Jason Boyd Kinsella

Jason Boyd Kinsella’s newest solo exhibition with Unit London presents a series of abstract portraits and sculptures that aim to visualise an ‘unseen world’. Through what the artist identifies as ‘fleshless portraiture’, Anatomy of the Radiant Mind strips away layer after layer to reveal the unconscious essence of each subject.

Psychological portraiture remains at the core of Kinsella’s artistic practice, which uses colourful geometric forms to represent the intricacies of individual psychology. Each portrait comprises many interlocking parts that represent distinctive personality traits. More complex in form than previous bodies of work, Anatomy of the Radiant Mind demonstrates the evolution of the artist’s practice, striving to bring clarity to the intangible world of the subconscious self.

In refining his singular visual language, Kinsella includes a centrepiece of a full body figure, introducing a new narrative quality to this body of work. Individuals are no longer limited to three-quarter length portraits but expand across the entire canvas, pushing the parameters of this type of psychological portraiture. Moreover, Kinsella presents three-dimensional artworks alongside his canvas works. Juxtaposing sculpture and painting, the artist aims to discover whether individuals can be truly grasped in two dimensions. Speaking to the all too frequent conundrum of our contemporary age, Kinsella explores what is genuine and what is not and asks whether we can truthfully represent another person.

First and foremost, Anatomy of the Radiant Mind explores an ‘unseen world’ that is closely tied to the unconscious. Inspired by the deep universe of dreams and imagination, these portraits tap into abstract notions of selfhood. Kinsella’s portraits are less concerned with external appearances, choosing instead to reflect what is hidden underneath. In our contemporary age, it becomes increasingly tempting to lose ourselves in ideas of physical appearance and self-image. We are attuned to seeing ourselves through the lens of how others see us, particularly in the context of social media. As a result, we have become adept at transforming our outward identities to suit specific circumstances both online and offline. While Kinsella’s visual language leverages this ability to adapt to new ways of seeing ourselves and others, it hones in on the true nature of individuals, paring subjects back to their essential form.

These portraits therefore make use of a hybrid visual language that lives both in the past and the present. The modern idea of the malleable digital self exists within these artworks, but at the same time, these paintings engage with a deeply rooted history of portraiture. These artworks therefore sit on the boundary between pre- and post-internet painting, seemingly bridging a divide by offering a new type of portraiture that aspires to simple truth in an over-stimulating digital world. Reflecting these ideas, Anatomy of the Radiant Mind focuses on materiality. When in previous bodies of work Kinsella has concentrated on digital assets, here he centres on the practical tools of brushes and paint, celebrating the potential of oil as a medium. 

With Anatomy of the Radiant Mind, Kinsella challenges the limits of his own visual language, venturing further technically to mine the depths of the unconscious mind. In an artistic process that borders on stream of consciousness, Kinsella creates intuitive portraits that blur boundaries between past and present, digital and analogue, two and three dimensions. Pulling on this visual thread, Kinsella strives to eliminate the distance between his artistic vision and what appears on the canvas, ultimately aiming to bring viewer and artwork closer together.

“Another influence from his past is the largest public collection of Henry Moore works permanently displayed in the Henry Moore Sculpture Centre. Imagine a young art student, Kinsella, sketching and immersing himself in the exhibition space during class, soaking in Moore’s monumental works that associate the reclining human form with natural elements such as trees, rocks, bones and shells. Much of the fascination with Moore stems from his abstracted forms encouraging ambiguities, multiple meanings and interpretations. We can’t help but see the impact of this immersion when looking at the organic, biomorphic forms found in Kinsella’s work. There is a similar ambiguity in the assemblages of forms in his portraits, allowing for interpretations that extend beyond the physical. An investigation of simplifying features into strange beautiful shapes, exploring the interiority and exteriority are absolutely present.”

Jason Boyd Kinsella (b. 1969) is a Canadian artist currently based in Oslo, Norway, with a degree from Bishop’s University, Quebec, Canada (1993).

After a 30 year hiatus Kinsella began painting again in 2019 and since then his practice has evolved into a deep exploration of mankind’s psychological composition. The focal element of his artistic expression is the deconstruction of his characters’ personality traits using distinct geometric units that represent their individuality according to the Myers-Briggs test. Blending the familiarity of Old Masters’ compositions with something altogether new, his contemporary aesthetic and methods shine through, unsettling any preconceived narratives.

His recent solo exhibitions include Mentalverse, Perrotin, Dubai (2022); The Impermanent State of Being, Perrotin, Paris (2022) and Fragments, Unit London, UK (2021). Selected group exhibitions and international art fairs include Art Basel, Perrotin, Basel, Switzerland (2023); Art Tokyo, Unit London, Tokyo, Japan (2023) and Playground of Geometry, Centre of International Contemporary Art Vancouver (CICA), Vancouver, Canada (2022). Kinsella’s work is held in multiple prominent collections that include the Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, USA; Long Museum, Shanghai, China and Centre of International Contemporary Art Vancouver (CICA), Vancouver, Canada, among others.