John Kindness
His work often contrasts material, image and reference in an unusual and humorous way. Kindness was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He attended the Belfast College of Art and now lives and works in London.
John Kindness
Ardfern · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Born
- 1951 · Belfast.
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Occupation
- artist · painter · sculptor
- Education
- Ulster University
- Known for
- The Big Fish
- Languages
- English
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wikidata · Q6243103 · wikipedia · John Kindness
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Work in collections or on display
Typical of Kindness's work is the Treasures of New York series he produced when he spent time in New York in the early 1990s. Here, scenes inspired by contemporary life but modelled in style on Athenian ceramics are painted on panels from New York yellow cabs, equating the significance and stature of contemporary life with that of classical times. He is also known for his use of tiles in sculpture, often contrasting the domestic and static association of tiling with a dynamic and epic subject. In 2014, he received an Individual Support Award from the Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation.
• A Mummer's Banquet (2019), Clone Learning Centre at Hillsborough Castle. • Odysseus (2012), Galway Arts Festival • The Labor Monument: Philadelphia's Tribute to the American Worker (2010), Elmwood Park, Philadelphia (commissioned by the Association for Public Art) • Illustration — The Big Fish, Belfast, October 2009 • The Big Fish (1999), Donegall Quay, Belfast • Romulus and Seamas (1992), F.E. McWilliam Gallery, Banbridge. • Waterfall of Souvenirs (1991), (removed/missing 12 February 2022) • The Art Council of Northern Ireland, including: • Hermes (1990) • The Victoria and Albert Museum, London • The Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin • The Boston Museum of Fine Art, Boston • The Ulster Museum, Belfast, including: • The Belfast Frescoes • The Imperial War Museum, London, including: • Sectarian Armour (1994) • The Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery, Dublin, including: • Monkey and Dog (1986) • The Arts Council of Ireland: • Winged Sneaker (1990) • Design for a New Bridge Across the River Liffey
"The Big Fish" by John Kindness, Donegall Quay, Belfast, Northern Ireland, October 2009
Ardfern
"The Big Fish" by John Kindness, Donegall Quay, Belfast, Northern Ireland, October 2009
Ardfern
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Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article John Kindness, revision 1365991227 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
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Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation Grant Recipients 2014.
- 2.New Artwork at Hillsborough Castle is feast for human eye, Belfast Telegraph, 24 May 2019
- 3.2014 John Kindness.
- 4.John Kindness | Galway International Arts Festival.
- 5.A New Landmark: Monument to Labour Installed in Philadelphia.
- 6.Artscouncil-ni.org. Arts Council of Northern Ireland.
- 7.John Kindness Sculpture Comes to Down County Museum, website of Newry, Mourne and Down district council, 7 June 2016.
- 8.Artscouncil-ni.org. Ulsterbus Station in Glengall Street, Belfast.
- 9.Artscouncil-ni.org. Hermes (1990) by John Kindness (b. 1951, Belfast).
- 10.Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery. Coffee Conversations. 26 November 2014.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 1
- Barbara Dawson, "Kindness, John" in Brian Lalor (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Ireland. Dublin: Gill & Macmillan.
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 19 August 2026.
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