The artist

Linda Le Kinff: the daring alchemist between tradition and modernity

Imagine an artist who, from the outset, takes you on a journey between France and Brazil, then unceremoniously takes you to Italy, Japan, India... That's a bit like Linda Le Kinff's universe: a whirlwind of colors, cultures and techniques, where women display generous curves, their heads full of dreams and cats prowl everywhere as silent witnesses.

Born to a French mother and a Brazilian father, Linda grew up in a dual culture that deeply permeates her painting: the sophisticated grace of the French artistic tradition rubs shoulders with the vibrant palette of Latin American countries. However, nothing predestined her to a career in art, since she initially followed a rather traditional educational path. It was the friction of life - encounters with painters, sculptors and other free spirits - that made her branch out towards canvas and pigments in the sixties.

The decisive shock of her career? Italy. At 18, Linda discovered Florence and was literally amazed. Renaissance art overwhelmed her, so much so that she returned there regularly for fifteen years, mopping up all sorts of ancient techniques (egg tempera, the use of gold leaf, copper engraving, etc.) and mastering more recent ones (airbrushing, acrylic, screen printing). In Franco Cantini's studio, she rubbed shoulders with masters such as Zancanaro and Chipola, whose influence would have a lasting impact on her style.

Another key moment in her career occurred by chance - or by a stroke of fate, one might say - in 1974: while working on a lithograph in Arcueil, she met Sir Myles Cook, director of Christie's Contemporary Art in London. This was the beginning of a collaboration lasting more than twelve years, thanks to which Linda exhibited throughout Europe, Japan and even Australia. Her works circulated from one gallery to another (Burlington Art Galleries in Hong Kong, Krashin Gallery in the United States, etc.) and gradually conquered the international scene.

Her successive travels (to India, where she "encountered" color, to Japan, where she explored sumi-e under the guidance of master Sujiama Yu, to Morocco alongside poet Chabia, etc.) never ceased to fuel her imagination. Linda brought back techniques, motifs, visions that accumulated in her repertoire. Little by little, her style was forged, both anchored in the heritage of the great masters of the Renaissance and open to all audacity. Linda cites Matisse, Klimt, Modigliani or Picasso among her inspirations; she willingly takes up the freedom of lines, even cubist deconstruction, to better tell her own stories.

The "Le Kinff touch" is recognizable at first glance: voluptuous feminine silhouettes, cats fluttering in the decor, bright and shimmering colors placed on wood or canvas. The varnishes and mixtures she invents allow her to obtain a unique chromatic density, combining classic finesse and vibrant modernism. She is also fond of oil pastel, ink, watercolor and, recently, collage. Enough to further multiply the possibilities and remind us that an artist, for her, only exists on condition that he never rests on his laurels.

Her talent was not long in being noticed: in 1998, she became the official artist of the Football World Cup in France, which earned her the unprecedented honor of seeing one of her works minted as a commemorative coin. Then, in 2010, she was the first French artist selected to illustrate the prestigious Kentucky Derby: in a twist of fate, the horse she painted wore the number 4 and actually won the race under that same number… Coincidence? Some will see this as a nice snub to the idea that art and sport are two separate worlds.

Between her collaborations with the Park West Gallery (which opened America to her on a platter) and her numerous exhibitions around the world, Linda never ceases to diversify her mediums, even trying her hand at sculpture and screen printing. Always with the same credo: the artist must constantly innovate, even if it means taking risks, because creation is an eternal recommencement. She herself states: "We are only the artisans of a strange poetry that surpasses us."

Ultimately, how can we define Linda Le Kinff's art? It is both light and deep, timeless and fully anchored in our times. Her paintings speak all languages, as if her singular style, marked by her French heritage, her Brazilian roots and her wild escapades across the planet, contained within itself a universal message. The women she paints, reassuring and voluptuous, seem to whisper in our ears: "Beauty is everywhere, if we know how to look at it with a hint of audacity and reverie."

What is certain is that Linda Le Kinff leaves behind her an inimitable trail in the History of Art. And she has not finished surprising us, as this insatiable traveler still seems to have a thousand ideas to share, a thousand worlds to paint — always with that colorful sweetness that characterizes her.