About
Kay Bainbridge is a painter based in Sheffield, UK.
I am a painter and have been living and working in Sheffield for the past three years. I work mostly in oil paint as I find it incredibly adaptable, and its malleability has become part of my process.
To start, I use pre-existing forms drawn from the environment. The final image derives out of the process itself. This often involves adding and taking away the oil paint and scraping away built-up layers, almost as if excavating for the final image.
My imagery often moves between figurative and abstract elements, with my use of colour being the constant thread throughout.
I draw inspiration from many different areas of life which can be autobiographical, or from the landscape and the environment. I also have a desire to take aspects of everyday life that are not visible or that are constantly changing and give them a tangible form. For example, interactions with others, humour, specific conversations, and clouds. The final image often results in metaphor about emotional, political, and environmental states not always intended at the start of the painting process.
Exhibitions
2023/24 December 21st - March 31st, Solo Show, ‘Directors and Props’, Juke and Loe, The Milestone, Sheffield
2023
October 17th - 26th, ING Discerning Eye, Mall Galleries, London . selected by Eliza Gluckman and Chris Levine
October 26th - November 10th, ‘Home’, Share Psychology, Paradise Square, Sheffield
March 1st -10th, ‘Art From The Pandemic’, Gage Gallery, Sheffield
January 28th - May 28th, Solo Show, ‘Water And Land’, 20-21 Visual Arts Centre, Scunthorpe,
2022
6th -21st December, ‘Further’, That Art Gallery , Bristol
29th July- 10th September, BEEP Wales Painting Biennial, Elysium Gallery, Swansea,
20th May - 25th September, A Generous Space 2, The New Art Gallery, Walsall
4th February - 28th March Solo Show ‘Arrhythmia’, The Art Social, Sheffield
2021
22nd November- 7th April 2022, A Generous Space, Hastings Contemporary, Hastings
2020
December 2nd - 31st, Daphane Francis Gallery Custard Factory, Birmingham
October BEEP Wales Painting Prize, Elysium Gallery, Swansea
2019
July, London Festival of Architecture, RAW Labs, Royal Albert Wharf, London
January, London Art Fair with The Nunnery Gallery, Business Design Centre, London
2018
July- August Invitation to Rave, Nunnery Gallery, London
April Solo Show, ‘Island, Daphne Francis Gallery, Birmingham
2017
Solo Show Tarpey Galley
2016
November- January Nottingham Castle Open, Nottingham , 2 x Prize Winner
November ‘flux’, Solo show, Daphane Francis Gallery, Birmingham
March Lynn Painter Stainer Prize , London
April The Cobalt Blue group show, The Bond, Birmingham
April ‘Foule Parlement’, No4a Galllery, Malvern
2015
The London Open, Cello Factory ,London
Nesta Gallery, London, EC1
Custard Factory , Birmingham
Episode One, No4a Gallery, Malvern
2014
BEEP Painting Prize, Swansea
United States of Art, The Custard Factory, Birmingham
Oriel Davies Open, Newtown, Powys
Speculative Future, Aside Bside Gallery, Hackney, London
Cobalt Blue, The Custard Factory, Birmingham
2013
The Perfect Nude, Charlie Smith London
Conversations with Birmingham, Brindley Place, Birmingham
Worcester Open, Worcester Art Gallery
PINK! Cultivate, Vyner St, London
Saltburn Arts Fair, North Yorkshire
Education
MA Children’s Book Illustration (2009), Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge
Certificate in Education (1996), Greenwich University, London
BA(Hons) Fine Art (1992), Winchester School of Art , Winchester
kay.bainbridge@me.com