Denis Forkas Kostromitin

Who are you?  Where are you from and where do you live now?

Denis Forkas Kostromitin, Forkas (Форкас) being a nickname I was given in my childhood referring to my small hands. Born in a small town on the river Volga deep in the guts of Mother Russia. I currently live and work in a Moscow suburb.

What is it that you do?  What media do you use?

I am a painter and a draftsman. I use all conceivable (traditional) media including tempera (both egg-based and acrylics), oils, pastels, ink, pencil and scratching. I honestly believe that a true artist should be able to conjure convincing work with any available supplies, be it shoe dirt or hand-made oils.

What do you think sets your work apart?
All my work incorporates two major hallmarks:

(a) I never design objects; the appearance/exterior of my shapes is born from research, implied by the spiritual value of each composition. I design neither monsters nor beauty; both are secondary in my work.

(b) I don’t feel restrained by “genre”, “tradition” and “direction” limits or some artificial “personal manner/style” due to the above reasons and enjoy it being completely beyond such trifles.

How long have you been showing your work for?  Did you have a “big break?”
It’s been nine years already, private gallery shows in Moscow, St.Petersburg, Bergen and Vienna. I am doing my first humble steps at the international art market now, and looking for European and American projects to participate in. The “big break” is surely ahead.

What are some things that have inspired you?

Spiritually I am deeply inspired by the numberless facets of human nature, especially the hidden, primal, less comfortable emotions. This, in turn, leads to studies of the occult, mythology and mysticism of various cultures of the past.

I draw aesthetical inspiration mostly from the work of romantic painters of XIX-XX centuries - Vrubel, Stuck, Boecklin, - but also fantastic realists/surrealists of the XX century like Fuchs and Ernst.

Technique-wise, I highly appreciate Flemish school (which I have adapted for acrylics by reducing the number of layers, revising the palette and solving the blending/correction issues with my own chemical recipe) and Renaissance in general.

Moreover, Kandinsky’s approach to colour and rhythm, Spare’s automatic drawing theory, Bacon’s volatile shapes and the work of American “abstract expressionists” have all affected me profoundly over the years.  

What have you been working on recently?
It so happens that I am entering the international community with commissioned artwork. The highly successful collaboration with the always-inspiring Utech Records and the extraordinary American rock band Horseback last year led to yet another Horseback commission (a cover for their next LP, “Half Blood”).

I have also just finished a series of drawings for a project by an acclaimed American artist Stephen O’Malley.

I am planning to return to my gallery work after I am done with a few more commissions lined up here as I have two major paintings to finish before the upcoming shows later this year.
 

Do you listen to music while you create your work?  If so, would you give some examples?
Yes, I always do when I have all the preliminary work sorted and a picture becomes a matter of painting/drawing. Music is very important to me. I normally listen to all sorts of progressive rock (Univers Zero, Magma, Genesis, King Crimson, Black Widow, etc.), hard rock/heavy metal (Sabbath, Priest, Vitus, Mercyful Fate, Death SS, etc.) and krautrock (Amon Duul II, Organisation, Ash Ra Tempel, Faust, etc.). Besides, I often will turn to industrial (Neubauten, SPK, Test Dept, Toniutti, etc.) and I have been playing much of death metal too ever since I discovered the beauty of it a while ago (Immolation, Gorguts, Carnage, etc.). Free jazz, ambient, experimental music are also welcome guests in my studio’s cassette deck and CD player.

 Do you do work in any other media?  Other projects not necessarily related to your main body of work?
No, being a professional artist I hardly have time for anything beyond painting these days. Sculpture is the realm I have been meaning to explore for a long time and will most definitely do sooner or later.

 
What advice do you have for artists looking to show their work?
Without a doubt drawing is the key to understanding the world. Mastering it will ensure that you always have someone interested in your vision. In our age of internet a good exposure is hardly a trouble.

Do you have any upcoming exhibitions of your work that you can mention?
Yes, there is a one-picture show (for the painting “Athenian priest dressed as Pan”) scheduled for early autumn in Moscow. And I am participating in a huge international collective show in late August, also in Moscow.

 
Where can people see more of your work on the internet?

My friends and I are working on a proper portfolio site (still), which I will launch quite soon. Meanwhile there is a temporary blog thing where I post some of my work: joch-so-tot.blogspot.com