Camberwell art gallery offers something more

Contemporary artist Kim Kennedy is selling the Camberwell property where he lives, paints and displays his works.

Kennedy and his wife, Kerren, have $1.75-$1.925 million price hopes for their three-in-one pad at 1141 Toorak Rd, which is set to go under the hammer next month, unless it’s sold prior.

Marshall White partner Andrew Gibbons says the “very long” two-storey property comprises a three-bedroom residence the couple had shared with their son, a four-car garage where Kennedy “does all his painting”, and a gallery and shop at the front where he displayed and sold his works.

The front part of the property features Kennedy’s art gallery.

Kim Kennedy has called the property home since 2014.

Kennedy primarily paints on canvas and his 38-year artistic career has seen him exhibit works across Melbourne, Sydney, the US, China and Germany.

Gibbons says the artist had dipped into his “amazing imagination” to create a one-of-a-kind property since buying it in 2014.

“He’s done the kitchen, floorboards, painting, and the deck between the garaging at the rear and the meals and kitchen area,” he says.

“There’s double glazing on the windows out the front as well, so once you’re inside, you don’t hear a thing.”

Kennedy created many of his works in the garage.

The crisp white kitchen has pops of colour.

Gibbons adds: “A lot of the buyers look at the facade and just think it’s a shopfront. It’s a case of don’t judge a book by its cover.”

He said the shopfront received plenty of foot traffic, given its position opposite Leo’s Fine Food & Wine and a tram stop. It was also flanked by cafes and shops.

The shopfront is one of three ways into the property, which also offered right-of-way access via the rear garage and access via a side entrance.

The property spreads across two levels.

The quaint deck.

“An investor could rent the property out to three different tenants,” Gibbons says.

“It’s quite diverse.”

The agent said there were plenty of other options for buyers, including renting out the shopfront and living in the back, or creating a work-from-home set-up.

This article from The Herald Sun originally appeared as “Kim Kennedy: artist brushing off Camberwell home, gallery, workshop”.