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Painting (MA)

Hilda Kortei

Hilda Kortei, born in London, UK in 1994, graduated from the Arts University Bournemouth in 2015 with a Bachelor's degree in Design. Hilda is now completing a Master's degree in Painting at the Royal College of Art sponsored by the Leverhulme Trust Arts Scholarship and the Sir Frank Bowling Scholarship.

Based on personal experience, Hilda has developed a semiotic system of painting that is raw, playful and material-led. In her diverse and expressive practice of painting, assemblage and, more recently, performance, she continues to explore ideas around violence and survival, speaking to the intricacies of sociopolitical realities that permeate her daily existence. Each work poses questions about the physicality of colour, gesture, shape, and texture, where she looks for body, kinship and resilience, creating meaning in the material and immaterial.

Her works have been shown internationally and across the UK including her most recent group show at Tara Downs (New York), Plastic Stars (June 2023), her upcoming solo presentation at Harlesden High Street Gallery (London), Charlie, Let's go! (July 2023), and her solo exhibition at Cob Gallery (London), Waitless Beyond Blue (August 2021).

Hilda Kortei, profile image

Spirit lives within inanimate objects.

I paint with intent – to inject life into symbols and shapes. I give them meaning, and they create their own.

All matter – whether it's paint in all its grace or discards found by the side of the road which I accept as gifts from my community – pulsates with life. They have agency – together we shape each other – a form of co-becoming. I cast and carve them to our liking, letting gestures of tenderness sit amongst clumps of flesh.

Inflicted are my circumstances that bleed into their making. I act instinctively – it is with my gut, we feed ourselves anew.

With pigment we resurrect – I am free to roam, connect and transform, bringing to existence endless possibilities. 

And with this, I have something to believe in – new worlds and new realities – I return to play, the basis of my practice and what gives impetus to survive.

Assemblage using oil on canvas, oil stick, paper, wood, plastic carrier bag
Lucky for who?, 2023Oil on canvas, oil stick, paper, wood, plastic carrier bag, 100 x 60 cm
Painting using oil, acrylic and charcoal on collaged and stitched canvas and linen
Demur, 2023Oil, acrylic and charcoal on collaged and stitched canvas and linen, 160 x 120 cm
Assemblage using oil on canvas, oil stick, paper, wood, plastic carrier bag, 100 x 60 cm
(Detail)Lucky for who?, 2023
Painting using acrylic and charcoal on collaged and stitched canvas and linen, 160 x 120 cm
(Detail)Demur, 2023
Assemblage containing an air-filled carrier bag, found wood, paper, fabric, jute, acrylic, charcoal, coins, handbell + more
Tree of Chorus (To drag is to endure as to drag is to surrender), 2022Air-filled carrier bag, found wood, paper, fabric, jute, acrylic, charcoal, coins, screw, duct tape, handbell, 77 x 217 x 50 cm, Photo Credit: FOLD Gallery
Painting using acrylic on canvas (Diptych), 160 x 250 cm
Press On (Buttons and Buttons), 2023Acrylic on canvas (Diptych), 160 x 250 cm, Photo Credit: Tara Downs Gallery
Yellow painting including oil, acrylic, oil stick fabric and canvas
Installation ViewListen for the hum, 2022
Yellow painting including oil, acrylic, oil stick fabric and canvas
Listen for the hum, 2022Oil, acrylic, oil stick fabric and canvas, 145 x 200 cm
Yellow painting including oil, acrylic, oil stick fabric and canvas
(Detail)Oil, acrylic, oil stick fabric and canvas, 145 x 200 cm
Oil and acrylic on stitched fabric and canvas, 100 x 85 cm
On The Search For More, 2023 Oil and acrylic on stitched fabric and canvas, 100 x 85 cm, Photo Credit: Tara Downs Gallery
Painting using oil, acrylic, oil stick, charcoal, dry pigment, spray paint, felt and linen on jute, 100 x 115 cm
Two Teams, Five Players, 2023Oil, acrylic, oil stick, charcoal, dry pigment, spray paint, felt and linen on jute, 100 x 115 cm, Photo Credit: PM/AM
Oil and acrylic on stitched fabric and canvas, 100 x 85 cm
(Detail)On The Search For More, 2023
Painting using oil, acrylic, oil stick, charcoal, dry pigment, spray paint, felt and linen on jute, 100 x 115 cm
(Detail)Two Teams, Five Players, 2023
Painting using oil and acrylic on canvas, 160 x 180 cm
Peacock In Madrid, 2023Oil and acrylic on canvas, 160 x 180 cm, Photo Credit: Tara Downs Gallery
Oil, wax and acrylic on canvas
A Pinch Is A Kind Of Embrace, 2023Oil, wax and acrylic on canvas, 180 x 200 cm. Degree Show 2023 Presentation.
A Pinch Is A Kind Of Embrace, 2023
(Detail)A Pinch Is A Kind Of Embrace, 2023
A Pinch Is A Kind Of Embrace, 2023
(Detail)A Pinch Is A Kind Of Embrace, 2023

Leverhulme Trust Arts Scholarship