The Company of Strangers: John Kirby
£ 30.00
Biography
JOHN KIRBY (1949 - 2025)
Born in Liverpool, John Kirby studied at Central St Martins and the Royal College of Art in London, following his service in a Calcutta children's home headed by Mother Teresa and time as a social worker. With his Catholic background a strong influence in his practice, since the 1980s Kirby has tackled the complexities of gender, sexuality and race through arresting and disquieting portraiture. While many of his works are sublimated self-portraits, others nod to religious and cultural iconography, or act as coded memories of his own family in a surrealist style that has drawn comparisons to Magritte, Hopper and Balthus.
In 2012 Kirby presented a major solo exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery, supported by the short film Son of Liverpool. John Kirby has exhibited extensively internationally and his works are held in public collections including Tate and the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.
Videos
Son of Liverpool, a short film created on the occasion of John Kirby's 2012 exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool.
