Discover
Inspiration
Learn
“As the sun dissolves to dusk, the nocturnes wake, unfurling from their caves in search of prey.
Revving engines and a barely contained glee, it’s time to push the pedal to the metal to victory.
An exploration of the metaphysical and its boundless & limitless truth.”
Let us welcome Kushagra Gupta, otherwise known as Kushlet, as he steps in to pioneer Mossery’s first ever 3D Artist Collaboration! Toeing the line between organic and synthetic, Kushlet’s work is an exploration of the chaotic and experimental.
Read on to find out about the world of 3D, how abstract art can be gay, and lovingly, fellow Mossery artist, Nadhir Nor!
Hello Kushlet! We’re really excited to be collaborating with you for the first time and welcome to Mossery! Please tell us a little bit about yourself.
Hi! I’m Kushagra Gupta, I’m a visual artist currently based in Bangalore, India. My art and work are centred around the play, tension and intuition that arise from the abstraction of shapes, colours, textures and emotions. I’ve been working independently for over 2 years now I’m grateful to have worked with some of the most talented musicians and artists from around the world.
This will be the first time you’ve collaborated with Mossery on a collection of Book Covers, and also being the first ever 3D illustration artist Mossery has ever collaborated with! So technically, we’re pioneering uncharted territory together.
How does that feel for you?
It’s definitely exciting - I love Mossery, and I’m so happy to be part of a roster of such superstar artists. I think my artworks on the covers are a great fit, as I see my art as a marriage between 2D and 3D elements.
With this launch of new covers, what do you wish our users to experience and feel with this new collection?
I think I want people to feel intrigued by the covers, I want the artworks to draw them in and make them feel a certain way and then question what and why they feel. I hope the users feel cool when they see it on their desk or carry it around? :)
Could you tell us a little about the concept behind your covers, Evening Stretch and Racecars?
Evening Stretch - This artwork is loosely inspired by my evening home workouts turning into spontaneous freestyle dance sessions :) I wanted to capture the feeling of muscles stretching and relaxing after a long day’s work.
Racecars - I created this artwork during a period when I was really having fun with colours that I don’t normally use. I’d recently picked up zbrush for sculpting my models and the result was this kinda extreme, dynamic form that I felt captured motion so beautifully that it needed the colours that would match that visual energy.
In the past, you’ve worked with editorial magazines and record labels for album art. How does it feel to have your art in the physical everyday realm as people “touch” and carry your art around?
Yeah, I think as someone whose work is primarily viewed and engaged with on screen, it’s always a delight to collaborate with people that want to take it beyond. I feel like as a digital artist raised by the internet, seeing my art in the physical gives me a sense of confidence and reassurance. And of course, it’s lovely to know that my art would be seen beyond the tiny resolution of a mobile phone :)
How would you describe the process of making 3D art? Is it different from graphic design or traditional art?
3D art starts out looking quite technical and opaque but I think at the end of the day it’s a fairly easily learned tool that can be extremely powerful for an artist. My process is rooted in chaotic, impulsive experimentation and it pairs very well with the generative, non-destructive modes of creation in 3D technology. A lot of times I try to translate 2D sketches into 3D, and while that’s pretty fun, I think the most exciting bits for me are just deep diving into the 3D space and trying to ‘find’ the seashells and objects that I like the most. I’m not sure about traditional art but my process is quite different from graphic design as it tends to be less outcome-oriented and more instinctive.
You’ve mentioned that your art materialises as a result of the interplay of form, space, and colour. Yet, it still always feels undeniably raw and visceral.
Is there anything you usually try to convey through your work?
I think I am always attempting to sort of climb up and down this visual ladder where abstract meets emotions, technology meets technique, and natural meets synthetic. I want to communicate feelings of joy that are borne out of meticulous indecision. There is such an abundance of visual pleasure in the world, and I want to share my art like it’s a steady, controlled release of my interpretation and collages of these pleasures. Really I just want people to join in on the fun that is the improvisation and iterations in my art.
We were so excited to find out that your partner is fellow Mossery artist, Nadhir Nor!
We read that his art, while drastically different in form yet equally as mesmerising, has become a source of inspiration for you. How has he impacted your artistic journey?
Nadhir is definitely my source of tender, loving inspiration that allows me to learn and create without feeling too self-judgmental or anxious. We are always in conversation about each others’ art, often critiquing and using each other as a soundboard for ideas and exploration. While we actually haven’t had a proper “collaboration” on an artwork, I think in our own subtle ways we are visual conspirators with our use of space, colours and composition :)
We read about your collaboration with Sksksks, the queer nightclub, and it looks absolutely stunning!
Does your queer identity ever find its way into your work, whether it be in your art or the opportunities you seek out?
Thank you! :) I think a lot of my work is a channel for my queerness. Shapes and colours carry multitudes of connotations, and in that sense, I think even abstract artworks can be quite gay. And for sure it feels encouraging and just ‘right’ to work with other queer artists and clients, I do hope I get more work in that area.
Whether it be through exploring more environmentally sustainable NFT platforms or even political art, it becomes clear that there’s a lot of thoughtfulness that goes into your work. This may be a cliche question, but what does art mean to you?
Art for me is the power to make feelings more ‘felt’. It’s the ability to interact with the vast library of information and imagination that we have accumulated as a species.
The 3D art community has been growing online and more artists are expressing their love for the medium as well.
What advice or encouragement would you give to those who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
I think as with any other creative endeavour, just being consistent and showing up is key. It’s easy to get lost in the complexities of all the crazy technology around us, but I think what drives great art is a close understanding of the principles of colour, composition, gestalt, etc.
As an artist, what is next in store for your future creative journey and what are your hopes and wishes for your future self as an artist?
I am really gearing up for the idea of translating my artworks into motion :) Animation work has always intimidated me but I’ve been gradually learning the ropes over the last 6 months or so. I also hope to someday 3D print or somehow fabricate my work into physical pieces, and not be limited to just a digital 3D artist :)
Kushagra Gupta is Indian artist currently based in Bangalore, India. You can find him on Instagram here.
Enter a new realm through his covers — Racecars and Evening Stretch, and his art prints, now available on our website.
This collaboration marks a new step for us at Mossery. We hope this collection revitalizes you in new experimental ways, like it did for us!
