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DAVE KINSEY & TJEBBE BEEKMAN
FEBRUARY 2025 interview excerpt
TB: There seems to be a theatrical element in the paintings, as if the objects are placed within a set design. Is this a conscious choice to create a specific narrative, or is it meant to evoke a sense of isolation or unease?
DK: I think it’s a bit of both. The whole can only exist if all the characteristics of each supporting element is in place—like the set of a movie and how each object or the chosen camera perspective plays a crucial role in enhancing the narrative of that cinematic experience. I took notice of this when looking at the renaissance paintings in Florence—Michelangelo, Bellini, Uccello, Caravaggio, Botticelli. Using an intentional placement of objects, viewpoint or color palette to enhance the story or point of view creates an emotional tension or mood within the picture.
TB: Your recent works are partly inspired by a trip to Italy and the classical Roman art you encountered there. Does the fall of the Roman Empire and its decadence serve as a metaphor for the current state of the USA or rather the western world ? Do you intend it as a warning?
DK: Ha, possibly. I can’t help but use my art as a means of distilling the current state of the world, this has been fueling the fire of my work for decades. It’s the only way I can make sense of the cyclical chaos of the world we live in. I saw so many correlations in the renaissance paintings to modern times.
Things are so weird at the moment—not to mention the world itself—and it’s fucked that so many people seem to be ok with it, or maybe they’re looking at things on an insular scale, which is worse? That’s the most unsettling thing for me to comprehend. I’m hoping that this is all part of a strange cycle of events we must endure to reach an inflection point or renewed clarity, but I’m not very optimistic about the future well-being of the human race, especially with technology and disinformation running rampant. I’ll leave it at that.
...interview continued here
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