Kamil Kapla

 News 

Winner of Peter Kinley Prize for Painting announced for 2021

A young visual artist with a distinctive style in both sculpture and painting, Kamil Kapla has been awarded the Peter Kinley Prize for 2021. As the winner, Kamil will win a £1,000 cash prize, £200 towards materials from the Art Shop at Locksbrook Campus, and a solo exhibition at its Michael Pennie Gallery.

For recent BA (Hons) Fine Art graduate Kamil the Prize came as a very pleasant surprise: "I really didn't expect to be selected out of all the amazing painters in my year, especially as my focus towards the end of my degree shifted massively towards sculpture and ceramics."

The Prize was established in 1971 and ran for 10 years at Bath Academy of Art (now Bath Spa University’s Bath School of Art, Film and Media). Following the sad passing of Peter Kinley, the Prize was re-inaugurated in 2020 as a gift from his widow, Catherine Kinley and celebrates the talent of fine art students at Bath Spa.

Kamil takes a multi-media approach to his creative process, using found photos as inspiration. "I can't quite put my finger on what makes me choose a particular picture to work with but I can say that it definitely resonates with interests and ideas I have at the time," he said. "It acts as a sort of vessel that I can infuse with my own meaning."

While he loves to experiment with new mediums and approaches, he often finds himself drawn to 2D media, explaining "it seems the most immediate and easiest to get on with – it’s just me, the surface and whatever tools I have to hand."

Despite the challenges of the last two years of his degree, successive lockdowns have not stopped Kamil from making the most of his time at Bath Spa honing his skills. "I found the technical support to be beyond amazing," and he acknowledges that "it made my time at Bath Spa worthwhile."
Looking to the future, Kamil plans to put the prize money to good use buying materials to fuel his creativity, while reserving the second half of the funds for future ideas. He is currently hoping to continue his work at Bath Spa in the Emerge studio residency programme where he would take up a fine art studio space. From there he is hoping to build his portfolio working on a smaller scale and explore new approaches.

"Winning this prize has made me reevaluate my direction,'' he explains. "Art and being creative is an integral part of my personality. It’s a sort of filter through which one can view the world, bringing out the vibrancy of even the most ordinary things."

With big things ahead, Kamil concludes that his success is "a sort of nudge from the universe, a sign indicating that painting is something worth building a career on."

For more examples of his work, and to keep up to date with Kamil, make sure to follow him on Instagram (@bad_candid). More details of the winner’s prize exhibition will be announced in due course.