Thomias Radin

Steve Turner is pleased to present Kimbé Rèd Pa Moli, a solo exhibition by Berlin-based Thomias Radin which features paintings that arise from his distinctive practice of melding dance with painting. The resulting canvases feature a fragmented dervish of a figure against colorful backgrounds. The figure is Radin’s and the background is Caribbean. The movements relate to his Guadeloupian homeland and are inspired by the double consciousness he feels as a Black expatriate living in Germany. He uses the musical technique of sampling to depict fragments of memory and experience and aims to convey the fundamental elements of dance – intuition, intimacy and vulnerability. According to Radin: “I paint like I dance. I move and feel with an intuitive freedom of expression, using multiple body languages to be in tune with the music of painting.”

Thomias L. Radin (born 1993, Abymes, Guadeloupe) earned an MFA from the University of Rennes (2018) and has had a solo exhibition at Savvy Contemporary, Berlin (2019) where he later became curator and artistic director of dance. Kimbé Rèd Pa Moli is Radin’s first solo exhibition in the United States and his first collaboration with Steve Turner. His work will next be featured by Steve Turner at Expo Chicago (April 2022).

Radin wishes to dedicate this exhibition to the people of Guadeloupe. Its title is drawn from a well-known creole adage which means, “Hold on, Do not falter,” and is meant to encourage his countrymen who are suffering from record unemployment, inflation, lack of hospital services and polluted water.