Artist Profile: Kirsty Kingsley
Kirsty Kingsley is a woman of many talents and passions and seems to live life from the heart, trusting in the power of saying ‘Yes’ to all the possibilities put before her.
In the past, Kirsty has travelled and lived in many corners of the world for work and life, including roles such as recruiting engineers and pilots, then developing and running an amazing natural skin care business to name just a few. Her breadth of experience and talents seem not to be linear, but broad, and showcase her talents in seemingly contrasting fields of arts and business.
Kirsty’s current ‘Yes’, is the arts, and becoming an artist in recent years has seen her put paint to canvas to weave stories of immense joy through her use of abstract mark making and colour.
Along with fellow artists Renee de Saxe and Rebecca Reynolds, Kirsty was a driving force behind the 100 Barossa Artists exhibition for SALA 2020, a powerful culmination and curation of 100 self-portraits of visual artists from the region. 'We wanted to give all artists an opportunity to be recognised, to show that they count within our community, that their arts practice is crucial to who they are and who we are as a society', Kirsty said. Kirsty’s passion has also led her and artist Renee de Saxe to co-found Wonderground, Barossa’s first commercial contemporary art gallery. But true to the pair’s bold vision of creating an ‘art clubhouse’, the space is about so much more than what is hung on the walls. With a small cellar door part of the mix and plans to introduce art classes, yoga and community events, Wonderground is a welcoming hangout for creatives, locals and a not-to-be-missed pit stop on the Barossa wine trail.
