Joe Kenney studied figurative and monumental sculpture for two and one-half years at
the University of Oklahoma under Paul Moore, Sculptor-in-Residence who has
sculpted more than 150 commissions, and Sohail Shedada, Instructor who has
completed numerous commissions.  At the Loveland Colorado Academy of Fine Arts,
he studied under Paul Lucchesi, Lincoln Fox, Walt Horton, Rosalind Cook, David
Klass and Martine Vaugel, all of whom are successful professional sculptors.  He
Studied forensic facial reconstruction sculpture with Betty Pat. Gatliff at the University
of Oklahoma, Continuing Education.  He also studied at the Austin Sculpture Center
in Texas where he served as a member of the Board of Directors.  In 2010, he began his
pursuit to master 3D digital sculpting with ZBrush software, building upon his
technical skills of sculpting in clay, so that he could generate 3D prints for direct
casting in bronze.

Joe is past president of Texas Society of Sculptors, and has been a member of the
National Sculpture Society, New York City.  He a founding member and president of
ArteZen Sculptors™ Group, a non-profit organization, evolving a new genre of
sculpture.  Joe is a past member of the Oklahoma Sculpture Society and the Oklahoma
Visual Arts Coalition.  He is a past member of the Austin Diocesan Fine Arts Council
and a volunteer at the University of Texas at Austin Blanton Museum of Art.  

Since 2005, more than thirty (30) pieces of Mr. Kenney’s sculptures have been or are
scheduled for installations in museum, public, educational and religious settings.  
Exhibitions of his works were held in London, New York City, Baltimore, Columbus,
Ohio, Tulsa, Austin and Texas communities between 2006 and 2020.

Mr. Kenney began focusing his full-time creative energy on figurative sculpture in 2001
after retiring in his 50’s as the chief executive officer of a health management company
that he founded.  Mr. Kenney experienced a major transformation from a business
executive-entrepreneur into a professional sculptor.  

Mr. Kenney was born in Indianapolis and began his career on the administrative staff
of Mayo Clinic.  He was a lieutenant in the Navy, Medical Service Corps, where he had
duty at two naval hospitals during the Vietnam era, serving 3 years on active duty, and
returned to Mayo Clinic.  Joe Kenney has served as a director on numerous boards of
community and civic organizations, is past president of a Rotary Club, a Rotary Paul
Harris Fellow, past member of Young Presidents’ Organization, recipient of the
National Kidney Foundation’s volunteer service award, and an Eagle Scout.  Mr.
Kenney has a Master’s Degree in Healthcare Administration from the University of
Minnesota and a B.A. in Economics and History and Political Science from Butler
University.  He is married to The Reverend Christine Swarts Kenney.


Collections Holding Joe Kenney’s Sculptures:

Samsung Austin Research Center, Texas.
City of Sugar Land, Texas.
Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, Oklahoma.
City of Tulsa Family Safety Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma.
University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma.
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
University of Notre Dame, Indiana.
Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame, Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Pawhuska Chamber of Commerce, Pawhuska, Oklahoma.
St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, Austin, Texas.
National Shrine of the North American Martyrs, Auriesville, New York.
Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament Motherhouse, Bensalem, Pennsylvania.
National Shrine of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, Fonda, New York.
Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions, Washington, DC.
National Tekakwitha Conference, Alexandra, Louisiana.
St. Pius X Catholic School, Tulsa, Oklahoma.
St. Ignatius Parish, Austin, Texas.
Hopkins Medical Products, Baltimore, Maryland.
St. Wulfstan’s Books, Fayetteville, Arkansas.
St. Mary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana.
St. Mary's Catholic School, Pittsburg, Kansas.
Infant Jesus Catholic Church Lumberton, Texas.
Georgetown Public Library, Georgetown, Texas.
Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Austin Texas.
Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Austin, Texas.
St. Luke's on the Lake Episcopal Church, Austin, Texas.
Wesleyan at Estrella, Georgetown, Texas.
Jay Leon Wolf, Georgetown, Texas.

Joe Kenney's Sculpture in Public, Corporate and Religious Settings:

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, 14-inch bronze statue, Chamber of Commerce, Pawhuska, Oklahoma.
Model for 9-foot statue.

Michael the Archangel, 15-inch bronze statue, St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, Austin, Texas (March 2006).

Osage Girl, life-size statue, Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, Oklahoma, painted plaster of a 10-year old sitting on a
rock,  (June 2006).

Emily, life-size statue, City of Tulsa, Family Safety Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma, painted plaster (June 2006).

Professor Duane Roller, 37-inch statue cast in polymer, Bizzell Memorial Library niche,
University of Oklahoma, Norman (installed July 2006).

Kateri Tekakwitha, 14-inch bronze statue, National Shrine of the North American Martyrs (Blessed
Kateri Tekakwitha League), Auriesville, New York, birthplace of Blessed Kateri, a Mohawk (August 2006).

“Professor Duane Roller,” 37-inch standing figure cast in plaster with a bronze-like patina, interior of
Bizzell Library, History of Science Rare Book Collection section, University of Oklahoma, Norma
(installed September 2006).

Healing Hands Are All Around You, life-size bronze hands on 41-inch pedestal, lobby entrance of Basic
Science Building, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (installation
November 2006).

St. Katharine Drexel, 36-inch statue, standing figure cast in plaster with a bronze-like patina, Sisters of the
Blessed Sacrament Motherhouse, Bensalem, Pennsylvania (installation July 2007).

St. Katharine Drexel, life-size portrait bust sculpture cast in plaster with a bronze-like patina, Sisters of the
Blessed Sacrament Motherhouse, Bensalem, Pennsylvania (installation July 2007).

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha – Portrait Sculpture Study #1, life-size portrait bust cast in plaster with a bronze-
like patina, National Shrine of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, Fonda, New York, childhood home of Saint
Kateri, (installation July 2007).

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha – Portrait Sculpture Study #2, life-size portrait bust cast in plaster with a bronze-
like patina, Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions, Washington, DC (installation July 2007).

Maxine Horner - Former Oklahoma State Senator, life-size portrait bust sculpture cast in plaster with a
bronze-like patina, Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame, Tulsa, Oklahoma, (installation October 2007).

Learning to Read, two life-size bronze figures - a grandmother teaching a first grade girl to read,
St. Pius X Catholic School, Tulsa,Oklahoma (installation August 2008).

Blessed Basil Moreau, (founder of the religious orders of Holy Cross) life-size portrait bust sculpture cast in
plaster, St. Ignatius Parish, Austin, Texas (October 2008) and St. Mary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana
(January 2011).

Savoie Lottinville, 37-inch standing figure cast in polymer, Bizzell Memorial Library niche, University
of Oklahoma, Norman (installation August 2009).

Blessed Basil Moreau, 15-inch standing figure, The University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana
(October 2009).

50th Anniversary Commemorative Sculpture, City of Sugar Land, Texas, for Rotunda in City Hall
(installation December 2009).

Sister of St. Joseph and Child, 6-ft. sister and 4-ft. girl, St. Mary’s Catholic School, Pittsburg, Kansas
(installation May 2011).

St. John (Dom) Bosco, 37-inch standing bronze figure, Infant Jesus Catholic Church, Lumberton, Texas
(installation July 2011).

Little Flower, life-size seated figure of an Osage Indian girl, Public Library, Georgetown, Texas (July 2011).

Sarah, life-size portrait sculpture cast in plaster, Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired,
Austin, Texas (October 2011).

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha – Portrait Study #2, life-size portrait bust cast in plaster with a bronze-like
patina, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Austin, Texas (installation September 2015).

Jesus the Good Shepherd, 4-ft. standing bronze figure, St. Luke's on the Lake Episcopal Church, Austin,
Texas (installation September 11, 2016).

“The Lord is My Shepherd,” 4-ft bronze standing figure in prayer garden, Wesleyan at Estrella, Georgetown,
Texas (dedication September 22, 2017).

Bronze Portrait - Life-Size, Samsung Austin Research Center, Austin, Texas (December 2018).

Jay Leon Wolf, Life-size portrait sculpture, Georgetown, Texas (November 2019).

Governor Dan Moody, life size bronze standing figure, Moody Museum, Taylor, Texas (installation TBA).
About Joe Kenney
Joe Kenney Bronze Sculpture
Private, Public and Corporate Commissions Accepted