“I love dachshunds,” Brooklyn-based Nikita Shoshensky declares. But that’s not the main (nor only) reason why you should get to know him. Clocking in as the fourth generation in a line of artists, Shoshensky is, plainly put, an incredible talent. He grew up in his father’s studio and has been making art for as long as he can remember.” I recall when I was five years old,” he says, “[and] never feeling like I didn’t know what I would be doing with my life.”
Fastforward to today and the quality of Shoshensky’s work reflects both his noble lineage and lifelong obsession/dedication to art. The young artist’s practice is diverse and spans across a number of media – from ink to acrylics, fibre glass to industrial enamel and oil paint to light boxes. Amongst influences including John Wayne and Richard Prince, Shoshensky’s own family story has shaped his work, as they moved from Russia to the US in 1993 following the collapse of the Soviet Union. ” Due to my own multinational upbringing, which was colored by a constant sense of detachment from primary culture,” he explains, “I developed an interest in displacement.”
Shoshensky’s current project sees him focus his attention on villains in old Western films. After cataloguing stills from various movies, Shoshensky reconstructed them using what he describes as “a meticulous reductive process”, resulting in beautifully detailed ink drawings where no stiff jean crease is left unturned. “As a counterpart I have started a set of drawings implementing the primary characters but cropping out the portraits,” he adds.
More at www.nikitashoshensky.com
Tags: Art, Nikita Shoshensky
