Alastair MacKinven

The first major book devoted to MacKinven (1971–2025). A deeply personal portrait of a beloved artist whose luminous paintings, subversive performances, musical obsessions, and fierce dedication to teaching left an indelible mark on a generation.

Although he died far too young, MacKinven was one of the most influential figures of his generation—an artist whose impact far exceeded his public profile. He was many things: a painter of hallucinatory canvases; a guitarist in the art-punk band Country Teasers; a writer and performer; and a devoted, much-loved teacher. Above all, he was a fiercely independent thinker who spent decades resisting convention. Drawing on a rich array of material—previously unpublished works, personal photographs, and archival documents—the book offers an unprecedented view into MacKinven’s world. With essays by those who knew him best, this is a book about an artist’s way of being: inquisitive, uncompromising, and alive to possibility.