Simon Kirk: An Underlying Melancholy
Mixed-media artist Simon Kirk has come a long way since he burst onto the scene in 2007.
He exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 2010, 2013 and 2015, while in 2016 and 2017 his work was among the annual advertising takeover of Regent’s Park tube station, in London.
Simon has launched solo exhibitions in France, Denmark and the US, and his pieces are regularly exhibited as part of Turner Barnes Gallery’s collections for the London, Hong Kong and Singapore Affordable Art Fairs.
His work has also graced the front cover of Inside Art Magazine, and is becoming increasingly sought after by art collectors across the UK, US, Europe and Dubai.
Influenced by the literary and the art world alike
Simon Kirk’s works are created primarily by combining layers of painting with collaged elements, before cutting, tearing or sanding away parts of the built-up surface image to reveal layers below.
His mixed-media pieces are a fusion of his love of poetry and visual art, becoming abstraction and figuration, combining influences from the literary world and the arts, including haiku, humanist concerns and philosophical ideas of ‘the Absurd’.
“The cut ups often follow a path of taking the wonder of these small things and subverting them into something manic and fierce or poetic and evocative,” he says.
“The characters within the scenarios I create are challenged with weird and impossible predicaments, and the viewer is asked to join them in confronting the strangeness.”
The finished results are quirky, individual and dynamic. Little wonder pieces from Simon Kirk have also been featured in Vogue and House & Garden magazines.
Simon Kirk: exploring endless possibilities
Simon Kirk says many of his artworks are done on a small scale as it gives him the freedom to quickly explore a range of painting possibilities.
He then combines them with larger pieces based on the same styles of material, creating new and fascinating pieces.
Explaining the thought process behind his work, Simon says: “I play the role of set designer. I create the environment and provide the players. Elements of text where present act as set direction.
“The viewer becomes the director, who uses all the information before them to create the play. That the resulting story could be different for everyone is something that fascinates me.”