Draw, Paint, Cut & Paste

Kareem Rizk is a Melbourne based illustrator, graphic designer and collage artist graduated from the Monash University in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in graphic design. His typical style began as an experiment in blurring the line between handmade collage and digital illustration. Kareem Rizk’s works include analogue collage techniques, pencil drawings, acrylic & oil pastel paintings and Photoshop finishing.

His graphic design studies encouraged Kareem Rizk to experiment with different styles and techniques. In his work, you can always see a rich influence of pop art. During his academy years Rizk developed a keen interest for collage, which he explored with a rich and diverse selection of mixed media techniques. After graduating Rizk’s creative interests began to turn to fine arts, especially in mixed media collage. While working as a graphic designer at Melbourne’s No. 1 selling newspaper, The Herald Sun, his interest in collage continued to build up which eventually became the focus of his art. He also worked as a freelance designer for various large and small clients. Rizk started making collages in 2005, but he truly emphasized his work from 2006. After a few weeks of promoting his work Rizk was offered several opportunities for printed publications in Australia and the UK.

Shortly after this Rizk got offers to exhibit his artwork in art galleries. His exhibitions include solo and group shows in Melbourne, Sydney, Byron Bay, Los Angeles, Washington DC, London, Barcelona and Milan. Exhibited work also includes large format displays in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. Gallery curators from New York, San Francisco, Tokyo, Russia and Switzerland have also expressed interest to exhibit Rizk’s work.

Kareem Rizk collects a lot of his images from old magazines, books and brochures. It can be challenging sometimes when he cannot find the right image to fit in a certain piece of work. The emphasis on strong visual dynamics is largely credited to his background in graphic design.

Rizk finds inspiration in the work of other collage artists as well as from the world around and his memories. He is also fascinated by the 60s and the 70s, which inspires him to use black and white images from vintage magazines, graphic elements, typography, fashion photos, car ads and cultural references from these times.  Collage and mixed mediums have always had a prominent influence on Rizk’s creative development. He enjoys creating raw and visually dynamic images.

Kareem Rizk’s working mediums include collage, acrylic, oil pastel, pencil and solvent and acrylic transfers. His work is highly textured and often multi-layered with a nostalgic and weathered quality. Rizk’s works can often be vibrant and full of colors compared to others’ that display a very refined or minimal palette. His working methods also extend to digital collage and illustration with a very coarse and realistic display of texture and layering. The majority of his illustration work however is handmade.

Collage is a very versatile medium and the techniques can be applied to many different surfaces. The sources for imagery and graphic elements are endless. Every composition Rizk makes already exists in the form of press images and printed material. All he needs to do is find the right elements to construct the desired composition. Even though the composition starts to develop, it is never sure how the work in progress will look in the end. It is indeed interesting that the final composition cannot be foreseen and that the work evolves as it is put together bit by bit.

The technique of collage can create openness to the viewer’s interpretation. Collage can be read in many different ways. A majority of Rizk’s collages do not exhibit clear messages or distinct concepts. It really depends on how the viewers look at it and they are free to create their own story for the work.

Beyond the visual element, the recycling of images and paper in Rizk’s collage can sometimes be seen as a reflection of the recycling process, which occurs in every random facet of a modern consumer society. A few of those may include the recycling of lifestyle choices, fashion, entertainment, technology and the educational system.  Within the remains of the working surface, people will find iconic representations of facades like a dream home, suburbia, arbitrary glamorization of consumer products, fossil fuelled transport and further under-developed technology which continues to race ahead of the spiritual and physical evolution of mankind.

Rizk’s favorite artists and designers include Kurt Schwitters, Max Ernst, Hannah Hock, Richard Hamilton, Magritte, Mario Wagner, Eduardo Recife, Brandon McLean, Robert Mars and Charles Wilkin. Kareem Rizk's work has been published in numerous magazines and books including Art Review, Empty magazine, Day In The Lyfe, Advanced Photoshop, ROJO magazine, Semi-Permanent Book 2007 & 2009, Computer Arts, Idea Fixa book, Mail Me Art book, Trip magazine, Design Graphics, Don’t Panic and Desktop magazine.