Ronald Kurniawan is a Los Angeles based illustrator who graduated from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.
His highly stylized imagery combines animals and natural forms with geometric constructs, typographic elements, mechanical devices, odd characters and cultural ephemera into marvelous, collage-like visual smorgasbords.
His characters careen, gambol and fly through unlikely environments, alternately alive with insane glee or oppressed with the weight of imminent doom. Likewise his palette and textural range varies from grungy to pop-radiant, with lots of lively variations in between.
His clients include The New York Times, Time, Spectral Magazine, Men’s Health, Mother Jones, LA Weekly, INC magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Village Voice, Saatchi NY, McCann Erickson, LACMA, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Mattel Inc., Toyota, Turner Broadcasting System, Disney Consumer and Design Studio Press.
There are several sections of imagery on his site, along with sections of sketches, sculptures and available books of his work.
Kurniawan also does gallery work, and a number of his pieces will be on display as part of the upcoming Line Weight group show at Gallery Nucleus in Alhambra, CA from November 22 to December 7, 2008. Though many are already sold, there are items of his available in the gallery store.
There are interviews with Kurniawn on Websteem Art & Design and FMCS, and a profile on Illustration Mundo.
(Image above is a poster for the West Hollywood Book Fair, illustration by Ronald Kurniawan, graphic design by Ryan Ward.)
Very interesting work. I like the opposition between his sort of letters in brown landscapes.
Is there anywhere on the web explaining his technique - I’ve been looking closely at the work & can’t decide how it was done. Intrigued. I love this stuff.
I haven’t come across anything but the interviews. but that doesn’t mean there isn’t something out there.
I can’t find anything. If I could paint like this I wouldn’t tell anyone else either. If anyone finds anything can they point me to it.
I traditionally paint my letterforms walking through the landscapes, but most of my illustrations are just done through photoshop. I will block in flat colors or gradations for the large shapes then start doing some detail work on the focal point. Sometimes I would scan in textures to overlay the whole image. Preferably painting the piece with acrylic is the way to go, but the deadlines wouldn’t allow me to do so, especially commercials.
Thanks for the insight into your working methods, Ronald!