I caught up with artist, Nick Kyuzyk at Lift Coffee shop last week during his short stay in Richmond for his artshow entitled “Hug Your Junk” now on display at ADA Gallery.
 
If you’re NOT familiar with Nick, here’s some quick facts: He likes to paint robots, he was the class clown in high school, resents his Kindergarten teacher Mrs. Hill, likes affordable art, is stoked about making weird music with a ukulele, misses the James River and is currently working on a children’s book.
 
If Nick’s robots DO look familiar it’s probably because he lived in Richmond for nine years where he was establishing himself. His robots where visible on murals around town, various artshows in galleries, coffee shops and artshow-parties. Nick’s work is usually consumed with robots and piles and clusters of junk. The robots became a permanent subject matter after Nick decided to paint hundreds of them as a joke. They never went away and started evolving from quick sloppy figures, to more detailed characters with interaction, narratives, and most recently a focus in color.
 
“Hug your Junk” is a collection of paintings, a large mural and an interactive sculpture. The show actually allows you to hug “Junk” since there’s a 3D version of some robot parts in the form of a huggable pillow that makes “space noices” when squeezed. I’m not sure where else you can go and give artwork a “hug?”
 
Nick moved to Brooklyn a few years ago to help out a friend and has been keeping himself busy. With a number of artshows under his belt, he also wrote and illustrated a children’s book for Penguin Kids (Publishing company). He’s wrapping up the cover before it goes to print and it hits the streets July 2009.
 
Nick’s advice for artists: “Get together with your homies, get some beer, throw some affordable artwork on the walls and have an artshow-party.”

WEB | http://www.robots.com

ADA GALLERY
228 W. Broad St.
Richmond, VA
644.0100