1xRUN Thru Interview
Gramophone by Kukula
1xRun: Tell us a little bit about this piece, was it part of a recent show or theme?
Kukula: This piece was created in 2009 with oil on board. It was a part of my first solo show with Corey Helford Gallery Immortal Artifact. The theme was my personal relationship with art and how I believe that art is the closest form of immortality.
1xRun: Anything immediate you would like us to highlight about this piece?
Kukula: I was trying to create the emotion that can come from listening music that take you away from the physical world. I think everything in this piece is floating in nowhere, even the ground.
1xRun: Tell us how the idea and execution came about?
Kukula: Honestly, I just really like old gramophones and how they were so lavishly designed to honor the record you put on it. Today we don’t have things have beautiful tech items because they are always getting better and we always need to buy new ones.
1xRun: How long did the piece take?
Kukula: I’d say about a week or so.
1xRun: Why should people buy this print?
Kukula: Because they like music.
1xRun: Describe the piece in one gut reaction word.
Kukula: Floating.
1xRun: How have things been going for your upcoming show at Corey Helford gallery?
Kukula: I was so inspired working on my new show, so it has went super smooth and I really enjoyed it so far. I dressed up all my girls in couture fashion by my new favorite designer Ulyana Sergeenko and got the chance to see her fashion show in Paris. That helped a lot with inspiration.
1xRun: What can people expect from the show?
Kukula: It’s a weird mix between high fashion and Mark Twain. I call it The Adventure Of Raspberry Finn. The girls are very independent like Tom or Huck and I’d say have some bratty spirit in them as well, but love to express themselves by dressing up.
1xRun: You’ve mentioned before that you’d like to have your own book of your work and the specific style that you’d like, what is it about the books or any literary work that influences your style?
Kukula: I like the idea of story telling with one painting. Not illustrating a whole book (I wouldn’t mind to do that with the right story), but just saying a lot in one image. So I guess I’m trying to be a novelist in every painting. I don’t think I really ever grew up and became a full “grown up” so I still love juvenile stories. I also really love the Romantics like Goethe and Dickens, which influences my scenes of tragedy and self-pity a lot.
1xRun: What else have you been up to as the summer is winding down?
Kukula: I was recently in Paris for Fashion week and a lot of painting.
1xRun: Any other big plans coming up in the next 2-3 months here?
Kukula: I’m still very slowly working on a book. Also, I have the art fair in Miami and a museum show in Rome with Dorothy Circus both in December.
1xRUN: Where else can people find you?
Kukula: – Website – Corey Helford Gallery – Instagram + Twitter @kukula
-1xRUN