Kai Brooks is a Coventry born artist currently based in Leeds where he graduated from Leeds Art University in 2023. Primarily a painter, Brooks investigates ideas of the self and examines the parallels between love within his social relationships and the intimacy an artist feels for their practice. His debut solo show 'Who Am I When I'm With You?' took place in March at Assembly House and focussed on the sometimes forgotten function of live portrait painting as a way to completely invest in the process of painting someone.

"Following my debut solo show in March 2025, 'Who Am I When I'm With You?", I have continued to pursue questioning the love I have for the process of painting, and what that means in its connection to the people I paint. Painting is a devout act of love, and creates tokens of appreciation for the people we seek to capture. Friends and family have sat for me on a dusty sofa in a cold studio, giving their time in exchange for a moment of being totally vulnerable to me, my love, and the paint. Once the moment has passed or the people have left - do these portraits become relics of something that once was? My debut show examined the phenomenon of bringing lots of people from different avenues of my life, old and new, into one room to witness the paintings I had created of them. The presence of the people (and in some case absences) felt as much a part of the practice as the paintings."

"First a son, then a brother, a friend, a lover, an artist, an idealist, a much needed laugh, often alone, misunderstood. have we changed? Some paintings didn’t even happen - people whose time with me was so fleeting that it ends with “next time”. Are these portraits still a way to show love? Or are they now my own fear of loss manifesting as I watch more and more people leave eyeshot each season that passes. I’m sure that painting is still an act of love, that's why it hurts a little when I look at your face on the studio wall and wince slightly. I should call you." - Excerpt from the preface text of Who Am I When I'm With You?