Alastair MacKinven

Alastair MacKinven is a distinguished British Postwar & Contemporary painter. 

Biography of Alastair MacKinven

Alastair MacKinven was born in 1971 in Clatterbridge, UK. In 1994, he received a BA in Fine Art from the Alberta College of Art in Calgary, Canada. Later, he honed his skills at Goldsmiths College in London, obtaining an MA in Fine Art in 1996.

His recent solo exhibitions include "Numble Bound To A Stripped Standing Tree" at Maureen Paley in London (2022), "Dlnrg [oeeey]" at Reena Spaulings Fine Art in New York (2021), "Everything is Personal" at Tramps in New York (2020), among others. 

Alastair MacKinven's paintings have also been featured in numerous group exhibitions, including "It's not what you think it is" at Tramps in New York (2021), "This Corrosion" at Modern Art in London (2020), "Viva Ultra" at Mackintosh Lane in London (2019), and many more.

Currently, the artist lives and works in London, UK.

Alastair MacKinven's Art Style

Alastair MacKinven employs a conceptual methodology in his painting practice. His abstract canvases serve as a critical tool to dissect notions of power within the art establishment, the artist's role, the presentation, and interpretation of art by galleries, as well as its circulation through the art market and mass media.  

The eerie and dreamlike ambiance in Alastair Mackinven’s paintings evokes the late nineteenth century, reminiscent of the era of symbolism, aestheticism, and decadence. While the forms in his compositions may appear defined, there's always a sense that the hazy and merging colors within each picture act independently, weaving obscure and unresolved dramas. His figurative scenes, brimming with unsettling activities in ethereal and ambiguous realms, remain enigmatic.