A Review on Peggy's Show Nocturnes, at the Bennington Museum

Margaret Lampe Kannenstine
Phone Icon (802) 332-3766
Cart Cart

About Peggy

Peggy Kannenstine in Woodstock, Vermont, has been painting since she was a young child. Her interest in the subject started when she began taking children's art classes at the Art Institute of Chicago. Throughout the years, she honed her artistic skills. When she attended Washington University in St. Louis, she majored in fine arts. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in the subject from the institution's school of fine arts. After graduation, she studied at the Art Students League of New York.

Current & Past Positions

Ms. Kannenstine has held many positions on different boards. Currently, she is on the Board of The Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vermont. In the past, she was the secretary of the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies' board of directors. Peggy also chaired the Vermont Arts Council twice.

In 2005, she was invited to participate in the White House's Mini-Conference on Creativity and Aging. She has even served on the Vermont Council on Culture and Innovation (VCCI), which studied policy issues of the creative economy for her state. Some of her other positions include:

• Past Board Member of the New England Foundation for the Arts
• Two-Time President of the Pentangle Arts Council

• Chair of the Board of Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, Vermont

A Word from Peggy

"For many years, I painted landscapes, still lifes, and musicians using acrylics. I have used linen, board, and paper for these paintings. My work has come from my deep sense of place and my love of the land and music. These pieces share a sense of abstraction and realism. In many ways, I could be considered an expressionist, as my work depicts the reality of my reactions to a place or a sound that drives the work towards abstraction. My work is always centered on the use of color to describe both place and feeling.

In the last few years, I added collage creation to my resume. Why did I turn to creating collages after many decades of painting and making monotypes?

A relative gave me some antique papers with garden designs on them, and suggested I do something with them. That was my first impetus to making collages. I found this process of exploration with paper and shapes different from using paint directly, and I became intrigued.

When I learned that the IRS taxed the estates of artists at the retail value of their unsold artwork, I became somewhat angry about this discrimination. I began tearing up old artwork that was done on paper. While doing so, I noticed some of the colors and shapes could be interesting, even as I was ripping them. So, collage it was and is! For me, it is yet another form of recycling, but this time, I'm using my own art. Now, most of the pieces that I make are done using a combination of paint, drawing, and collage."

Shop Now