Ken Kiff trained at Hornsey School of Art in the mid 50s and lived in the area for many years, going on to teach at both Chelsea School of Art and the Royal College of Art.
A Hundred Suns runs at Three Highgate gallery in Highgate High Street until January 5th and shows paintings, prints, and drawings by the artist, focusing on the influence of poetry on his work.
In collaboration with Kiff’s estate the gallery has also published a book of Kiff’s art alongside poetry by Frank O’Hara, Vladimir Mayakovsky, close friend Martha Kapos, and an essay by exhibition curator, Alistair Hicks.
Kiff created several paintings in homage to poetry, including the 1977 canvas, The Poet (Mayakovsky), which is the cornerstone of the exhibition.
Born in Dagenham in 1935, he grew up at a time of war and upheaval and was sometimes accused by contemporaries of being too self-conscious. But he had strong views on the era’s social and political issues which were reflected in his art.
“Fantasy,” Kiff said, “is a way of thinking about reality.”
Often painting on hardboard, he might start with a colour – creating his own intensely personal language of expression with repeated symbols and carefully constructed imagery – the colour yellow, the sun, shadows, the body as a landscape.
His studies included flights of fantasy, fairy tales, and dreams, he would sometimes return to unfinished works over months and even years before completing them.
He asked: “So, is there enough in the painting for it to unfold, and to continue unfolding, over the years?”
Irina Johnstone, the founder of Three Highgate, says, “Ken’s artwork stands for imagination and fantasy – but there is nothing whimsical in it. There is a lot of humour in his work which brings out the incongruity and sometimes the grotesqueness in life. Andrew Lambirth said about Kiff ́s paintings that they are ́everyday invaded by the unknown ́. But this is not a menacing or threatening unknown – there is a strong hint of yellow, of optimism and faith.”
Kiff exhibited widely in his lifetime and was elected to the Royal Academy of Arts in 1991, and was Associate Artist in Residence at the National Gallery from 1991 until 1993.
His work is held in national and international collections including the British Museum, Royal Academy and Tate.
