Keni Arts’ May 2025 Exhibition: Beauty For Ashes
We invite you to join us for an artist reception with Keni Arts on Friday, May 2, from 6:30-8pm at the Altadena Main Library. His latest exhibition Beauty For Ashes will be featured in our Community Room from May 1 through 31.
“Art is a process more than a product. It doesn’t start with the paint, nor does art end with the picture. True art starts in the heart of God, then flows through the artist and continues in the viewer, allowing them to interact with the body of work. Art can be a powerful voice for change. It can be enlightening, but it can also be challenging.”
For nearly five decades, Keni Arts has documented the soul of communities through his vibrant plein air paintings. From the streets of America to the landscapes of Africa, Brazil, and beyond, his brush has captured the essence of people and place. Yet, nowhere has he felt more at home than in the ‘Denas’—Altadena and Pasadena—where this artistic journey has been deeply rooted since 1977.
But on January 7, 2025, the Eaton Fire changed everything. Over 9,000 homes and businesses were lost, including cherished sites Keni had once immortalized in watercolor. Now, in a powerful act of resilience and artistry, he returns to these sites to create Beauty For Ashes—a series that reimagines Altadena in its moment of transition, documenting destruction, renewal, and hope.
