Edward Kay

Kay’s The Bon Viveur (ii) is reminiscent of Georg Grosz’s satirical portraits of 1920s Berlin society. Corpulent, well dressed, with genitalia on his face, Kay’s character is a full-figured image of the ’good life’. Rather than taking a moral position, The Bon Viveur (ii) is a celebration of its own perversity, a connoisseur’s paragon of gluttonous indulgence. The canvas is rendered in a flawlessly decadent style worthy of its subject.

Edward Kay’s paintings are inspired equally by art history and kitsch. His work draws from various archetypal genres such as portraiture and still life to render scenes which have an instant familiarity yet are off-beat. Kay has incredible painting skill which allows him to shift and combine styles fluently, and his canvases convey the serene power of masterworks and the dramatic overtones of graphic illustration.