Kevin Xiques is an artist based in Queens, New York whose work explores the essence of everyday human experience through gesture, color, and form. Xiques has presented solo exhibitions at Dowling Walsh Gallery, including Life is Confusing at This Point (2024) and This is for You (2023). His work has been included in group exhibitions at spaces such as SOIL Gallery, Cove Street Arts, and Katzman Contemporary Projects. Xiques is a recipient of the David C. Driskell Fellowship at Indigo Arts Alliance and a SPACE Gallery Studio Grant. His work has been featured in Art New England, Maine Magazine, and the Portland Press Herald, and he has participated in programming at the Portland Museum of Art. In 2023, he contributed to the American Folk Art Museum’s Marvels of My Own Inventiveness as a voiceover interpreter. Xiques received his BA in Philosophy from the University of Vermont in 2015.
Artist Statement:
I view my paintings as independent worlds owned solely by the viewer. Each one is a manifestation of my everyday human experience; an interpretation of emotions felt, images seen, and experiences had through gesture, color, and form. While the act of making them is deeply personal, I never intend to convey a particular idea or meaning through my paintings. Instead, I aim to inspire the viewer to forge their own connection or story. In a world where we are too often discouraged to think independently and unconventionally, I want my work to create a sacred space where the viewer can feel and explore autonomously, without the pressure of a predetermined destination.
The approach I take to painting is a marriage between intuition and spontaneity. Every mark and gesture is made through a feeling(s) had in the moment, and my canvases build through a practice of call and response as I paint. I use a very limited array of materials; this “less is more” approach is efficient for me in converting complex and sometimes inexplicable feelings into visual representations. I try — but do not limit myself — to paint during moments of peak emotional clarity that often arise sporadically. This process honors the universal spontaneity of the human experience, providing a foundational point of connection for the viewer. From there, the invitation to engage with the work freely and instinctively is extended.