Biography of KENNETH MICHAEL KIRKBY

KIRKBY, Kenneth (Ken) Michael  (1940-  ).  Born in London, England, and raised in Spain (1945) and Portugal (1946-58), Kirkby is a self-taught artist. He came to Canada in 1958 and lived in the Arctic for 5 years before moving to Toronto, Ontario. He currently lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. Working in oil, he paints the landscape and wildlife of the Arctic wilderness in a realistic but monochromatic style. Many of his large-scale works feature Inukshuk. Kirkby is also recognised for his painting `Isumataq’ reputedly the world’s largest painting on canvas, measuring 12 feet high and 152 feet long. Taking over four years to complete (and using 2800 litres of paint and over three million brushstrokes), the work consists of 38 panels and will be the centrepiece for the new `St. Roch’ exhibit at the Vancouver Maritime Museum in Vancouver. He exhibited at SFU in 1993.

Biography courtesy of The Collector's Dictionary of Canadian Artists at Auction: Volume II: G-L

Please click here  to order The Collector's Dictionary of Canadian Artists at Auction and other important art market publications.


Copyright © 1999-2003 Westbridge Publications Ltd. All Rights Reserved

Site Design Internet-Exposure