The Artist bringing pattern-mixing to walls and surfaces worldwide.
Meet Hello Kirsten – an artist and muralist living in Toronto.
She is known for making bright, patterned artworks that aim to bring joy to people’s lives.
Her art practice is multi-disciplinary, but revolves around a central goal: to produce work that is well-crafted, visually appealing, and meaningful.
She has been creating murals and public art installations for over a decade, in cities spanning the globe.
Hello Kirsten’s work has been exhibited at the Shanghai International
Arts Festival, Toronto’s AGO, Montreal’s Musée des Beaux Arts , and the Sea Wall’s Love Letters Festival (Toronto), and has appeared in numerous publications, including Fast Company, Juxtapoz, Canadian Art, The Globe and Mail, The Walrus, and Bust.
Please introduce yourself to our readers.
Hi! I’m Hello Kirsten, an artist and muralist living in Toronto. I make bright, patterned artworks that aim to bring joy to people’s lives.
My art practice is multi-disciplinary, but revolves around a central goal: to produce work that is well-crafted, visually appealing, and meaningful. I truly believe that art is for everyone, and utilize color and pattern to evoke feelings of joy, curiosity, and belonging. I view my murals as allegories for a particular time and place, one that speaks not only to who has passed through and who is here now, but also who might come in the future.
I have been creating murals and public art installations for over a decade, in cities spanning the globe. My art has been exhibited in the Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto), Montreal’s Musée des Beaux Arts, and many private galleries, and has appeared in festivals such as the Yorkville Murals Festival, Pangeaseed’s Seawalls, and The Shanghai International Arts Festival. I have painted large-scale murals for clients such as Facebook, Cirque du Soleil, Converse, The W Hotel, and lululemon.
Tell us about your education.
I have a BFA from Concordia University, but started out with a Diploma from a small art college (Grant MacEwan in Edmonton).
What is your favorite medium for producing your art? Digital or physical?
Half and half. I find it’s easiest to paint a mural if I have a fully-rendered digital image to work from. However, in my studio practice I really prioritize play and chance, and don’t incorporate digital elements much at all. I find it’s too easy to be a perfectionist and hit the undo button digitally. Real life forces you to accept mistakes and embrace happy accidents.
Can you describe your studio? What’s the most indispensable item in your studio?
I have a lovely little studio in Toronto’s West End. It’s a small room that used to be a store. My favourite quality is the giant windows and all the natural light. Sadly, the Toronto real estate market strikes again, and I just found out that the building is being sold, which almost certainly means I’ll be evicted. So, I’m considering moving away, but haven’t finalized plans yet. Toronto is a really hard city for artists to live in. I was renovicted from my last studio as well, when the landlord decided they wanted to court a larger corporate client and kicked all of the small artists out.
What are your favourite materials to use?
I’m absolutely in love with latex house paint. I’ve spent the last year learning how to adapt acrylic paint so it functions more like latex (as the downside of latex is that it’s really not archival).
What are some of your biggest achievements so far?
My biggest achievement to date is the mural I painted in Facebook’s Toronto office in 2018. It starts on the walls and covers a huge area of the floor. Painting on the floor was something I hadn’t done before and it was so much fun.
How do you overcome creative blocks?
I’ve never had a creative block. I always have ten million ideas and not enough time.
Why are patterns? When & How did you discover that patterns would be part of your art?
My art plays with pattern. Pattern, in the form of repeating decorative motifs, is a ubiquitous form of human expression. Many designs are so distinct they instantly call to mind a particular culture or region, while other patterns occur over and over again throughout history and in many places. They hint at early trade routes and the ways in which cultures have mixed and mingled for millennia.
My murals and public art installations are research-based and driven by the needs and histories of the communities in which they are located. In addition to painting and murals I have a strong background in design and a deep appreciation of architecture. Public art can inspire communities to engage with their surroundings in new ways. My work employs a pop-sensibility of bright colours and engaging aesthetics to engender curiosity.
What are some of your other hobbies?
I’m really into dancing, raves, camping, reading, hiking, playing with my dog, saunas, and cooking healthy food. Pre-pandemic I travelled a lot and am really looking forward to getting back into exploring the world.
Your favourite quote?
When it’s over, I want to say: all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.
When it’s over, I don’t want to wonder
if I have made of my life something particular, and real.
I don’t want to find myself sighing and frightened,
or full of argument.
I don’t want to end up simply having visited this world.
—Mary Oliver
Tell us more about the Papirmass project?
Papirmass was the world’s first art subscription. Every month for 12 years we mailed a print by a new artist to subscribers. It came with a bio of the artist, an interview with them, an inspiring creative quote, and a creative colouring activity. We mailed hundreds of thousands of prints all over the world, expanding the reach of art into so many unexpected places. I’m forever grateful to our loyal subscribers and the many artists who let us share their work with the world. We closed in 2020.
Your message for us at TOPS (Toront Pages) magazine.
See more at hellokirsten.com and @hello.kirsten
