An artist who never asked for permission.
Born in Auckland. Raised in England. Swapped the ocean breeze for grey brick and never quite forgave the move. Childhood? Let’s not. A near-death experience, a gun to the head, and bullies with scaffold poles – Bobby didn’t just survive it, he painted through it.
First memory of making art? Bird-men in top hats with wheels for feet. Age five. Never stopped since.
Told he’d never make it as an artist. Took that personally.
Today, Bobby’s work lives in private and public collections across the UK, USA, Europe, New Zealand, South Korea, Egypt, and Australia. He’s shown in public galleries, independent studios, and once unknowingly had a solo wall in a national museum. He’s been praised, ignored, ripped off, and still shows up to make the next piece.
His art doesn’t whisper. It roars.
The Abuse of Beauty. Paint by Numbers. Black Slab. Each series pulls from the grit of real life – grief, routine, rebellion, violence, vulnerability. Perfect from afar. Fractured up close. Just like people.
He doesn’t care what critics think. He doesn’t care if it sells. He just makes. Always has.
Outside the studio? CGI, model-making, maybe a whisky on the Scottish coast.
His best advice? Don’t do it.
And yet, here he is.
It highlight Bobby Kurb’s signature blend of
raw emotion and vibrant abstraction.
Bobby’s days begin in quiet rhythm – sunrise, road, studio. By 8AM, paint’s already hitting canvas.
Mornings start with a ritual: lay a layer, then wander out for an Earl Grey and a chat with the locals. It’s less about routine, more about grounding – the kind of conversation that keeps you tethered while your mind stays miles ahead.
Back in the studio, the real work begins. One canvas, sometimes two, always layered. A piece like Epiphany I takes months – 20 coats of paint just to make black feel like velvet, without a single drop of black paint. The “white” side? Also 20 layers, starting from a dark pink no one ever sees. Every line, every edge – balanced between perfection and controlled chaos. Precision tape. Bleed tape. Every mark matters.
When one layer dries, Bobby shifts – sculpture, pixels, shape, repeat. Prototypes rebuilt over and over until they whisper yes.
Visitors walk in, sometimes nervously. They expect a gallery. They find him mid-process, paint on hands, idea in orbit. Once, he preferred solitude. Now, he welcomes the interruption – it’s real, it’s raw. They’ve never seen an artist work like this before.
By evening, he packs up. Sometimes there’s a Zoom, sometimes there’s silence – but the mind? Never off. Even in rest, it loops – building, breaking, rearranging the world in his head.
The only escape? Melody Gardot. Or Radiohead. Depends on the day.
“This is where the mess becomes meaning.”
Contemporary Artist | Based in New Zealand | Available Worldwide
Studio visits by appointment only.
Email: contact@bobbykurb.com
Address:
Porpita Studios
36 McMillan Street
The Mall, Methven 7730
Canterbury, New Zealand
📍 Map Location
© 2024 Bobby Kurb / Porpita Studios. All rights reserved.