About

A portrait of Kenzopaints, wearing glasses and a beige sweater, looking directly at the camera with a neutral expression, against a green background.
People viewing artwork and clothing on display at an art exhibition.

Kenzopaints is a multidisciplinary pop-artist based in Naarm (Melbourne), presenting works across painting, digital illustration, textiles and ceramics. His signature style combines abstracted facial features with high-chroma palettes to playfully explore identity, community, race and sexuality.

Kenzopaints was created as an artistic persona by Kennan Mendis as a way to process and express his lived experience as queer and Sri Lankan/Australian. Kennan started sharing his paintings under the moniker ‘Kenzopaints’ in 2020, unsure about how his art would be received and his ability as a self-taught artist. To his surprise, his artworks were embraced by the Melbourne community for their distinct style involving quirky faces, bold lines and bright colours.

Kennan continues to create under the Kenzopaints name today. 

If you’re interested to see what he’s done, check out Kennan’s CV.