Handmade Original Passion

kareem-rizk-citrus

In Issue 12 of Kolaj Magazine, Benoit Depelteau interviewed Kareem Rizk about making it as a collage artist.

Depelteau writes:

When I first stumbled upon Kareem Rizk’s work on a website devoted to visual art in the mid-2000s, I was impressed by Rizk’s well-mastered style and the imposing presence of his collages. At that time, the Australian-born artist and designer, now living and working in Copenhagen, Denmark, had just changed his focus to collage and illustration. Since then, his work has been regularly featured in exhibitions, magazines and online. I asked Rizk a few questions about his career, his process and the state of collage today.
….

DEPELTEAU: Your personal style is instantly recognizable through its textured and layered compositions, as well as the use of some recurring themes. When you start a new piece, is it driven by the narrative elements or by the formal part of the exercise?
RIZK: In many cases, when I start a new artwork, it is driven by the narrative elements, namely the image(s) I have chosen to use. The main image is often a starting point for compositional ideas. But sometimes I will have built up an interesting background and have a strong compositional idea, but no image. It is then a matter of finding an image that fits an abstract surface that consists of design elements, colours and textures.

This article appeared in Issue Twelve of Kolaj Magazine. To read the entire article, PURCHASE ISSUE TWELVE or SUBSCRIBE.

Image:
Citrus
by Kareem Rizk
6″x6″
collage on panel
2014
Courtesy of the artist