Artist Creates Ethereal Paintings With Reflective Gold Leaf

There are few things that feel as decadent or as luminous as gold. In art, gold leaf and paint can elevate a canvas beyond static two-dimensionality, creating a rich, reflective surface that rarely ceases to amaze. It’s precisely that radiance that Brad Kunkle seeks out within his own practice, which is dominated by a range of gilded details. For nearly two decades, the New York-based artist has painted scenes of women surrounded by dramatic landscapes, each doused in earthy tones that beautifully enhance the gold leaf found throughout.

Produced for Art Miami this past year, The Believer perfectly captures Kunkle’s preference for ethereal imagery. In this painting, a woman wields a wooden staff in one hand and golden beads in the other, her face betraying a sense of contemplation or even solitude. Crowning her dark hair is a golden wreath, its leaves slowly rising from her head and into the air as if pulled by the wind. Around her are a series of hills and a gray sky, punctuated only by a thin rainbow in the painting’s left corner. The setting may appear bleak, but, with Kunkle’s careful hand, it immediately reminds us of autumn, its ocher hues, and its slight chill—an atmosphere that complements Kunkle’s delicate brushstrokes.

Taken in its entirety, The Believer reveals Kunkle’s preference for traditional oil painting techniques. The canvas is breathy and transparent, appearing weathered despite being highly contemporary as well. The Great Divide is similar, depicting a woman nestled in a mossy grove, peacefully asleep and covered with golden leaves. Here, the autumnal mood returns, its color palette once again suggesting something more ancient and divine. That dreaminess continues in the painting’s left side, where the outline of what appears to be a heron gently creeps toward the woman. The bird is both foreboding and comforting: is it here to harm the woman, or to protect her, perhaps as some sort of spirit? Kunkle’s gold leaf detailing only encourages further inspection.

Even Kunkle’s earlier works demonstrate his command over golden motifs. His 2012 painting Cocoon, for instance, sees a woman bracing herself against a strong gust of yellow leaves. She stands completely still, her entire body disguised by the leafy cloak, which, as expected, shimmers with Kunkle’s signature gold leaf. Everything in the canvas feels animated and full of possibility, as though the leaves themselves are alive and sentient.

Interestingly, Kunkle’s fascination with gold leaf began at the Louvre—not with a specific painting, but with the museum’s ceilings.

“I was in the Louvre, and I looked up at the gilded ceilings,” Kunkle explains. “I realized I was more inspired by those than by the paintings hanging in the museum.”

Since that moment, Kunkle has proven himself a master of gilded paintings, working with confidence and with an eye toward light, reflection, and elegance.

To learn more about the artist, visit Brad Kunkle’s website and follow him on Instagram.