READ IT HERE - Dave Kinsey

Dave Kinsey
I n t e rv i e w by J a m e s S h o r ro c k
P h o t o g r a p h y by J e r ry B u t t l e s
Making the decision to transition from graffiti to commercial
graphic design and onto fine art may not be the most
traditional path for an artist, but Dave Kinsey isn’t afraid
to go against conventions and norms. Pigeonholed by some as
just another skateboard or graffiti artist earlier in his career,
Kinsey has moved away from the tag and firmly cemented his
place in the contemporary art scene. Perhaps best known for
his early street work such as his “Unlearn” campaign, Kinsey
has also managed to successfully negotiate the commercial
side of the art world through his design studio and brand
BLK/MRKT. Responsible for some of the most recognizable
imagery and logos of the last decade – including the DC Shoes
logo, the Black Eyed Peas’ Elephunk album icon, and the
N.E.R.D. “brain” logo – Kinsey’s work has reached millions.
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Kinsey moved around
countless times, and his keen attention to his changing
surroundings would serve as the inspiration for many of his
thematic and stylistic choices – one of his primary colors,
a reddish orange hue, would come from the bright primer
used on new motors at his father’s place of work. In fact,
his primary color palette – the orange hue along with blue –
is itself a reflection of deeper thematic meanings; the clash
of the blue and orange serve to underline the tension and
discord of contemporary society. Graduating from art school
in Atlanta, he used the momentum from a successful stint
at DC Shoes in San Diego to establish BLK /MRKT with
fellow artists and contemporaries Shepard Fairey and Phillip
DeWolff. With the success of BLK/MRKT underway, Kinsey
would go on to open BLK/MRKT Gallery which was later
renamed Kinsey/DesForges.
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The transition into fine art has seen the artist take a
deeper look at himself to address the issues closest to
him, while his relocation to the Sierra Nevada mountains
and a new studio brought a renewed focus. Unlike many
of his contemporaries who adhere to a process, Kinsey
prefers to keep things organic. Starting with something
a s si mple a s put t i ng br u sh to c a nvas , K i n s ey br i ng s
for t h evo c at ive pie ce s t hat ref le c t t he f ra nt ic nat u re
of his personal experience, and to a larger extent, the
chaotic experience of man in the contemporary world.
His t wo latest solo exhibitions, “Everything at Once”
and “Lost for Words,” continued the artist’s introspective
exploration of the aforementioned tension in our society.
The chaotic, multi-layered pieces from “Lost for Words”
reflects the fractured nature of contemporary life while the
conflict between hard lines and organic shapes echoes the
current struggle of nature and industry. His characters exist
in a turbulent universe where they are shaped by contrasting
and competing forces. The same can be said of the pieces
that made up his “Everything at Once” exhibition; each
is a reflection of the bombardment of modern-day life. The
constant desire for instant gratification in the midst of our
increasingly hyper-connected society is reflected in the
artist's disjointed, mixed-media characters.
Moving into the latter half of the year, Kinsey has much
in store. Upcoming solo exhibitions aside, the artist will
be unveiling new projects tied to BLK / MRKT as well
as a new workspace. In the midst of preparing for a busy few
months, Kinsey was able to sit down and share with us his
creative process, the art scene, and what he has in the works.
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How would you best describe who you are as an artist and as an
individual? And does that translate in your artwork?
Well, let's just say I'm the type of person that doesn't like
to adhere to much conformity when it comes to my lifestyle
or my work. As an artist, attempting to translate my thoughts
and ideas visually eventually became a sort of metaphorical
language for me – a way to connect and communicate –
which is why I started doing street art. I liked the idea of
being anonymous while making a statement within the public
forum. As time went on, I began to see the value of visual
influence and began to inject social, environmental and political
commentary into my studio work as a way to tackle issues
I felt deeply about.
Do you follow a routine or "process" to things?
My only routine is sleeping and watching the sunset. Everything
in between is based on what I want to accomplish or do
that day, which varies from painting for eight hours straight
to breaking out into the wild with my dogs. I try to make each
day a bit of an adventure and to not get caught up in a time
warp 'cause life's just too short.
When and how did you transition from commercial graphic
design to fine art? Was it a concerted effort or was it an organic
and gradual shift?
I've always juggled both but knew that directing my focus on
my fine art was an inevitable goal for me down the road. So
when I relocated to the Sierra Nevada Mountains in 2010,
I set myself up with a new studio and everything came fullcircle. The move wasn't necessarily part of an overall plan,
Metropolis
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but after juggling the design studio, gallery and my fine art for
almost two decades, it was nice to be able to simplify a bit.
I still design, mainly for my brand BLK/MRKT and companies
and people I connect with. I've been lucky to be able to do the
things that keep me creatively inspired.
Has your process grown or evolved because of the change?
The most significant change is the time I'm able to spend on
each painting, which has allowed me to experiment more. Not
having the distractions of the city and everything that comes
with that lifestyle just puts you in a different place. I still like
to hit LA or NY though; it's the perfect juxtaposition for me.
Your work covers a range of mediums and is ver y multilayered and full of texture. Could you give us a little insight
into how a piece takes shape? Similarly, could you give us
an idea of the mental process involved when approaching
a new piece?
Most of the time I start off painting without much expectation,
aside from a loosely-formed idea and my color palette. I may
spend hours working on a background that will be completely
transformed in the end, revealing just traces of its beginnings.
I like the idea of layers because that's what life is about – what
you see and don't see at the same time.
I like to think of it in relation to our experience as human
beings. We all look a certain way on the outside but our
inner workings and experiences are complex, and we all have
a story to tell. I also use old book pages to further this idea. So
much goes into a book, from the concept to the creation to the
Venus
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experience of the reader, so to utilize these fragments to tell
a story within a story intrigues me.
Contextually speaking, the overall complexity or chaos in
my work also relates to the turbulence of the modern world,
where we're all going full speed, enveloped in a maelstrom of
things that help and hinder our survival and happiness. The
final dimension, or what I see as the closing part of my process,
is the adding of crisp line-work and shadows to help bring it all
together, but that's just aesthetics.
Looking back, how did you balance the business of running
a gallery with your own creative output and aspirations?
Running a gallery is definitely difficult and I owe a lot of the
credit to my life partner Jana DesForges. She was the director
and curator of Kinsey/DesForges, and really kept a handle on
things, which helped me focus on the art making and design
side. The gallery was a gratifying endeavor, especially because, as
much as I like creating art, I'm a collector and enthusiast as well.
Whose shows have you gone to in the last year?
I saw a bunch but some of my faves were CYRCLE Collective's
LA pop-up, Jasper Johns at Matthew Marks, Wangechi Mutu
at Susanne Vielmetter and Jen Stark at Martha Otero in LA.
Are there any other mediums that you'd like to explore in the
future? And are there any specific people or entities you'd like
to work with?
I've been thinking a lot about sculpture in recent years,
harkening back to some of the sculptural murals I did back in
the early 2000s, but I doubt I'll be doing that anytime soon
since I still feel there's more I'd like to accomplish as a painter
first. I'd love to do a BLK/MRKT x Maharishi collaboration –
I've always liked their aesthetic.
What, if anything, irritates you about the contemporary art
scene?
Haha, I can probably go on for days… First, I'm bugged by
shifty gallerists and lazy artists. Secondly, the whole scene
is pretty fickle, and the higher-end of the market has been
shifting more towards a commerce-based entity for years which
I feel is compromising the integrity of some artists and dealers
and creating a false sense of hype. When you see a shiny but
conceptually dull Jeff Koons selling for millions more than
a Rembrandt, you gotta wonder what's wrong with this
picture. But hey, you're always gonna have a yin and a yang, so
let's end this on a bright note: art changes the world!
Congotropolis
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