Inside “Divine Fool”: Austin Lee on Blurring the Lines Between Innocence and Absurdity with Carl Kostyál Gallery
“Divine Fool” is the new solo show by Austin Lee at Carl Kostyal on view until november 9th.
Your work often blends digital tools with traditional media. Can you walk us through your creative process from digital concept to physical artwork ?
• I see something interesting in person, or an image appears in my mind.
• I draw what I saw.
• I make a 3D drawing using VR.
• I put the VR drawing into a 3D modeling program.
• I create a digital image.
• I make a painting from the image.
How do you decide whether a piece will become a painting, sculpture, or something else ? Does the medium influence the message you’re trying to convey ?
Yes, the medium influences this decision. Sometimes, I experiment with different approaches to understand what works best, or the different mediums might complement each other and mean different things.
You use virtual reality and 3D modeling in your practice. How do these technologies change the way you think about composition and form ?
Using VR has helped me make unreal objects feel as though they exist in real space and light. I try to find a balance between 2D and 3D. The 3D modeling and VR help me observe light and shadow on unreal objects in space. One of my favorite painters is Jacob Lawrence. I love how he creates deep spaces with flat shapes. Even though I’m using technology, I just want to make a good painting. The technology is a tool to help me express myself and understand something better.
Color plays a major role in your work, often evoking playful or emotional responses. How do you approach your use of color ?
I try to make a painting where the color affects you first. It makes you feel something before you understand what the image is. You walk into the room, and it just feels like “what is this?” before anything else.
Much of your work feels inspired by the aesthetics of digital culture. What role do digital environments, social media, or video games play in your creative inspiration ?
This is the world around us. I try to let my environment be reflected in my work. A challenge, as I get older, is to make sure I keep paying attention to the world. I want to stay curious as I age and continue finding new things to be excited about.
Your figures often have a childlike or whimsical quality. What drives you to explore this sense of innocence in your work ?
I don’t necessarily think of them this way. I think they simply reflect who I am and the way I interpret the world. I tend to be optimistic as a person, and that comes through in the work.
How does humor and playfulness factor into your art ? Is there a deeper message behind the playful visuals ?
My paintings are a way of understanding and thinking. I’m not trying to convey a deep message, but they are deeply thought through and are usually about something specific. Sometimes it’s unconscious, but the work can be revealing, even to me. They are more psychological than literal.
Technology is evolving rapidly. How do you see the role of digital tools in the future of art-making ? Do you think they’ll become more essential for artists ?
I think digital tools are becoming unavoidable. When I was younger, I was the only artist I knew using Photoshop to compose my paintings and plan everything out.
Now, the majority of artists do this, regardless of whether their work deals with digital issues. These tools have become part of our way of life. My work often explores these things early on, trying to poke at them as they unfold.
Just think about photography—something that was new and exciting 100 years ago is so commonplace now that people photograph things almost as a way to remember. It’s just merged with who we are as people.
What excites you the most about the intersection of art and technology right now ? Any specific tools or trends you’re interested in exploring ?
I’ve been most interested in VR. Recently, I’ve been making a game using Unreal Engine, where you can walk around and see all my work over the years in a digital environment. It’s been more fun than I expected, creating a world that feels like anything I can imagine. It’s similar to a painting, but in a space you can move through.
In your view, how does the digital world alter our perception of reality, and how do you address that in your work ?
Our world is totally intertwined with the digital world, whether we realize it or not. The way digital images are presented greatly shapes and influences us. We use Google Maps to walk or drive everywhere and think of it as fact, but it’s just a digital record of data.
Many things are like this now, and we don’t even think about them anymore—they just become the world around us.
Your practice involves turning digital concepts into physical objects. What challenges do you face in translating something virtual into something tangible ?
I don’t know if anything feels particularly challenging about it. I think of it more as a source of inspiration. The challenge is the same as with any art—how can I show people what I am seeing?
How has your artistic style evolved over the years ? Are there any pivotal moments in your career that significantly shaped your approach to art ?
For a long time, I was interested in digital drawing and recreating the kind of images I was drawing on a screen.
More recently, I’ve become interested in 3D space, which is a major shift for me.
Are there any artists or movements, contemporary or historical, that have significantly influenced your work ?
David Hockney. I’m always excited about his work and admire his constant fascination with the world.
You’ve exhibited internationally. How does your work resonate with audiences from different cultures or backgrounds, especially with its digital and pop-cultural elements ?
I like my work to be open enough for people to project their own personal experiences onto it. When I paint, I focus on a specific event in my life but usually emphasize the feeling rather than the details, which allows people to relate to it in their own way based on how it felt rather than what happened.
Looking back at your body of work, is there a particular piece or exhibition that stands out as a turning point in your career ?
I think when I started using the airbrush as an expressive tool rather than just for rendering. This happened when I was in grad school, and it felt like a major moment of discovery.
Recently, I’ve been getting back into oil painting, and using brushes has reinforced what’s unique about the airbrush for me—how it allows me to create gestural lines in space.
With the rise of AI-generated art and NFTs, how do you see the role of human creativity evolving in the digital age ?
I don’t think AI has changed creativity too much. It just seems like a new tool to help us be more creative.
It feels like spellcheck to me—if I can spell better, maybe I can write better and be more creative. I know some non-artists who use AI to make images when they didn’t think they could before. It’s become a clunky way for them to express themselves, but the creativity still comes from them.
In a world where technology is increasingly present in our daily lives, do you think art has a responsibility to comment on or critique these changes ?
Some artists may be less interested in technology, and I understand them avoiding it, but I think it’s best for each artist to deal with their life and thoughts in a genuine way. I don’t think art has any specific responsibility, but I do appreciate it when people explore what they care deeply about in an honest way. I’m very interested in these ideas, so to ignore them wouldn’t feel right—but that might not be true for someone else.
The beauty of art is that we are all sharing our different selves with each other, and we get to see the world through another lens.
Do you feel any tension between working in the fine art world, which often values tradition, and the tech world, which is constantly pushing the boundaries of innovation ?
I think the challenge is finding a balance between pushing my work into new places and creating new images, while also running the risk of it feeling dated once the novelty wears off. I’ve seen this happen in my lifetime—paintings that seemed fresh and exciting when I made them a few years ago, but eventually the newness of that language becomes commonplace.
Great painting, I think, always feels exciting and new, and I’m still figuring out how to balance this.
What advice would you give to young artists who want to explore the intersection of digital technology and traditional art forms ?
The best thing to do is visit museums and see art in person, and also use YouTube to learn different ways to use digital software
