My work centers on the human feeling of impermanence—not as an abstract truth, but as a condition that is intimate and felt: the flutter of ephemerality, the subtle instability of what seems continuous, the quiet terror and tenderness of knowing things won’t last.
This comes through in images that feel complete but unsettled. The people and spaces I paint reflect how memory changes over time. What we remember isn’t fixed—it’s shaped by our experiences and altered through forgetting, distortion, and emotion.
I use stillness as a way to hold onto something just long enough to feel its fragility. The paintings don’t offer clear resolutions. They stay open, sitting in that uncertain space between remembering and letting go.
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hello@kanaphilip.comKana Philip has worked as a dishwasher, a sock salesman, a bagel baker, a mason tender, a bike messenger, a roadie, and a designer. He lives in New York with his wife and daughter, and received his BFA from The School of Visual Arts in New York.