In my previous post, I reflected on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and the role of the British Allies in the bombing of Le Havre and Berlin, which brought British artists to mind. Just yesterday, the exhibition David Hockney: Impressions opened at Galerie Lelong in Paris. Earlier this spring, on April 9, the major retrospective David Hockney 25 opened at the Fondation Louis Vuitton. I haven’t yet seen either show but hope to cover them, especially since I already had written about Hockney’s work for Visual Art Source and Artscene. I’m hoping to get to Paris next week.

Thinking of Hockney reminded me of another British contemporary artist, Jeremy Kidd. Kidd is a London-born artist based in Venice, Los Angeles. He works in painting, sculpture, installation, and photography. He is currently represented by Vision Art Platform at Booth G03, a contemporary art initiative from Istanbul, which is participating in Photo London’s 10th anniversary at Somerset House.

Kidd is best known for his Day through Night series, which consists of large photographic compositions made by stitching together hundreds of images taken at different times of day and in different light. These works show the passage of time and changing perspective. His breakthrough work, Desert to Palm (2004), was inspired by Sylvia Plath’s poem Ariel and launched the series. His work has been widely shown in the United States and internationally, including solo exhibitions such as Fictional Realities at the Laguna Art Museum and the California Museum of Photography.

Kidd comes from an artistic family in London. He is the grandson of painter Ben Nicholson and sculptor Barbara Hepworth, who was connected to the Abstraction Création group in the 1930s and later the Salon des Réalités Nouvelles. I saw her retrospective at the Rodin Museum in Paris in 2020 and one of her works in the permanent collection of the Maeght Foundation while living in the South of France.

Years ago, while still living in Los Angeles, I interviewed Jeremy for the German edition of Wired and the US edition of GQ, both published by Condé Nast. Yesterday, I was able to briefly catch up with him to talk about his latest work.

Interview

Simone Kussatz: Thank you, Jeremy, for the invitation to see your new work. I’m sorry I missed the preview. I would have loved to board a cruise ship from Le Havre and sail straight to Photo London 2025. But I’m glad we could reconnect on WhatsApp after all these years. Can you tell our readers what your current show is about?

Jeremy Kidd: Thank you, Simone. Yes, a cruise ship would have been the perfect start. The exhibition features pieces from my Joshua Tree series, including Indian Cove, which is a panoramic landscape exploring how we move through and experience nature, especially in motion.

Simone Kussatz: The scale and curvature of the piece are striking. How was it made?

Jeremy Kidd: It starts with what I call an “iPhone sketch.” I use the panoramic mode on my iPhone like a brush, scanning the landscape with my body in motion, following the rhythm of the terrain. It’s a fast, instinctive way to capture a first impression, almost like drawing with movement.

Later, I return to the site with a DSLR to shoot the scene in high resolution. In the studio, I splice, clone, paint, and blend the images. It’s a long and careful process, similar to landscape painting, but I try to keep the energy of that first impression alive.

Simone Kussatz: So it’s like creating a virtual reality. You are immersed in the scene and performing it at the same time?

Jeremy Kidd: Exactly. I’m not just showing what a place looks like, but what it feels like to move through it, whether walking, driving, or turning your head. That motion is part of the image.

Simone Kussatz: That’s fascinating. Thank you, Jeremy. I hope we’ll see your work in France soon, like your grandmother’s. Maybe next time we can do a longer interview. I think people will be drawn to the atmosphere and technique in your work. Wishing you a great run at Photo London 2025.

Jeremy Kidd: Thanks, Simone.

Paintings, Sculptures, Digital, & Installation Art | Jeremy Kidd

You can catch Photo London’s 10th edition at Somerset House until 18 May 2025.

Jeremy Kidd’s INDIAN COVE 60 x 213 cm (2015) Curved Archival Inkjet Print Mounted on Acrylic. Photo credit: Courtesy of the artist.

Jeremy Kidd’s INDIAN COVE 60 x 213 cm (2015) Curved Archival Inkjet Print Mounted on Acrylic. Photo credit: Courtesy of the artist.

A sculpture by Barbara Hepworth that is on display at the Fondation Maeght in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France.
Photo credit: ARETE / Simone Suzanne Kussatz.

In the background, you can see Barbara Hepworth’s work at the Rodin Museum in Paris in 2020. The photo was taken by Alexis Saghie, MAS, from Farm to Fingers, using my camera. There are no copyright issues.