Shane Izykowski, born Oh Jin Kwon in Taegu, South Korea, was adopted at the age of two. Living in Northeastern Pennsylvania for most of his life, Shane has dabbled in many different mediums and art forms. He is mostly self taught, and has spent a great deal of time experimenting with music, painting, drawing, 3D and interactive sculpture, special effects and makeup, filmmaking and directing, writing poetry and scripts, costuming, mural work and photography. He's owned his own photography business, was the Art Director for a community art gallery for two years, founded Project Street Art in 2014 and won awards for short films and community service.

Shane will be joining us at Salon der Herzen on January 11, 2024. Get tickets now.

1. Why do you make this type of art?
I have two sides to my artwork, what I like to call “the scary side” and “the sad side.” The “scary” paintings relate back to my love for horror movies, Special FX makeup and my love of Halloween. The “sad” paintings are an exploration of the human experience, which often is heavy with loss and grief. I like to explore these things because there is a stigma about openly discussing difficult topics, but I think talking about them helps to heal. So, my hope is that the artwork will help others to heal.

2. Did you always want to be an artist?

I feel like even if I didn’t want to be an artist, I have had no choice! Creativity has always been innate, as I’ve always been making things. Nowadays, the mediums I choose to create art are a wide assortment, but the common thread is that I become obsessively focused on the project at hand, and cannot stop until it’s finished. These are a huge part of my ADHD, and I’m still learning how to balance that with my normal life.

3. Do you listen to music while you create? If so, what is on your playlist?

I listen to music, podcasts and audio books while I create. I grew up in the east coast metal scene, so there’s some leftover bands from the late 90’s/early 2000’s like Deftones, Chevelle and Placebo. But a lot of other music that I connect with fall under many different genres, including pop, industrial, Darkwave, hip hop, Indy, etc.

4. Who are your biggest influences?

It’s always difficult for me to answer that because I don’t feel like my style has been dictated by any of my influences. But I was interested in horror novels when I was growing up, so Stephen King & Anne Rice had a big impact on me.

5. What has been a seminal experience?

I think I’m in my deepest seminal experience right now! I am currently trying to delve into a new direction in my artwork, and that story has yet to be written. The experience has been difficult, but I’m slowly getting there.

6. Name something you love (anything) and why.

I love cats. All cats. Even the ones that act like you don’t exist. I love their personalities and adorable faces.