Richard Kitson is a figurative artist based in Barnsley who graduated from MA Fine Art in 2024. Kitson has exhibited in the UK and internationally and was a participant in Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year in 2018. Kitson’s work has been featured in selected group exhibitions including the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, Ruth Borchard Self-Portrait Prize, Figurative Art Now and the Cork Street Open. His work hangs in various public and private collections.
Profile
Richard Kitson
Alumni
MA Fine Art
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"The biggest change [to my work] came when I undertook my master’s degree at Leeds Arts University. I used the time to widen my knowledge of autobiography as a genre and researched other contemporary artists who share the same preoccupation with the familiar. The theoretical element of the MA course introduced me to ideas around autoethnography, where your own lived experiences fuel the research that feeds the work."
Richard Kitson, MA Fine Art graduate
Richard continued; "It is interesting to note that during the year I spent undertaking my master's studies I completed almost as many paintings as I did over the previous five years. To date this has been my most productive period as an artist, not only in the sense of making new work but also with regards to my approach and understanding of what motivates me to do so."