"Painting was not an end in itself but a system of rules to be dismantled and reconfigured." -- David Diviney

Over a six-decade career as a conceptual artist, educator, and administrator, Garry Neill Kennedy became one of the leading figures in Canadian art. His early work interrogated systems of colour, instruction, and labour as they related to the production of art and the physical and institutional space in which it operates, before turning outward to become more explicitly political in the 21st century.

In addition to his work as a conceptual artist, Kennedy is known for his work as a professor and president of NSCAD. During his 23-year tenure as president, he established the school as an internationally renowned art institution, connecting Halifax with larger artistic centres, including New York's contemporary art scene.

Garry Neill Kennedy: Work of Six Decades features hundreds of images of the artist's work from all stages of his career, as well as essays by artists and curators. Accompanying a major exhibition opening at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in February 2027 and touring nationally thereafter, the volume demonstrates the enduring relevance of Kennedy's work in an age where confronting structures and critiquing systems of power has never been more important.