The Kirins

Collaborative Painting – Sculpture – Writing

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About

Stephen and Lorna Kirin first met in 1986 at North East London Polytechnic, whilst studying Sculpture and Painting as part of their Fine Art Degrees. At that time, their lives went different ways, but by 2016 they found themselves going in the same direction and they have been together ever since. They continue to create individually, but from 2016 have also been working collaboratively. (See the links below to discover more about their individual work.)

Over the years their collaborative work has evolved into a very natural expression of how two artists respond to the world. Subject matter is often steeped in classical sculpture and painting and the questions these raise for the contemporary art loving public. As artists working as a lens filtering contemporary culture and life, this decade so far has not been one of peace, naturally this has influenced their recent subject matter. Both ‘Hope’ and the triptych series of ‘The Furies’ refer to the current conflict in Ukraine and ‘The Fury of Athamos’ and ‘Laocoönic Caryatid’ further explore the struggles we find ourselves in. ‘Constanza Too’ is an example of an early depiction of domestic violence and the painting is specifically titled to namecheck her into the contemporary ‘Me Too’ movement, while ‘Fanny Eaton’ and ‘Tohotaua with a Fan’ reconfigure representations of the female as Artistic muse by asserting their identity beyond the Pre-Raphaelites’ Romanticism and conquests in Gauguin’s search for a primitive Eden. 

Bury St Edmunds, their hometown, has just marked a 1000 year history as a religious pilgrimage destination, with it’s very name associated with St Edmund and the legends and symbolism that suffuses the town. The 600 year old carved Angels in St Mary’s Church remain an inspiration too. They first enthralled Stephen and Lorna as symbols of permanence at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic; their benevolent presences have been gazing down on the world for centuries, bearing witness to plague, war, famine and of course celebratory times too. They are enduring, just as we seek to be. Stephen and Lorna have purposely set them adjacent to new pieces that reference today’s turbulence. The image of King Edmund and the wolf, for example, a victim of a violent murder, sits alongside this narrative.

Their art seeks peace and inner strength within the human condition and how we persist within it.


Stephen Kirin

Lorna Kirin

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The Angle Gallery in St Johns St Bury St Edmunds is now holding stock of the 2 high definition Giclee prints that we have had made of subject matter with local interest both medieval and Dickensian.They are on sale for £80 and £65 respectively and 10% of any proceeds goes to St Mary’s and The Theatre Royal as a way for us to support them a little via Art and thank them for the inspiration.These prints are finished to a high quality as you can see from parts of the production process!..The Dickens image was started in-situ during an open air production of the Christmas carol and his face showed itself during the Artistic process. He wrote part of the Pickwick papers in the Angel Hotel and gave a talk in the Athenaeum which is the backdrop of our finished piece.The medieval history of the Gabriel carving in St Mary’s has been discussed before but do pop over to our website (link in bio) and read the blog for more on our inspirational journey towards the finished Gabriel painting.
Narcissus after Caravaggio by Stephen and Lorna Kirin
Our first 2023 collaboration uses a Caravaggio inspired Narcissus reference , at an advanced stage but a little way to go yet😊..we’ll keep you all updated on progress #caravaggio #narcissus #narcissi #collaborativeart #watercolourpainting #watercolourpencils #thekirinsart #suffolkopenstudios #originalart #suffolk
We are really thrilled with our new fabric patches! We have had details of our collaborative paintings professionally printed onto a luxurious natural linen and the 9 options are now available in our Etsy shop (link in bio) They are approximately 9.5cm square and can be washed in cool water. We think these will be great in so many creative projects; patchwork, appliqué, embroidery, textile art and can be reinforced further with fusible interfacing and edged to make gorgeous patches either for repair or to jazz up your wardrobe and accessories. We hope you like them! #patches #patchwork #textiles #applique #sewingproject #embroideryart #collaborativeart #thekirins #repairpatches
26 St Johns St Bury St Edmunds Suffolk @theanglegallery our collaborative exhibition is up and open😊#collaborativeart #thekirinsart #suffolkopenstudios #originalart #acrylicpainting #watercolourpainting #burystedmunds #suffolk #renaissance #preraphaelite #fineart
It’s nearly set up day for our solo collaborative show @theanglegallery Bury St Edmunds..open to visit from Thursday.Big Thankyou to Julia for making this possible and hopefully see a few friends old and new X #collaborativeart #acrylicpainting #watercolourpainting #suffolkopenstudios #originalart #thekirinsart #suffolkartist #suffolkexhibition #burystedmunds

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