Having studied four years of classical theater and known in fashion as a makeup artist and model, half-Dutch, half-Brazilian THE KID (b.1991) is a self-educated contemporary artist. He once attended an Alexander McQueen show and realized the power of the designer to thrust his own world upon others: “I knew I wanted to do the same,” he recalls. Robinho Kampinga, as is his real name, chose the alias THE KID as a way to show his refusal to grow up. Since his teenage years he has restlessly questioned the notion of social determinism and the thin frontier between innocence and corruption. His creations include wall-size blue bic ballpoint pen sketches, charcoal drawings and oil paintings as well as hand-made hyper-realistic life-size silicon sculptures and installations.

THE KID lives and works in Paris and Amsterdam where he has, respectively, his painting and sculpture studios and he is a committed supporter of the International Non Governmental Organization Human Rights Watch. His work has been included in the Drawing Now International Exhibition at the Louvre and he has also had solo shows at the Grand Palais in Paris.

Text by Eleni Papaioannou