ArtEImage - Solus et Dualis

Solus et Dualis
Collaborative work by Jonathan Kinkead and Richard Young

Solus et Dualis translates from the latin to solo and duet which for us, as the artists is very appropriate since we are exhibiting work which are our own creation together with work that we have created together in a very collaborative process.

Collaborative Paintings : In the beginning, collaboration was an adventure that lead to an experience that is further than combining styles that has actually metamorphosed into an individual style that stands alone. We have areas of common interest and bring the interests that are outside this overlap into the image and the style. We are very driven by marks and colour to the extent the at the images become very abstract in their early manifestations and then slowly become more structured as they reach their climax. The finished state is recognized by both artists at nearly the same time, an experience that is very liberating. We began to work together in life classes because the space was limited, we clearly inspired each other and this moved us towards purposely creating images together. The starting point could be totally abstract marks of colour or definite constructed forms, these would progress as each artist spent time respecting the areas that inspired the next marks and moving the image where marks were not so interesting.

From our experiences with duet life work, we moved to work together on larger size formats which are exhibited here. Music has played a significant part in inspiring Richard’s work so when Duet images were being created, we used music as a strong tapestry to the work which ranged from old rock classics, Santana to the Modern Minimalist work of Steve Reich.

Jonathan Kinkead: “Collaborative painting has sparked new direction in my own work. I love to paint outside, especially in the elemental landscape of West Cornwall. My solo paintings aim to show the development of my representational work, inspired by the energy of the landscape, into abstraction, which embodies a synthesis of vision, memory and feelings.”

Richard Young: "The reference point of my work in art history is earlier than Jonathan’s with a strong interest in Renaissance, 19th Century and the New York School , the duet work has driven me to a different place in image development where I have become more accepted to have a more visually complex structure that has drifted away from either the human form or landscapes that are clear. These images are produced in a spontaneous and exciting atmosphere with great fun and great seriousness. We have successfully influenced each other in ways that would not have happened where we work as a solo effort because we enter the inside thinking of the other artist."