Artist Statement

Bio

Kevin Hemminger has a BA in Fine Arts and Illustration from the Laguna College of Art and Design, Laguna Beach, California. He lives in Long Beach with his family. He is the founder and owner of PaintKick Studios, LLC.

Artist Statement

As a painter and an illustrator, I am often inspired by American expressions or colloquialisms, such as the term “bad egg,” or the saying “crocodile tears.” I am interested in the literal meaning of these phrases and instantly upon hearing them, I connect images in my mind to form a concept for a painting.

In my youth, I was inspired by Rene Magritte’s representation of the world as something other than it is. Since then, my art has highlighted the confluence of the human and non-human worlds with anthropomorphic characters or inanimate objects having uniquely human experiences, as a way to explore the most absurd concepts of the corporeal world. My art explores the representations of normalized absurdities in daily human life by contrasting nature and artifice, natural and supernatural, or living and dead, as a way to convey the gap between our accepted societal norms and the reality of our situation. Common themes in my work include representations of overabundance and consumption and commentary on societal problems, such as mental health and classism.

The surrealist style and the dream-like representations and religious imagery in my work contrast the reality of the human experience. The surrealist style lends itself to satirical and noir imagery and allows the gravity of the commentary to be expressed in a non-threatening or even humorous way.

I studied fine art and illustration under several professional artists, such as Robert Jew and Jeff Soto prior to finishing my degree at the Laguna College of Art and Design in Southern California. I have shown my work in several galleries and museums across Southern California over the years. In my free time, I write and illustrate Children’s books. I have a private studio in Long Beach, California where I currently live with my wife and son.