The artist

Linda Le Kinff: the audacious alchemist between tradition and modernity

Imagine an artist who, from the outset, takes you on a journey between France and Brazil, then whisks you away without hesitation to Italy, Japan, India… That’s a bit like the world of Linda Le Kinff: a whirlwind of colors, cultures and techniques, where women display generous curves, their heads full of dreams and cats prowl around as silent witnesses.

Born in Paris in February 1947, she grew up immersed in a dual French-Brazilian culture that profoundly influences her painting and artistic identity. Her childhood was rather solitary, the result of a relationship outside of marriage. Her maternal family, from a small village in Finistère and very Catholic, only accepted her as a full member much later in life. Linda was sent to boarding school in Paris until she came of age.

Nothing, however, predestined her for a career in art, since she initially followed a rather traditional course of study. It was the friction of life—encounters with painters, sculptors, and other free spirits—that led her to turn to canvas and pigments in the 1960s.

The defining moment in her career? Italy. At 18, Linda discovered Florence and was utterly captivated. Renaissance art profoundly moved her, so much so that she returned regularly for fifteen years, absorbing all sorts of ancient techniques (egg tempera, the use of gold leaf, copperplate engraving…) and mastering more recent ones (airbrushing, acrylics, screen printing). In Franco Cantini's studio, she worked alongside masters like Zancanaro and Chipola, whose influence would profoundly shape her style.

Another pivotal moment in her career occurred by chance—or perhaps by a stroke of fate—in 1974: while working on a lithograph in Arcueil, she met Sir Myles Cook, director of Christie's Contemporary Art in London. This marked the beginning of a collaboration that would last over twelve years, during which Linda exhibited throughout Europe, Japan, and even Australia. Her works circulated from gallery to gallery (Burlington Art Galleries in Hong Kong, Krashin Gallery in the United States, etc.) and gradually gained international recognition.

Her successive travels (to India, where she "encountered" color; to Japan, where she explored sumi-e under the tutelage of master Sujiama Yu; to Morocco alongside the poet Chabia…) constantly fueled her imagination. Linda brought back techniques, motifs, and visions that accumulated in her repertoire. Little by little, her style took shape, both rooted in the legacy of the great masters of the Renaissance and open to all forms of daring. Linda cites Matisse, Klimt, Modigliani, and Picasso among her inspirations; she readily embraces the freedom of line, even Cubist deconstruction, to better tell her own stories.

The "Le Kinff touch" is instantly recognizable: voluptuous female figures, cats fluttering about the scene, and vibrant, shimmering colors applied to wood or canvas. The varnishes and mixtures she invents allow her to achieve a unique chromatic density, combining classical refinement with vibrant modernism. She also favors oil pastels, ink, watercolor, and, more recently, collage. This further expands her possibilities and reminds us that, for her, an artist only truly exists if they never rest on their laurels.

Her talent was quickly recognized: in 1998, she became the official artist of the FIFA World Cup in France, earning her the unprecedented honor of having one of her works minted as a commemorative coin. Then, in 2010, she was the first French artist selected to illustrate the prestigious Kentucky Derby: in a twist of fate, the horse she painted wore number 4 and indeed won the race under that same number… Coincidence? Some might see it as a clever rebuttal to the idea that art and sport are two separate worlds.

Between her collaborations with the Park West Gallery (which opened doors for her in America) and her numerous exhibitions around the world, Linda constantly diversifies her mediums, even experimenting with sculpture and screen printing. Always with the same credo: the artist must constantly innovate, even if it means taking risks, because creation is an eternal cycle of renewal. She herself states: "We are merely the artisans of a strange poetry that transcends us."

Ultimately, how can we define Linda Le Kinff's art? It is both light and profound, timeless and firmly rooted in our era. Her paintings speak all languages, as if her singular style, imbued with her French heritage, her Brazilian roots, and her wild escapades across the globe, contained within itself a universal message. The women she paints, reassuring and voluptuous, seem to whisper in our ear: "Beauty is everywhere, if we know how to look at it with a touch of audacity and reverie."

What is certain is that Linda Le Kinff leaves behind an inimitable mark on the History of Art. And she has not finished surprising us, as this insatiable traveler still seems to have a thousand ideas to share, a thousand worlds to paint — always with that colorful gentleness that characterizes her.