Interview
Kipkemoi
Los Angeles based artist, Kipkemoi, is a self-taught acrylic painter and has been honing his craft for over a decade. Being of German-Kenyan descent and living in the US, Kipkemoi uses art to articulate themes of home, belonging and othering across different countries and cultures.
His use of colorful backgrounds intends to draw the viewer closer and the unique monochromatic portrait style allows for an emotional connection between subject and viewer to be established. Kipkemoi was selected as a Contributing Artist of the LA Lakers in 2023, has commissioned paintings for large companies and has exhibited his works across the US.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“I am a creative late-bloomer, with my journey in the arts not beginning until I was 26 years old. I was born and raised in Germany, and beyond art class and a latent talent for the occasional doodles, I had no real interest in the arts. In 2011, I moved across the world to Oakland, CA and it was there where art really began to speak to my soul. The mix of Oakland’s rich history of Black political activism mixed with its vibrant art community tackling current socio-political issues was inspiring to me. The artists ability to create visuals that can communicate messages and emotions beyond the written and spoken word captivated me. It was a talent that I didn’t only love to experience, but one that I vowed to master myself. Over the next few years, I developed my skill and my art style in the privacy of my home and purely for my own joy and satisfaction. It took 6 years for the first public display of my art (at Alena Museum) and 8 years for my first gallery exhibit (at Betti Ono Gallery). In 2020, I moved to Los Angeles and the city’s seemingly unlimited opportunities catapulted my journey in the art world to the next level. I was able to have my first solo-exhibit (at Michael Hayden Gallery), followed by many more opportunities that have allowed me to grow my notoriety and become the artist that I am today.”
What inspires you?
“To make something out of nothing. Isn’t it amazing that artist can create works out of thin air that makes you think, laugh, or cry? Art can communicate what words cannot and there is a magic within that ability. Art can touch your heart and your soul. The best feeling is to see people’s initial reaction to a work of art and how their eyes grow bigger and their hearts open up. In that sense, artists are healers, and I cannot think of anything more inspiring than that!”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“My artistic expression is guided by my everlasting question of “Where Is Home?”. My background spans three countries (Germany, Kenya, USA) across three continents. My life has fundamentally been guided by the feelings of belonging and othering in the context of my Blackness in these places. I am channeling these unique insights in my portrait paintings, as I depict African people through a diasporic lense in order to (re-)connect us to the motherland. I want to look past our differences and focus on the inherent sameness of our human experience.”
“The best feeling is to see people’s initial reaction to a work of art and how their eyes grow bigger and their hearts open up.”
How would you describe your work?
“I consider my art to be Afro-futuristic. While most people associate Afro-futurism with superpowers and spaceships, I see it as a future in which Black people are seen for their humanity, and their individuality first. A future in which Black people in the arts can be the subjects, without being reduced to a vehicle of a political message of oppression and resistance. Art as a response to injustice is important, but I want us to define ourselves as the beautiful and complex beings that we are, rather than have our circumstances and environments define us.”
Which artists influence you most?
“When it comes to art, Oakland raised me. Before I learned about the great artists of our time, I saw incredible works of art in local galleries, studios and on murals by amazing creatives like: Githinji Wambire, Malik Seneferu, Paul Lewin, Susu Attar, Bryan Keith Thomas, Joshua Mays, just to name a few. When it came to developing my own unique style, I felt most drawn to the great Kehinde Wiley. His immaculate realism, his scale and his ability play with the contrasts of the feminine and masculine in beautiful harmony immediately spoke to me.”
What is your creative process like?
“It all starts within. I begin by identifying the message I want to communicate and the emotion I want to convey. Then, I think of the ideal subject(s) and posture/position they should be in. With that, I go down the rabbit hole of finding reference photos that are in line with my vision. After I find an adequate reference, I can use it to roughly sketch out the subjects on the canvas. The last step of creating my draft is to come up with the appropriate background pattern and colors, which should match the aesthetic of the subject and support the core message of the work. Now I can start to paint! I usually lay down the background color first and fill in the subject in a flat gray. From here, I can focus on adding details primarily through the use of different shades of white and black, as my current style is to paint the subjects in monochromatic colors. Lastly, I add the patterns of the background; while that all sounds straight forward, I usually make several adjustments throughout the painting process and the end result has very little in common with the initial draft.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“I think it’s pretty simple: Art is meant to inspire. Inspire you to explore your own emotions, inspire you to consider other perspectives, inspire you to think critically and question societal norms, inspire you to connect with people, inspire you to be and think more creatively yourself.”
Website: www.kipkemoiart.com
Instagram: @kipkemoiart
