, built-up textured surface
Subject: Two figures in vintage costume inspecting a handbag, rich in personal and symbolic details
FREE SHIPPING Shipping takes 3–4 Weeks
This ships from Round Lake Beach, Illinois. A suburb outside of Chicago.
I use UPS and sometimes US Post.
This painting is called Stealing Time, and it’s one of those works that came from a mix of frustration, humor, and a big shift in my career. I painted this in 2006, not long after I was dropped from Hang Gallery in San Francisco. The folks there said my work was “wry and perverted”—their words—and they didn’t want to represent me anymore, even though those edgier pieces were the ones my collectors actually loved. I was moving work consistently, especially the ones that played with puns, clichés, and humor.
After the split, I was picked up by a gallery in Sacramento that gave me full creative freedom. That’s when I started working on a show I called Hamlets on Rye and returned to the ideas that excited me most—punny, theatrical setups with layers of narrative. Stealing Time came out of that.
The concept was sparked by a visual pun. I wrote out lists of clichés and scenarios and used them to stage photoshoots with my friends. We'd dress up, drink a little, and turn my studio into a weird little theater. For this one, I had my friends Dave and Valerie pose. Valerie’s actually the one on the left, dressed in what she called a monkey organ grinder costume—complete with vest, hat, and drawn-on mustache. Dave is on the right, in a costume he used to wear on Halloween based on a weird old Six Flags commercial character.
The black handbag at the center came from my painting classroom—I used to store supplies in it. The watch hanging from it is one I used to wear while teaching, just a cheap Timex that helped me keep track of time in rooms with no clocks. The sunglasses in the foreground belonged to a student of mine named Monkey (yes, that was really her name), and I stood up for her at her wedding. So all these props carry real personal stories.
I painted this on a 30x40 inch gallery-wrapped canvas using oil paint and linen canvas which was very smooth. This is when I was working a bit more photorealistically so it doesn t have much texture. I used softer sable and mongoose brushes for this. I even varnished the painting to have a smooth photo realistic quality. The lighting is dramatic, casting strong shadows that give a sense of space and depth, almost like a still from a noir film or a retro commercial. The space is tightly organized: everything pulls your eye to the center, where the act of “stealing time” is happening.
I’ve included some close ups of areas that are either slightly scuffed or scratched. (THe painting is ten years old and has hung in several of my homes, museum and gallery shows. So look closely at the details.
The style blends realism with a kind of staged absurdity. The anatomy and proportions are fairly natural, but the figures feel like characters in a play. The exaggerated clothing, mustache, and expressions push the whole thing just slightly out of realism into something stranger. There’s also some influence from cinema and old-school portraiture, the psychological charge of Velázquez, and Edward Hopper.
This is part of my Fresh Finds collection—a series where I’m pulling work out of my archive that hasn’t been available for years. I realized that instead of letting them just sit in storage, it would be better to release them now. These pieces are part of my legacy as an artist, and I think it’s a good time to invite collectors—new and old—to own a piece of that story.
Details
Title: Stealing Time
Artist: Kenney Mencher
Year: 2006
Medium: Oil on gallery-wrapped canvas
Size: 30 x 40 inches
Style: Narrative realism with stylized elements
Condition: Excellent
Frame: Unframed, gallery-wrapped edges (ready to hang)
Technique: Oil with bristle brushes, built-up textured surface
Subject: Two figures in vintage costume inspecting a handbag, rich in personal and symbolic details
FREE SHIPPING Shipping takes 3–4 Weeks
This ships from Round Lake Beach, Illinois. A suburb outside of Chicago.
I use UPS and sometimes US Post.
This painting is called Stealing Time, and it’s one of those works that came from a mix of frustration, humor, and a big shift in my career. I painted this in 2006, not long after I was dropped from Hang Gallery in San Francisco. The folks there said my work was “wry and perverted”—their words—and they didn’t want to represent me anymore, even though those edgier pieces were the ones my collectors actually loved. I was moving work consistently, especially the ones that played with puns, clichés, and humor.
After the split, I was picked up by a gallery in Sacramento that gave me full creative freedom. That’s when I started working on a show I called Hamlets on Rye and returned to the ideas that excited me most—punny, theatrical setups with layers of narrative. Stealing Time came out of that.
The concept was sparked by a visual pun. I wrote out lists of clichés and scenarios and used them to stage photoshoots with my friends. We'd dress up, drink a little, and turn my studio into a weird little theater. For this one, I had my friends Dave and Valerie pose. Valerie’s actually the one on the left, dressed in what she called a monkey organ grinder costume—complete with vest, hat, and drawn-on mustache. Dave is on the right, in a costume he used to wear on Halloween based on a weird old Six Flags commercial character.
The black handbag at the center came from my painting classroom—I used to store supplies in it. The watch hanging from it is one I used to wear while teaching, just a cheap Timex that helped me keep track of time in rooms with no clocks. The sunglasses in the foreground belonged to a student of mine named Monkey (yes, that was really her name), and I stood up for her at her wedding. So all these props carry real personal stories.
I painted this on a 30x40 inch gallery-wrapped canvas using oil paint and linen canvas which was very smooth. This is when I was working a bit more photorealistically so it doesn t have much texture. I used softer sable and mongoose brushes for this. I even varnished the painting to have a smooth photo realistic quality. The lighting is dramatic, casting strong shadows that give a sense of space and depth, almost like a still from a noir film or a retro commercial. The space is tightly organized: everything pulls your eye to the center, where the act of “stealing time” is happening.
I’ve included some close ups of areas that are either slightly scuffed or scratched. (THe painting is ten years old and has hung in several of my homes, museum and gallery shows. So look closely at the details.
The style blends realism with a kind of staged absurdity. The anatomy and proportions are fairly natural, but the figures feel like characters in a play. The exaggerated clothing, mustache, and expressions push the whole thing just slightly out of realism into something stranger. There’s also some influence from cinema and old-school portraiture, the psychological charge of Velázquez, and Edward Hopper.
This is part of my Fresh Finds collection—a series where I’m pulling work out of my archive that hasn’t been available for years. I realized that instead of letting them just sit in storage, it would be better to release them now. These pieces are part of my legacy as an artist, and I think it’s a good time to invite collectors—new and old—to own a piece of that story.
Details
Title: Stealing Time
Artist: Kenney Mencher
Year: 2006
Medium: Oil on gallery-wrapped canvas
Size: 30 x 40 inches
Style: Narrative realism with stylized elements
Condition: Excellent
Frame: Unframed, gallery-wrapped edges (ready to hang)
Technique: Oil with bristle brushes, built-up textured surface
Subject: Two figures in vintage costume inspecting a handbag, rich in personal and symbolic details
