BROOKLYN, NEW YORK
Found objects.
Bold color.
Honest work.
Explore original artwork by Karl A. McIntosh, including mixed media collages, found object art, and sculptural masks assembled from found metal. His work has shown at the Brooklyn Museum, been featured in The New York Times, and appeared on Beyoncé's Black Parade Route.
The Artist
Karl A. McIntosh is a Jamaican-born Brooklyn artist whose original mixed media collage and found object artwork transforms discarded materials into expressive works of art. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, McIntosh moved to the United States at an early age and later took up art, drawing his creative inspiration from his study of African art and culture.
His bold, bright colors dance off the page and tantalize the senses. What first reads as a chaotic arrangement of color and material reveals, on closer inspection, a complex structure and sophisticated placement an honest portrayal of everyday life and the people who live it.
BROOKLYN MUSEUM,2004
His work was included in "Open House," a major exhibition surveying Brooklyn-based artists.
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Featured in an April 2004 article tied to the Brooklyn Museum exhibition.
“I get much of my inspiration from my ancestors and the study of West African culture.”
— Karl A. McIntosh, Artist's Statement
BLACK PARADE ROUTE,2020
His work was featured on Beyoncé's directory of Black-owned businesses, supporting BeyGood's Black Business Impact Fund.
Held in private collections, including that of Harold Sorgenti, former President and CEO of ARCO Chemical.
COLLECTED BY
Two Ways of Working
One artist, two distinct bodies of work.
McIntosh moves between two very different materials paper and metal both come from the same instinct: take what's discarded or overlooked, and build something with presence out of it.
01 / Collage
Mixed media portraits, built layer by layer
Fabricated from magazine clippings, paint, and strips of pieced material, these portraits use bold, saturated color to depict musicians, everyday figures, and occasionally public life often with a thread of satire running underneath the color.
What looks at first like a joyful arrangement of color swatches reveals, up close, a deliberate, intricate structure.
02 / Metal Masks
Sculptural masks assembled from found metal
Built from salvaged hardware, circuitry, kitchen tools, and scrap metal, each mask is one of a kind face constructed entirely from objects that already had a life before this one.
Where the collage work leans toward color and story, these pieces lean toward texture, weight, and a kind of raw, sculptural presence.
Selected Work
A closer look at a few pieces from each collection. Every piece shown here is one of a kind get in touch for current availability.
Piano Man Collage
A musician mid performance, built from layered paper and paint against a jagged field of blue.
Original mixed media artwork available
Alien Found metal
Salvaged tools and hardware assembled into a strange, watchful face
Original mixed media artwork available
Queen of Spades Collage
A regal, richly patterned portrait framed in deep blue and gold.
Original mixed media artwork available
Red Eye Found metal
A striking, high-contrast mask built around a single glowing accent.
Original mixed media artwork available
Spirit Music
Rhythmic, textured layering that echoes the movement of sound.
Original mixed media artwork available
K. McIntosh Found metal
Circuitry, kitchen tools, and scrap metal, reassembled into a signature piece.
Original mixed media artwork available
How the Work Is Made
Nothing here started as art supply.
Every piece begins as something else a magazine, a kitchen tool, a piece of scrap metal or wood. McIntosh's process is one of transformation: taking material that's already lived a life and giving it another one, as part of a portrait, a mask, or a scene from everyday life.
It's a self-taught practice, shaped as much by mentorship and community the artists he came up alongside at Dorsey's Art Gallery as by any formal training.
Materials
Pastel, watercolor, acrylic, collage, stone, wood, and found metal.
Roots
Inspiration drawn from West African art and culture, and from his own Jamaican upbringing.
Community
Shaped by mentors including Otto Neals and Marian Griffin, and by the circle of artists at Dorsey's Art Gallery.