Nick Kostner

Nicholas Kostner (b. 1980 in Kingman, KS) studied film as an undergrad and went on to receive his Master of Fine Arts degree in 2009 from the University of Kansas. After graduating, he briefly lived in Los Angeles before moving to New York. Over the past 15 years, his career has shifted from film and experimental theatre design to his current work as a visual artist.

Since returning to Kansas, he has developed an idiosyncratic style of abstraction that simultaneously evokes the complexities of the landscape and the inner world of the human body. His paintings often feature vibrant colors and ambiguous forms reminiscent of contemporary design and psychedelia. Often using intuition and chance as a starting point, he then works with composition and palette until something more intentional emerges. Finally he spends countless hours building details and refining colors in an anxious attempt to make sense of the underlying disorder.

Kostner’s work has been featured in local and regional exhibitions. His work is included in the permanent collection of the Barton School of Business at WSU as well as numerous private and corporate collections.

The artist currently lives and works in Kansas.