“Kevin Chin’s paintings defy the proclamations, imperatives, and the flatness of the political. They open instead onto some more spacious kind of feeling.”

Erin McFadyen
Artist Profile Magazine

  • Artist Profile Magazine

    “Kevin Chin’s paintings defy the proclamations, imperatives, and the flatness of the political. They open instead onto some more spacious kind of feeling.”

    Erin McFadyen

  • Art Guide

    “In the face of divisive politics which dominate our contemporary landscape, the inhabitants and buildings in Chin’s work make earnest attempts to hold it all together.”

    Andy Butler

  • The Age

    “This is a panorama not of place, but of a wider set of personal experiences, moods and moments alone - hushed in stillness, but rambling in scope.”

    Dan Rule

  • Time Out Magazine

    “You can get lost in the topsy turvy dreamscapes of Melbourne-based artist Kevin Chin... And they are just the feast for sore eyes that art lovers need to drink in at length.”

    Stephen A Russell

  • Art Collector 50 Things Issue

    “Chin’s increasing success owes as much to his compositional, narrative deftness and masterful painting abilities as it does his sheer hard work.”

    Jo Higgins

Kevin Chin’s paintings piece together distant lands, to examine global connection in divisive times. Interiors and exteriors meld through oils, as our place in the world becomes fluid. There’s a dream-like softness evoked by layering translucent colours in intriguing new ways. This slow, considered process also lends the paintings their meditative presence. Kevin tests painting conventions to channel inner states, with the aim of transcending worldly borders altogether.

Kevin Chin is the winner of the Bayside Prize Melbourne and the Albany Prize WA, as well as runner-up at the Redland Award Brisbane and a finalist in over 20 national prizes. Institutional collections include Australian Parliament House, Artbank, RACV, City of Albany, Bayside City, Nillumbik Shire, and La Trobe Uni Museum of Art.

Kevin has held 20 solo exhibitions around Australia, and internationally in the USA, Japan and Singapore. Public solo exhibitions include Town Hall Gallery, Gippsland Art Gallery, Bayside Gallery, Linden New Art, and West Space. Kevin has spoken at various forums including for the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, ABC radio, and multiple podcasts.

Kevin was selected by Art Collector Magazine as one of Australia’s 50 most collectable artists in 2020, and was featured on the cover in 2014. His work is also extensively reviewed in Artist Profile, The Age, Art Guide, Time Out, The Design Files, Art + Australia, as well as international publications Creative Boom UK, JH News USA, and Blouin Artinfo.

Kevin has been awarded multiple grants from Creative Australia, Creative Victoria, the Ian Potter Cultural Trust, City of Melbourne, City of Yarra, and the National Association for the Visual Arts.

2024 Survey Exhibition

Town Hall Gallery curated the largest showing of Kevin’s paintings to date, bringing together a selection from recent years across all three gallery spaces.

This accompanying video is courtesy of Town Hall Gallery and Julian Filer.

2024 Madrid Studio Residency

Kevin speaks about his development process and research during his month in Spain.

The video is courtesy of #Ey! Studio and Simona Latorre.