About Kevin

Kevin Gavaghan is a self-taught artist, originally from North London but now works from his studio in Cambridgeshire. His paintings are evocative figurative imagery dancing around the fringes of surrealism and abstract art.

Inspired by artists such as Schiele, Bacon, Condo, Saville and Woodman, he predominantly paints in oils but has worked with various mediums from time to time. 

Kevin's process is born from collecting images and photographs he takes to support and inform an emotional connection about any given moment in his past. These images may reflect a memory of his life growing up in the 1970s in a large Irish family, coping with the complexity of life with Tourette Tics and anxiety-related illnesses, or images seeded from the conversations he has with people he has met and engaged in conversation with, about their lives.

Kevin creates quite organically and spontaneously by painting directly to canvas with little preparatory sketches or planning. He allows his paintings to continue to develop throughout the process, often changing their personality many times before settling on what he believes reflects a truth within his thoughts. 
 
Approximately 20 years ago, Kevin developed an eye condition called ‘Central Serous Retinopathy’ (CSR), which can distort his vision by producing fluid on his retina. He chose to embrace this in his art, and Kevin’s palette and application of bold, vibrant colours dissect and bend his figures and portraits to a recognisable point of abstraction which, for Kevin, highlights the multi-layers of life, memory and our inner emotions to directly confront the viewer with honest thoughts of their own life. 

He explained; “My artwork is like a diary of images and a reminder of every person's uniqueness and diversity. It is about the chaos of life, the madness of humans, challenge, truth and breaking down barriers, acceptance and appreciation of life in all its forms and layers. It is about everyone's unique story in life”.

Follow Kevin on Instagram at @kmgartist

More about the trail