Multidisciplinary artist, Jess Kidd, lives and works in the Keighley area of Bradford. She graduated from Central Saint Martins, London, in 2008 with a degree in fine art. In the past she has explored different art-forms including film and performance, but more recently she has returned to the tactile/sensory and instinctive process of painting. She says:
I love to experiment, play with, and manipulate materials, and I’m driven by a passionate intention to convey my interpretations of reality.
Puddle
Jess is inspired by art that provokes people to reconsider the familiar or mundane. After moving back home, she was captivated by the unique Pennine post-industrial landscape, she’d taken for granted as a child. She aims to encourage celebration and appreciation of where we live, rather than apathy or negativity.
In order to connect to a wider audience Jess has exhibited in a variety of spaces, such as a dis-used department store in Keighley itself; the open air, UNESCO City of Film, Big Screen, in Centenary Square, Bradford; and the Atrium Gallery at St James’s Hospital, Leeds.
Reflection
Searching for the Light no.4
Jess experienced a prolonged period of serious illness in her mid 20s, resulting in her practice taking an unexpected back seat. Nevertheless, her art has re-emerged recently, and she is thriving once again. In 2023, Jess was awarded both the Scott Creative Arts Foundation, Emerging Artist Award and the Joan Day Painting Bursary by South Square Centre, Thornton. This resulted in time to develop her practice and a two month solo exhibition.
Since Covid and experiencing unexpected grief, Jess has focussed more specifically on light and ‘finding joy’, whether through finding beauty in unexpected places or translating her love of colour, texture or composition into something she can share.
Worth Way to Park Lane
Aftermath
Artist Website: www.jesskiddart.co.uk
Instagram: Jess Kidd