About RKP…
RKP is a gender queer artist who started their classical training at Cambridge School of Art. and completed their BA at Somerset College of Arts and Technology. Upon completion of their degree, painting and urban art became RKP’s primary pursuit.
Obsessed with colour and texture RKP dedicated themselves to understand the attributes, nature and chemistry of paint. However RKP did not undertake an in depth study of the skill and rules of painting. RKP’s technique does not make use of brushes, pallet knives or any other traditional method - they wanted to understand the medium rather than it’s application, thereby challenging what it means to paint.
The medium of paint RKP uses are all uniquely made with a blend of paints including emulsion, acrylic and oils. Exploring the alchemy of paint and challenging the traditions of painting, these mixes are sometimes broken down with bleach and revived using acrylic binders, PVA, and pigments.
The titles of RKP’s artwork are poetic; at times they can manifest withing the paintings suggesting a personal nature, which offers a framework for interpretation - either within the work or as a separate form.
In finding their style of painting, RKP was heavily influenced by the Abstract Action Painters Gerhard Richter and Jackson Pollock who exercise a huge amount of control over the medium. Inspired also by Mark Rothko, The Bauhaus Group, and The Impressionist Art movement’s use of light and open compositions. These influences are clearly apparent when the observer takes the time to follow each drip down the canvas, appreciating the separate beauty of the drips’ journey’s interweaving - a conversation of form, colour, contrast and texture.
RKP’s Drip Art is a form of action painting, the drips on each painting flow with an autonomous repetitive action of layering paint. Each layer is an equation of colours repeated, each carefully planned to ensure the relationship of colours within the composition remains balanced. These detailed notes and key repetition of each sequence mean quite simply, that each drip is carefully considered and maintained. These key features create a tension reflected in each painting. Yet even though the action of dripping is constantly repeated, the result is never the same. Shaped by the only tool RKP uses - a heat gun. This allows the artist to influence the drying process, the level of texture and to preserve elements of the painting by cooking and cracking surface layers.
Everything is a canvas, and everywhere is a gallery for RKP.
RKP has worked with Musicians such as Leon C, and Fly Away Peter creating drippy signage, and artwork for stages at various venues in Hampshire such as The Railway Inn (Winchester), The Willow Tree (Winchester) also with ‘Pop Up Acoustic’, ‘Poetry Platform’ and ‘FAP with Friends in The Attic’.
RKP has worked alongside One Heart Festival featuring work at Blissfields Festival 2017, One Love Festival 2017, and BoomTown Festival Carnival in 2017. RKP has worked and created artwork with All In The Mind Festival (Basingstoke) in 2018, and Indigenous Festival in 2019 creating collaborative work with Daisy Quantick Pike.
RKP has exhibited at Private venues, The Tate Modern Exchange with the Itinerant Objects Exhibition in 2019, The Art House (Southampton) in 2018 and 2019 where RKP’s work is permanently featured. The Link Gallery (University of Winchester) in 2016 and 2017 with the Feminist Theological Group at Winchester University. RKP has also exhibited and collaborated with Street Artist 7th Pencil as RKPencil at the North Devon Art Trek in 2015 to 2016.