Kevin Booth (he/him/his) is a visual artist and writer, creative fields to which he came by way of the theatre.
His first show, Blur Queer Lines, at the gallery Estudio Mahi Toi in Barcelona, was held in June 2022. View the works here.
This was an initial early milestone in his artistic trajectory. Having been obsessed with and writing about visual art for years in his novels and non-fiction, he took the plunge into the practical, reviving a passion from adolescence. The decision to study oil painting at Escola Massana, Barcelona (2018) was key to reigniting this vocation.
His visual art practice encompasses oils, inks and drawing. In exploring what it is to be male, gay and sexual, the artistic persona, Domitorus, allows the artist to tackle more explicit erotic and fetish themes.
As a writer, Kevin Booth creates contemporary and LGBT-themed fiction, often about Barcelona and its history, such as his first novel, Celia’s Room (2011). He has also written about the city’s art and architecture in the BCN Free Art guides (2016). Writing as K. Eastkott he created the “Seeking the Jewel Fish” (2013–2015), an environmentally focussed ocean fantasy series that explored non-Eurocentric worlds. He began as a writer penning English learning, theatre-in-education plays, such as the hugely successful 100 Meters (1993). This play tells the story of athlete Wilma Rudolph, who overcame crippling disability and racism to become the fastest woman in the world. It has now been commercially published along with a teaching pack for students at CEFR language levels A2–C1.
Born into an artistic family in Aotearoa New Zealand, Kevin Booth has lived in Auckland, Sydney, Melbourne, Madrid and London, though since 1988, Barcelona is the city he calls home. He studied a BA (Hons) Literature at the Open University (UK, 2005) and undertook a postgraduate BA (Hons) in Comparative Literature at Auckland University (2008), both awarded First Class Honours. He combines art and writing with work as a translator and editor.
Artist statement
The two main strands of Kevin Booth’s working exploration are oils and coloured inks, using other media, such as gold leaf, as needed. Light and saturated colour are both fundamental.
The rich pigments of oils allows him to capture the colour and joy of male sexuality, like a celebration in bright sunlight. He is currently exploring non-naturalistic chromatic balancing in a movement towards abstraction, while remaining fascinated by male figurative.
When working with inks, he allows the colours to mix wet in an anarchic bleeding and fusion of pigments, while exploring the differing textures of various grounds, including paper, gesso and acrylic.
Solo shows (most recent first)
Ars Felatio. Boxer Café and Bar, Barcelona, 6–30 April 2023. Works in ink and charcoal from 2022–2023.
Blur Queer Lines. Estudio Mahi Toi, Barcelona, 16 June – 3 July 2022. This first show included oils and mixed media works from 2020–2022. See the works here.
Group shows
Hostalric d’art. Exhibited at this art fair were oil and mixed media 2D works on the male figurative, and boxes decorated in coloured inks and gold leaf. Hostalric (Catalonia), June 2022.
CLAW22 Art Show, Cleveland (USA), April 2022. R Submits (coloured inks on paper, 16 x 27 cm) and In His Happy Place (coloured inks on paper, 27 x 16 cm) auctioned.
CLAW21 Art Show, Los Angeles (USA), November 2021. Access Denied (oil on canvas, 16 x 27 cm) and Chris Bound (coloured inks and water-soluble pencil on paper, 30 x 40 cm) auctioned.
Pride Edition Virtual Show, CU46 Gallery, Barcelona, July 2020. Iván Reclining, reproduction of 30 x 60 cm oil on canvas.