James Kirkpatrick

James Kirkpatrick

Well known for both his participation in the early Canadian graffiti movement and an international music career, known as the hip hop artist Thesis Sahib, Kirkpatrick works in a variety of media including, drawing, painting, sound sculptures, murals, zines, comics, and mask making.

His paintings and sculptures incorporate, kinetic and auditory elements, as he combines his 2D aesthetic with altered electronic toys. Likewise, compositions written on modified Gameboys and circuit-bent sounds have become part of his music and on-stage performances as Thesis Sahib and the European/Canadian band AWARDS.

A graduate of the Nova Scotia college of Art and Design, Kirkpatrick’s music and visual art pursuits have taken him across North America, Europe, Asia and beyond. With numerous solo and group exhibitions, residencies and performances under his belt, Kirkpatrick is an interdisciplinary and prolific artist.

James Kirkpatrick joins a long tradition of artists whose art making is entwined with an exploration of everyday life and a search to understand our place in the world.

Selected Solo Exhibitions:
2019 To the Unseen Future, Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa, ON
2018 Swifti’s Revenge, Michael Gibson Gallery, London, ON
2018 To the Unseen Future, Judith and Norman Alix Art Gallery, Sarnia, ON
2017 The Sound Mods of James Kirkpatrick, New Adventures in Sound Art , South River, ON
2017 What’s his Face, Entertainment One pop up, Queen Street, Toronto, ON
2017 100% Real Humdinger, Studio 21, Halifax, NS
2017 Ghost of Bodhi, Michael Gibson Gallery Pop-UP at Accents, London, ON
2016 Close Reach, Michael Gibson Gallery, London ON
2015 New Special Good Times Forever, Michael Gibson Gallery, London, ON
2015 I Was Here, Michael Gibson Gallery, Pop- Up Gallery, Bayfield, ON
2014 The Way Things Are Now, (((Parentheses))) Gallery, Halifax, NS
2014 Secret Lake Behind the Mountains, Michael Gibson Gallery, London, ON
2014 Secret Lake by the Lake, McIntosh Gallery, UWO, London, ON
2013 Hear and There, Outerspace Mobile Gallery, Victoria, BC
2013 Sculpting Sound, Judith & Norman Alix Gallery, Sarnia, ON
2012 Pop’ N Chips, Michael Gibson Gallery, London ON
2010 New Strangers, Struts Gallery, Sackville, NB
2009 Foolish Mortals, Studio 21, Halifax, NS
2007 Off the Wall II, Jonathon Bancroft-Snell Gallery London, ON
2006 By Abandon, Le-Gallery, Toronto, ON
2004 Fools Gold, Essex Art Centre, Lawrence, MA
2003 Surfaces, Jonathon Bancroft-Snell Gallery, London, ON
2002 Off the Wall, Jonathon Bancroft-Snell Gallery, London, ON
2002 XXXXX, Anna Leonowens Gallery, Halifax, NS

Selected Group Exhibitions:
2021 Sonica, The sound experience, The Museum, Kitchener, ON
2020 Chroma 2, Michael Gibson Gallery, London ON
2017 Three + Three, Michael Gibson Gallery, London ON
2017 On Paper, Michael Gibson Gallery, London ON
2017 150 Years of Art Making in London, Museum London, London, ON
2017 The Bold and The New, Judith Norman Alix Art Gallery, Sarnia, ON
2016 The Desire to Acquire: London Collects, Museum London, London, ON
2016 Selections from the Permanent Collection, Judith Norman Alix Art Gallery, Sarnia, ON
2014 Japan Roaming Exhibition, travelling exhibition of paintings and sound sculptures at various venues across Japan, accompanying “Triune Gods & Thesis Sahib” music performances
2014 Nuit Blanche, sculptural installation, London, ON
2013 L.O. Today, Museum London, London, ON
2013 Collecting: Works from the Michael Gibson Gallery, Thames Art Gallery, Chatham, ON
2013 No Boys with Frogs, DNA Artspace, London, ON
2013 Nuit Blanche, sculptural installation & performance London, ON
2012 Intensities and Lines of Flight, McIntosh Gallery, UWO, London, ON
2012 Zagga Zow, Cooper Cole Gallery, Toronto, ON
2012 Opening Exhibition, Beginnings Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2011 Not Bad for London, Michael Gibson Gallery, London, ON
2011 Mash up, Artspace, Peterborough, ON
2011 Family Shirt, Krets Gallery, Malmo, Sweden
2011 Art Marathon Festival, Performance at Eastern Edge Gallery, St Johns, NL
2011 Autograph Hound, Curated by Jason McLean, Hugh Display Case, Landon Library, London, ON
2010 Still on track, Jonathon Bancroft –Snell Gallery, London, ON
2010 LOLA Festival, “What are the Chances” installation in Victoria Park, London, ON
2010 Treats for Face balls. Lucky’s Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2010 If I could shoot laser beams out of my eyes, I would, Space 1026, Philadelphia, PA
2010 Pulp Fiction, Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, NS
2009 Mine us one, Hatch Gallery, Oakland, CA
2009 Pulp Fiction, Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, Toronto, ON
2009 Alphabet Project 3, Essex Art Center, Lawrence, MA
2009 Dime Bag 3, Giant Robot, New York, NY
2008 Pulp Fiction, Museum London, London, ON
2008 Crocodile Tears, Giant Robot, New York, NY
2008 Move 16:Don’t Paint Your Teeth, Cinders Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2008 Draw 3, Stolen Space, London, UK
2007 Hey You Guyyys!, Community Outreach Gallery, Toronto, ON
2007 All Star Hustlas, White Walls Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2007 Rough Edges, Studio 21, Halifax, NS
2007 Picks of the Harvest, DVA Gallery, Chicago, IL
2007 Draw, Gallery Lombardi, Austin, Texas
2007 Strange Brew, BLVD Gallery, Seattle, WA
2007 Future Fictions, Giant Robot, New York, NY
2007 Tree Show III, Giant Robot, San Francisco, CA
2007 Look Behind You, Giant Robot, New York, NY
2007 People are Everywhere, Boontling Gallery, Oakland, CA
2007 Picks of the Harvest, Thinkspace Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2007 Box Social, Forest City Gallery, London, ON
2007 These Bagels Are Gnarly, Cinders Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2006 A Piece Apart, Aidan Savoy Gallery, New York, NY
2006 Draw, Fuse Gallery, New York, NY
2006 Florida is A Death Metal Town, Arspace, San Francisco, CA
2006 All Star Show, Boontling Gallery, Oakland, CA
2006 Raid in Oregon, Upper Playground, Portland, OR
2006 A House and a Hat…, Sub V. Montreal, QC
2006 Grand Union, Front Room Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2006 Oh Baldwin, Forest City Gallery, London, ON
2006 Making Their Mark, Studio 21, Halifax, NS
2005 A Different Honest, Le-Gallery, Toronto, ON
2005 Hinterland Who’s Who, Fifty 24sf/ Upper Playground, San Francisco, CAOh Billy 3, Forest City Gallery, London, ON
2005 From Four Zero One, Pr1mary Space, Hamtramck, MI
2005 Bucky Walter, Boontling Gallery, Oakland, CAMan vs. Machine, Base Gallery, Toronto, ON
2004 Them Art Group Show, Tangerine, Toronto, ON
2004 Mischief, Misanthropy Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2004 Tundra Kids, Objex Art Space, Miami, FL
2003 Rap Maudit, Centre De Deffusion En Art Subversif, Montreal, QCOriginal, Jonathon Bancroft-Snell Gallery, London, ONThe Broken Deck Show, Alena MTL, Montreal, QCInVisible: Eyes on
2003 Homelessness, Museum London, London, ONShelf Life, Culture Cache Gallery, San Francisco,
2003 CATexo Texere Texui Textum, Owens Gallery, Sackville, NB
2003 Art and Music, Balazo Gallery, San Francisco, CAHard Work, Khyber Gallery, Halifax, NS
2002 Mission Detritus, Culture Cache Gallery, San Francisco, CAFool Hearted Gala, Khyber Gallery, Halifax, NS
2001 Idle Hands, Khyber Gallery, Halifax, NSNew Paintings, Paul Bright Gallery, London,
2001 ONPaintings, Jonathon Bancroft-Snell Gallery, London, ONColored Lungs, Embryo Gallery, Cincinnati, OHNSCAD Prints, Anna Leonowens Gallery, Halifax, NS