Olivier Kosta-Théfaine

Brussels

Olivier Kosta-Thefaine acts as a filter. He observes, collects, then transforms, sometimes ever so slightly…

Ahead of his current show Détails d’une rue at Brussels-based Alice Gallery, we talked to Olivier Kosta-Théfaine discussing his work and inspiration.

Wertical: The city is your muse; what about urban environments fascinates you?
Olivier Kosta-Théfaine: You know I m a pure product of the city, I was a kid from the Parisian suburbs. The city is the basis of my work, my main inspiration, maye be because it was the only thing I know. In fact I am fascinate by what was a big part of my life. I love the roughness of the city, but also its fragility. Poetry in the city is everywhere, from a graffiti on a wall to a flower growing throw the concrete…

WE: How did you start fragmenting parts of the city and transforming them into works of art?
OK-T: I m a pure autodidact, I never went to any artschool. My artschool was my city. So, instinctively, the city became the source of my work.

WE: Do you consider yourself as an street artist?
OK-T: I am definitely not a street artist. I am an artist with a graffiti background.

WE: What is your favorite city to live in and work at?
OK-T: I love Paris, because it is where I live. But Sartrouville is in my heart because it is the city where I grew up, and the first inspiration for my work.

WE: You are constantly working on your art meaning that you observe the changes of our cities in this vein; do you do so consciously to advert them?
OK-T: I am just an observer of my environement, I am acting as a kind of filter. Of course depending of the places I visit, the effect on my production will be different. A city in the far east will offer different than a small village in Brittany for example, but both have a lot to give. I only keep for myself what I think interesting for my art. Sometimes I twist a little bit the reality, sometimes not. Sometimes I use these elements coming straight from the street for my art, sometimes I just archieve it for an eventual future work, or not. I am free.

Olivier Kosta-Théfaine

Alice Gallery

March 21 – April 30, 2013
4 rue du pays de Liège
1000 Brussels
Belgium

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