There's a certain cadence to Kim Dorland's voice—a rhythm that speaks of survival and a life lived on the edge of things. It’s the cadence of someone who has seen existence from the margins, where he grew up amidst a backdrop he calls abject poverty. Kim doesn’t sugarcoat his beginnings. He doesn’t need to. The harsh, unvarnished reality of his youth forms the very canvas upon which his art is laid bare.
As we close out our second season, we bring you a conversation that cuts through the noise. In an art scene that can often feel overly refined to the point of sterility, Kim’s work stands apart, unapologetically visceral. His paintings live in between abstraction and representation, navigating a terrain that defies neat categorization. He isn’t chasing beauty; rather, his work grapples with the uneasy tensions between love and loss, between the remnants of grief and the haunting echoes of his past.
As he prepares for his upcoming exhibition, "Nothing is good anymore," opening on September 14th, 2024, at Patel Brown Gallery in Toronto, you get the sense that this show is different. The paintings are stripped down, drained of colour. They reflect his current preoccupation with grief, but Kim doesn’t dwell in sadness—he confronts it, stares it down, and in doing so, discovers an unexpected kind of beauty.
You can find Kim’s work at Patel Brown Gallery, Equinox Gallery in Vancouver, and on his Instagram.
Remember to follow ArtBeat on Instagram, subscribe to our podcast, and leave a rating on your preferred platform.
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
The Brothers Ortiz
The Brothers Ortiz is the story of two brothers–both successful, but in very different ways. Gabe Ortiz becomes a third-highest ranking officer in all of Texas while his younger brother Larry climbs the ranks in Puro Tango Blast, a notorious Texas Prison gang. Gabe doesn’t know all the details of his brother’s nefarious dealings, and he’s made a point not to ask, to protect their relationship. But when Larry is murdered during a home invasion in a rented beach house, Gabe has no choice but to look into what happened that night. To solve Larry’s murder, Gabe, and the whole Ortiz family, must ask each other tough questions.