Artist spotlight : Alex Kostyshen
ARTIST STATEMENT:
London based mixed media painter and performance artist. Born in Canada and grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. Alex’s work is more of a visual journal where she looks at life experience, trauma, and self discovery through an almost comical lens.
Her process is very collaborative, dramatic, expressive, and always driven by personal experience often using letters from partners, remnants of a party, or even moulds of her own body creating a very intimate narrative with her audience. Her works range from clay paintings, to body casts of herself and friends, and pieces created during performances.
Wanting to create an atmosphere with her audience where she can blend the boundaries of her body, she started performance art where in most shows she paints live and uses her body as a canvas. This allows for a continuous interaction not only with the finished work but also the creative process which she finds as equally important.
Social Networks :
Instagram Handle- @alexkostyshenart
Website- www.alexkostyshenart.uk
Alex Kostyshen
1. Inspiration & Style
What initially inspired you to become an artist, and how did you develop your unique artistic style?
Answer: Calling myself an artist feels crazy. It was actually never something I thought about. I just started creating and never stopped.
2. Creative Process
Do you have any rituals or routines that help you get into a creative mindset when starting a new project?
Answer: I always start with a walk to clear my head. I typically have a playlist built that I find inspirational and tune into my body- what am I feeling? Am I enthusiastic? Am I yearning? Am I mourning past trauma? Once I have a sense of what I want to express I start to paint. Lately to music blasting and take an almost performative approach to my work typically dancing or allowing my body to be fluid. My brush strokes become an extension of my feelings. This acts as almost a journal to myself. It allows me to visualize these big feelings I carry.
3. Artistic Influences
How do you balance historical or artistic influences with your personal style, and how do these influences manifest in your work today?
Answer: One of my inspirations as narcissistic as it sounds its my own life. I almost like to paint my favourite memories or moments in time. Often when I am painting, I am using found objects, letters, or even music that influenced a time in my life. I find creating a physical journal allows me to reflect and connect with a situation. I hope the pieces have a sense of deja vu like I have been here before and I might be here again. My inspiration would be my friends. They are people I go to when I am working on a piece or a performance and help me bring an almost playful element to my art. Keeping the works conversational and expansive. Taking them outside my own lens. Finally, my last inspiration is my environment whether that be the pigeons I see lurking around Soho or the landscape of Sante Fe which has influenced my foundational colour palette of deep rich blues and clay earthy oranges.
4. Emotion & Expression
How do you use your art to evoke emotions, and what role does emotion play in your creative process?
Answer: Emotion is everything to me. I live in a constant state of high emotions. In my physical works, I express my emotional state. In my performance work, I work with the audience's emotions. I always build the foundation of the show knowing my performances will evolve and change based on the reactions of my audience. I like to keep these works almost conversational by reading the energy from the audience both collectively and individually.
5. Standout Projects
Can you share a project that stands out to you and describe the creative process behind it?
Answer: My favourite projects are my performance pieces as they have an improvised element to them. The direct interaction between me and my audience is what inspires me.
6. Feedback & Growth
How do you incorporate feedback from critics or audiences into your work, and how do you balance this with your own artistic intuition?
Answer: I personally love feedback. I think a person can never grow with outside perspective so I am always searching for input. Sometimes I take it and sometimes I do not, but the option is where I can address myself. How do I feel about this feedback? What emotions is it bringing and why?
7. Motivation & Inspiration
How do you stay motivated and inspired, even when facing creative blocks or challenges?
Answer: I honestly get frustrated all the time. The works hardly ever come out how I envision but there is beauty in that. In these moments, my first art teacher always told me “just paint” essentially persevere through the frustration. These layers you build up while working through a painting often are what make them the most interesting.
8. Exhibiting Work
How do you feel about exhibiting your artwork with The Holy Art Gallery, and what does this opportunity mean to you?
Answer: I am beyond proud to be exhibiting with the Holy Art Gallery, a place that is uplifting artists. The curators have been beyond supportive and encouraging of my work.
9. Future Goals
What are your long-term goals and aspirations as an artist, and how do you plan to achieve them?
Answer: Funny enough, I have visions for works and shows but never for what my career looks like. (Probably something I should consider) My main passion is to be a full time painter/performance artists with the gift of time to create more.
10. Audience Connection
What do you hope viewers take away from experiencing your art, and how do you aim to connect with them on an emotional or intellectual level?
Answer: I aim to just connect. I want to hear how people see my work. As they are autobiographical it almost feels like a dialogue. They get a peak into my life, humbling stories, raw emotions, or the mundane moments. I would love to hear what it evokes about their life.
