About
David Kirkman is an internationally selling abstract artist known for bold, immersive mixed-media paintings. His work is a raw, expressive response to life, balancing energy, spontaneity, and emotion. Each piece dives into contrast: freedom and overwhelm, joy and contemplation, chaos and calm.
As a neurodivergent artist (AuDHD), David experiences the world with intensity, fast thoughts, deep feeling, and a constant hum of internal noise. His process is instinctive and intuitive, guided by emotion rather than a plan. Art becomes his way to pause, to breathe, and to turn inner chaos into colour and texture. Having also navigated his own mental health challenges and inner battles, David creates work that celebrates what makes us unique, and what makes us human. His paintings are moments of vulnerability transformed into colour, movement, and optimism.
Biography:
David Kirkman (b. 1985) is a self-taught abstract artist based in Essex, UK. Known for his bold, emotionally charged mixed-media paintings, David’s work explores the tension between chaos and calm, freedom and reflection, often drawing on his experiences as a neurodivergent artist.
David has exhibited widely across the UK. His recent solo show Mind Fizz at Circle Gallery, Ascot was a great success, and this year he was named a winner of the Galeria Moderna Invitational competition, which has led to an upcoming feature interview with Cass Art. His work can be found in homes and offices across the UK and Europe.
He has also taken part in exhibitions and Art Fairs at venues such as Truman Brewery (London), Rochester Art Fair, The Pie Factory (Margate), The W Gallery (Suffolk), Folkestone Art Gallery, DIG Gallery (Margate), Hype Gallery (Leigh-on-Sea), Liberation Art Gallery (Brighton), Art Space Gallery (Gibraltar), and Bluewater Shopping Centre, Kent.
Publications/ Interviews.
David’s work has been featured in Art and Culture Magazine, Artist Talk Magazine, Collect Art Magazine, and Haus-a-Rest.
Awards:
Winner of the Galeria Moderna Invitational 2025.
Gallery Representation:
The Circle Gallery, Ascot
Lux Gallery, Birmingham
Euphoric Arts, Chester
EXHIBITIONS:
2025
Galeria Moderna's - Winners Show, London - 11th - 17th August.
Leigh Art Trail - 5th - 3th July
Residency solo show - Bannantynes hotel and spa, Hastings - 2nd June - 22nd September
'Mind Fizz', solo show at Circle Gallery, Ascot - Saturday 26th April
Gallery 142, solo Show - 'Herding Cats' Felixstowe - April 17th - 23rd
Jan - 30th March Under the Rainbow - Group Show, April-May 2025, Bluewater, Kent
Dec - Feb Southend-on Sea Solo show hosted by David Lloyd's Gym.
2024
Rochester Art Fair - Kent 4th - 6th Oct
Headcorn Art Fair - Kent - September 2024
Creek Creative Studios Group Show - March 2024
Under the Rainbow - Group Show, April-May 2024, Bluewater, Kent
Leigh Art Trail - July 2024, Leigh-on-sea, Essex
Rochester Art Fair - May 2024, Rochester, Kent
2023
Under The Rainbow- Nov/Dec 2023 Group Show, Bluewater, Kent
The Pie Factory – October 2023, Group exhibition with DIG Gallery. Margate Kent
Rochester Art Fair, Oct 2023 Corn Exchange Rochester, Kent
New Artist Fair - Sept/Oct 2023 Truman Brewery, London
The W Gallery - Group Show, Woodbridge, Suffolk
Leigh Art Trail, July 2023, Leigh-on-Sea
Leigh Community Centre, Mental Health Charity June/Aug 2023 Group Show, Leigh-on sea
The Stables Gallery- June 2023, Hall Place, Bexley, Group Show, London
Under the Rainbow- May/June 2023 Group Show, Bluewater, Bluewater, Kent
Holy Art Fair- March April 2023, Oxo Tower London
CREATE 98 - Feb/March 2023, Solo show Leigh-on-sea, Essex
Under The Rainbow - Feb/March 2023, Group Exhibition, Bluewater Kent
Twenty One - Feb 2023, Solo Exhibition at Twenty One, Southend (Focal Art Gallery)
SB Studios - Fed 2023, London – Group Show
Holy Art - Jan 2023, Holy Art Gallery, London – Group Show
2022
Under the Rainbow - Nov/Dec 2022 – Bluewater, Kent Group Show
PUBLICATIONS:
Artist talk Magazine, 2023 - Issue 25
Collect Art Magazine, 2023 - Volume 18 Love of my life
Collect Art Magazine, 2023 - 101 Contemporary Artists
Haus-a-Rest Magazine, 2023 - Issue 33 Life of Lines
