CRAIG COSTELLO

BY: Ramona Duoba

To understand the success of KRINK, you need to know the story of KR and to know KR you need to know Craig Costello. Rizzoli’s recently released book Krink: Graffiti, Art & Invention, is the creative journey of artist Craig Costello. Costello grew up in Queens, New York, in the ’80s surrounded by graffiti writers. He took on the moniker KR, his anonymous signature that just like graffiti became part of the city’s landscape. In an interview with Provokr Costello reflected on the early days, “Back then, graffiti went hand in hand with just teenage high jinks. There was graffiti on the handball court walls or the schoolyard walls. Almost everybody wrote or had a name or dabbled with it. There was certainly no plan. The interest was only just, I guess, in having fun. Maybe it scratched a creative itch. That’s about it.”

For Costello, graffiti had a “DIY” quality. While living and attending art school in San Francisco, he made his own ink and markers to write on various surfaces. When he returned to New York, his company Krink- “KR” his graffiti tag plus ink, his paint of choice was turned into a go-to brand for artists with the help of New York City retailer Alife. “I never thought that there would be a demand for this, said Costello. “The demand just kept growing and growing and growing. It was really just following that demand. That grew into a business and it grew into more products.”

The success of Krink attracted collaborations and creative projects with galleries and museums and with companies interested in limited edition products. The book is a visual memoir that showcases Costello’s style, his body of work and his site-specific installations around the world. While Krink started out as a graffiti tool, the book also chronicles his many collaborations with high-profile brands such as Nike, Coach, Moncler, Mini (BMW) Marc Jacobs, Levi Strauss among others. His signature long drips of ink were embraced by Mini. “The Krink Mini was related to the mailboxes and doorways that I was doing on the street. That was what was referenced when they contacted me,” said Costello. “It was edgy for them at the time. That was a risk and I appreciated that.”

Fashion designer Agnes b. penned the forward of the book and there’s an in-depth interview with his friend and artist Ryan McGinness. “Ryan came by the studio one day. We were just chatting, just a casual visit and something that came up was just the concept of interviews or the idea of interviews.” The two met at Alife when McGinness moved to New York and Costello had just moved back. They have been friends ever since. “He’s quite involved in whatever he chooses to do. Knowing that about him, I knew that he would really commit to it” said Costello.

Defining the line among Craig Costello, Krink and KR is sometimes a challenge for the artist. He told McGinness, “KR is specifically tied to graffiti and more of a historical point, as I rarely write graffiti anymore.” He added, “the work of Craig obviously crosses over to Krink because I’m creative director and owner at Krink. Of course, because it all comes from me, there is crossover everywhere.”

For more on Craig Costello’s work, check out craigcostello.nyc.com