Kestin Cornwall

Kestin Cornwall is a Toronto-based artist known for his bold, graphic portraits that blend the energy of street art with the layered storytelling of comics and pop culture. Growing up in the Windsor, Ontario area, with family roots in Grenada and Detroit, Cornwall brings a cross-border perspective to his work, reflecting on how race, media, and history shape what it means to be Black in North America. He studied at Sheridan College, completing the Art Fundamentals and Illustration programs, where he began combining traditional drawing and painting with contemporary digital reproduction and screen-printing techniques.

Cornwall's artwork often features powerful subjects with brown skin. His creative process involves hand-drawing, purposefully redrawing in Adobe Illustrator, and then utilizing analog techniques to take the images off the computer. He reworks and enhances these images through painting and layering to create unique compositions. The artist often intentionally adds the pottery and foliage last, covering up fully rendered sections of the painting. Because of this technique, each painting features its own unique blemishes and beauty. His work challenges stereotypes while celebrating beauty, resilience, and identity.

Notably, Cornwall often integrates foliage and motifs from nature and pottery, highlighting the shared history of Black Americans and Caribbean communities. Shared cultural knowledge of plants, farming, and gardening informs his work and serves as a guiding influence, emphasizing the rich traditions and knowledge systems that are deeply rooted in Black culture.

Influenced by graphic realism, street art, and vintage comics, Cornwall's work marries hand-drawn understanding with digital tools, inviting viewers to question how popular culture and entertainment construct images of race. His art doesn't just live in galleries. He is also deeply engaged in community and education. As an assistant professor at OCAD University, he co-founded the Solid Black Collective and plays a leading role in projects such as NBA Creators. It's My Future Toronto, which empowers young designers and amplifies the voices of Black, Indigenous, Asian, and Hispanic communities.

With exhibitions in Canada and abroad and accolades including CAPIC's Best in Show and London's Young Guns Emerging Art Award, Cornwall continues to push boundaries, creating work that is as visually captivating as it is socially urgent, intertwining personal narratives with a broader commentary on culture and identity.

Kestin Cornwall is based in the Greater Toronto Area, where he lives and works.