Featured Artist: Martin Krusche

Tomorrow, October 15th, will see the big opening of the ‘Martin Krusche vs laFraise: ‘Ugly & Drippy’ exhibition, so I sat down with Martin and talked to him about his work, ink and other ugly and drippy things. Meet Martin after the jump…

‘Heads’, acrylic and ink on carton

Hey Martin, how are you doing? Would you like to introduce yourself? What should we know about you?
I’m fine, thanks. My name is Martin Krusche, I’m 27 and I work as an Illustrator.  I’m mainly working for my own brand Yackfou, but i also do many free stuff, like paintings, free illustrations and ink sketchings. You can see some examples in the upcoming exhibition.

First tell me, how comes your special interest in ‚Ugly & Drippy’ things?
I like ‚Ugly&Drippy’ because I’m just attracted by raw, unfinished and even unaesthetic things. Our life is very ‚overaesteticised’ and in art/graphics we always try to create very beautiful things as well. This contrast between the Ugly and Imperfect and the Beautiful is always very charming for me and influences the style of my illustrations a lot.

Do you like the way the contestants worked on the ‚Ugly & Drippy’ topic?
Yes, basically I’m very satisfied with their adaption of the topic. But I was really surprised that almost all contestants just worked on the motif of ‚Ugly & Drippy’ and didn’t use it as a technical approach.

And what do you think about combining your works with the contest designs in an exhibition?
I like that very much, super! Actually I really like group exhibitions, and if there’s a topic above all, I’m always all excited! So you can see how different people pick up a topic and work on it. I’m looking forward to the exhibition…

What inspires your works?
I’m inspired by everything. I don’t have any particular examples or heroes or anything like that. Of course I go to see exhibitions, check magazines, books and blogs, but that’s not the only input. Everything I experience all day or leave impressions can affect my work.

Can you describe your workflow? For me it was a really interesting point that your designs rely a lot on analogue handwork with ink and pen.
Yes, that’s right. I like the feeling of producing something by hand. And I like the haptics and optics of analoguely sketched illustrations much more than the relatively cool and mathematic layout of digital works.
But regarding the workflow: I draw a lot, which serves as a foundation for elaborated illustrations. Mostly i take good drafts and enhance them until I judge them as good as in the sketchbook. Then I enlarge them and do a black and white final drawing on the light box. These I will scan and colour the ink sketching digital.

You are often working with the contrast of black-white and colored details. That makes most of your designs highly recognizable.
You are right. The reason for this is the way I work – basically inking the illustration in black and white.

‘Smokerface’

As you are socialised with Graffiti, in which way does it influence your work today?
Hardly intentional, as I’m not thinking: How would this work on a wall or something like that. But indirectly or unconsciously I would say that a certain sense for letters, size, colours and forms is rooted in this graffiti aesthetic somehow.

Why did you decide to focus on designs for clothing? You are running your own clothes brand Yackfou…
It wasn’t a deliberate decision, things just turned out like that.
In the beginning i just wanted to use my abilities for creating a product, which is beyond the duration of a flyer or a website but, like a T-shirt does, shapes a phase in one’s life and your everyday life in a very intense way. But over the course of time me and the fabric became friends, so my focus automatically came to rest upon it!

Thanks a lot for your time, Martin, and we are happy to show your work here at West Berlin Gallery!
Thank you too.

If you are now curious to see more of Martin’s work and the results of the laFraise ‚Ugly & drippy’ contest, join us on the opening tomorrow, starting at 7pm. We will care for nice music and 42Below will serve you with tasty and boozing drinks. If you can’t make it, the exhibition will run until November 06th. In any case check Martin’s blog and laFraise for the shirt designs.