The Estate of Ken Kiff joins Hales

Hales is delighted to announce representation of celebrated British artist Ken Kiff (b. 1935, Dagenham, Essex - d. 2001, London, UK). Kiff is known for his visionary and distinct painting practice, and his oeuvre continues to influence a younger generation of artists. Kiff's work will be featured at Hales' upcoming art fair showcases in 2024 and his first solo show with Hales will open in April 2025 at the gallery's London location. 

 

Kiff grew up in England during the second world war and was deeply impacted by the death of his father when he was only six years old, the effects of which would remain present throughout his life and art. He trained at the Hornsey School of Art (1955-61) and went on to teach at Chelsea School of Art and the Royal College of Art, where over thirty years he influenced generations of artists. Kiff gained prominence in the 1980s, he was elected Royal Academician in 1991 and he was Associate Artist in Residence at the National Gallery 1991-1993. Although recognized during his lifetime, he carved a solitary path, maintaining a commitment to the pictorial and symbolic values of modernism at a time when Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art dominated. In recent years there has been a renewed interest in his work in the context of contemporary figurative painting, with many younger artists turning to Kiff's work for inspiration. 

 

Primarily a painter, Kiff pursued the formal qualities of painting - of shape, line, texture, transparency and colour. His practice was driven by an exploration of the material and emotional properties of colour, viewing colour as image, and image as colour. He melded figuration and abstraction, allowing colour and meaning to enhance one another. In the 1980s his practice expanded to include most forms of printmaking - including woodcuts, monotypes, lithographs and etchings - collaborating with master printmakers across the UK, Europe and the US. Kiff would often work on paintings over a number of years, so the immediacy and materiality of printmaking allowed for a different kind of expressive freedom.