Basil Kincaid USA, b. 1986

Basil Kincaid is a post-disciplinary artist known for creating layered textile wall hangings. Kincaid splits their time between the United States and Africa. Many of the narratives and concerns that make their way into Kincaid’s work reflect the artist’s experience of examining relationships between ancestry, place, and the contemporary constructed self.

“When I visit Africa, I’m supposed to automatically belong,” says Kincaid. “Yes, there’s a connection, but the place and the people my ancestors left and were taken from no longer exist. My quilts address that gradient sensation of belonging. To paraphrase James Baldwin, a place where you will belong won’t exist until you create it.”

Through quilting, collaging, photography, installation and performance—done with found, salvaged and donated materials—Kincaid discards social mores while drafting alternative cultural fabrics. With an improvisational and community-oriented approach, resourcefulness and freedom of imagination emerge as critical components in the liberation of spirit that is reflected in Kincaid’s work.

Kincaid studied drawing and painting at Colorado College, graduating in 2010. In 2019, they debuted their first museum performance, The Release, at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation in St. Louis, MO. In 2020, Kincaid received the Regional Arts Commission Fellowship. In 2021, Kincaid became a United States Artist Fellow.