Mei Kawajiri has been painting for hours – almost three to be exact. It’s now approaching 11 pm and she is adding a few finishing brushstrokes to what is the latest of her mini masterpieces. Tonight, Mei is replicating the work of Barry McGee, a California painter and graffiti artist known for his colorful abstracts featuring cartoonish characters. It’s impressive work and here’s why: Mei is a manicurist and each painting has been duplicated on a set of fingernails. Those nails belong to Susi Kenna – the muse behind these artwork- based nails.
Tyler Joe
“I’ve always had a very visual life,” Susi says at the start of the evening. “And I view my nail art as just an extension of that. It influences my mood, my outfits, my interactions with people – it’s art in itself.”
In the last 2 years, Susi has teamed up with some of the best manicurists in NYC to reproduce pieces by artists. To date, her fingertips have showcased visuals inspired by Frank Stella, George Condo, KAWS, Joseph Albers, Bridget Riley, Picasso, Basquit, Jonathan Lasker, Shantell Martin and Lawrence Weiner. And in the process she has gained fans and fame on Twitter and Instagram for her curated manis.
“The KAWS manicure was my favorite,” she says. “It was based on the work “Gone and Beyond” from the DOWN TIME exhibition at the High Museum of Art. It was comprised of various panels. My mani was 10 of the panels and were done in the exact order they were hanging in.”
Susi’s eye for art started early. Growing up she attended Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts in Palm Beach and after that she headed to Parsons The New School for Design to study Design Management. “The larger art world didn’t occur to me until after I came to New York,” she says. That happened her freshman year when she bought her first painting. “I’ve been hooked ever since.”
Today, Susi has amassed quite the collection. Pieces by Barbara Kruger, Jenny Holzer, Hew Locke, Shantell Martin and G.T. Pellizzi hang in her spacious midtown south apartment. Her work with emerging and established artists has gained her a solid reputation in the art world. In 2011, she was elected co-chair of the Junior Associates at the MoMA and July/August of 2012 she was included in Modern Painters “50 Under 50 the Most Exciting Young Collectors.” All by the age of 29.
So it only makes sense that Susi was able to scope out one of the most talented nail artists in NYC. “I met Mei at Valley Nails,” recalls Susi. “Appointments usually take 2 hours but mine would always take 3. We would get in trouble.”
They both laugh at this.
Three hours is nothing now. Some of Susi’s manis have taken close to five hours to complete. And that doesn’t even count the prep work. “I will do 2-4 hours worth of research on an artist, their body of work, to see if anybody else has done them,” Susi says. “You have to find art that will translate onto the nails. One time I wanted to do Rob Pruitt nails but you can’t do color fade with gels. I ended up doing Teenage Mutunt Ninja Turtles…my boyfriend loved it.”
Mei agrees.
“Susi is a very picky client but I love it. I like change and trying new things,” says Mei, 30, who got her start in the Tokyo’s Harajuku. Shockingly, she has no formal schooling in drawing or painting. But that doesn’t matter. Word of Mei’s talent has circulated through New York like wind. Now she does house call appointments only. When asked where Mei gets her inspiration she exclaims, “Everywhere. Everything.”
For Susi, it’s clearly a canvas. And we can’t wait to see what these two create next.
Tyler Joe
Follow them @susikenna @ciaomanhattan2012
