Dave Kinsey

Born 1971, Pittsburgh, PA Lives and works in Los Angeles, CA Not one for the nine to five grind, Kinsey started the creative design studio BLK/MRKT after moving to the west coast following his education at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and the Art Institute of Atlanta. Its success has allowed him to pursue his path as an accomplished designer and fine artist. His work captures the universal essence of the human condition through an energetic portrayal of urban characters. Working spontaneously, and utilizing a range of mediums including wood, canvas, chipboard, acrylic paints, found materials and pen and ink, he constructs multi-layered, textured environments easily likened to the complexities of contemporary urban life. His portraits depict beings who are both triumphant in their defiant stance to their surroundings, and tragic, as they transmit a visual display of raw emotion and jangled nerves. The style and substance of his body of work originates in street art, such as his “unlearn” message, and in keeping with his goal “to expose as many people to art as possible and to honor the power art has when it’s created and accepted”, Kinsey founded the BLK/MRKT Gallery, allowing him to provide a crossroads for a new movement of young and electrifying iconoclasts. In addition to these pursuits his fine art has been shown in galleries and museums worldwide, among these a recent exhibition at the URBIS Museum in Manchester. He has also been featured in such publications as The New York Times, LoDown and Black Book, and invited to speak at numerous institutions such as The Art Center College of Design, UCLA, Montserrat College of Art and The University of Florida. - Biography from kinseyvisual.com