Kurt Hickson is a mixed media artist that combines found objects and materials with the vocabulary of painting to explore ideas around taste, tradition and process. Whilst he embraces retro art practices, Hickson confronts the so-called ‘death of painting’ with a playful DIY approach to making, revamping the conventions of abstract painting with modern materials and experimental methods of production. Shifting between styles, he explores the act, process and materiality of painting as it battles a world of commercial images, new media art forms and its own historical baggage.

Kurt Hickson was born in Birmingham, UK, and graduated from Liverpool John Moores University with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art. Group shows include ‘The Future’ Coventry Biennial of Contemporary Art (2017), the Arts Council Collection National Partnership show 'The Everyday and Extraordinary' at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery (2018) which travelled to The Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne (2018-2019), Ikon Gallery’s off-site show ‘Forward: New Art from Birmingham’ at Medicine, Birmingham (2019), and The BEEP Painting Biennial 'I Won't Stay In A World Without Love' at Elysium Gallery, Swansea (2024). Solo projects include ‘Monochrome’ at The Wig, Birmingham (2017), ‘Objects’ at T Street Gallery, Birmingham (2018), ‘Shape Pattern Process’ at Asylum Gallery, Wolverhampton (2019), and the group exhibition ‘The Technician Show’ which Hickson curated at The Hyper-Lab/HMV Empire, Coventry (2022). His work has also been exhibited at Test Space-Spike Island, Eastside Projects, New Art Gallery Walsall, and The Midlands Arts Centre. Awards and residencies include the a-n Biennial Bursary: Berlin (2018), Soup ptV Residency at Stryx (2019), Birmingham Architectural Association-First Prize (2019), a-n Bursary: Time Space Money (2020), and the Meadow Arts Commission Award-WO23 First Prize (2023).