Meet Brian Kaspr | Artist and Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brian Kaspr and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brian, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
Early in my career I certainly drank the hustle culture kool-aid. I threw just about everything I had at my work and freelance. Simply put that approach is not sustainable. It was great to go after everything but eventually something had to give. A solid balance is a good thing. Living a creative life is incredible, but the lines between work and non-work are blurry. Work can easily spill into life, and one might never notice. Knowing when to turn off work was paramount to my overall happiness and in turn my success as an artist. It was also important to know when to turn off work when I’m working, know what I mean? True creative work, the real WORK happens when I can create an environment to just get down to it. The balance has changed simply by recognizing that it needed to have better attention paid to it.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My artwork uses lettering and letterforms as a means of mark making. It is abstract and an end product of my unique mix of skills. I wrote graffiti and painted when I was younger, majored in conceptual sculpture and studied screen printing in college, trained as a sign painter, co-founded a wallpaper business, and worked for 10+ years as a graphic designer and letterer. When you toss all of that into the pot and bring to a boil you get my current work. Recognizable forms abstracted through layering, color, energy, and a little bit of destruction. My latest work is 100% a product of covid times. At the onset of lockdown all of my freelance client work disappeared, and I was left wondering what to do. I turned back to painting and the ideas brewing in the back of my mind that had been continually put on hold for time spent on client work. I’m still in the thick of it trying to figure out where to go exactly. How do I bridge the gap between what I’m “known for” (design) and what I love to do that brings me joy (art)? In the end I think it’s just about persistence and constantly recalibrating the focus as needed. As far as what I want the world to know about me and my work; behind my artwork is a great deal of time spent conceptualizing, experimenting and consideration. There’s a lot more to it than just slinging color and making pretty pictures.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
In this scenario I’m the best friend visiting. I’m not from Atlanta and I often rely on my friends out there to show ME around. Since I’m often out there working I really only have time for food and drinks. My good friend Zaneta always shows me the best spots. Some of my favorites have been Superica, Jo Jo’s Beloved, Bon Ton, Ticonderoga Club, Little Trouble, Golden Eagle (did that close?), Wonderkid, and of course J. R. Crickets. My friend Tim always takes me out to Buford Highway for some of the best asian food (all of it, Malaysian, Chinese, Japanese, etc) I’ve ever had.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My wife Payton Cosell Turner. I knew after a week of knowing her that she had such a great perspective on the world. She sees things very differently that I do, and in a lot of ways has shown me that things take real work and time. She has inspired me to manifest and put in the time. She is incredibly creative, smart, and hard working. I’m forever grateful to have her in my corner.

Website: bkaspr.com

Instagram: @bkaspr