Meet GHOUL KING | Artist & Printmaker

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

Hi GHOUL KING, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I think that risks are some of the most important things that you can take in life and your career. Throughout my life I’ve always tried to not fall into a pattern or making things that feel too same-y, or overdone. When given projects and guidelines in college I would always try and think of ways to do something that wasn’t exactly what was being asked of me, purely because I wanted to see how far I could push certain boundaries while still presenting something technically “correct”. I remember a time in one of my critiques that a professor told me my art was “too aggressive” and I needed to be careful with what I design. It was one of the best comments I’ve gotten on a piece so far.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My art is something that I never expected to end up making. I used to be into character design and concept work but eventually I sort of evolved into a character that I would have been conceptualizing in those days. Now the purpose of my art is to be striking and to convey a lot of heavy feelings of aggression, rage, or other strong emotions that have an impact on character. Exploring this area of work allowed me to find methods that stuck with me and worked for what I was trying to achieve, and eventually it landed me my most favorite project so far, which was working on an album cover for an artist I really felt a connection to. This sort of served as the point where I realized that there was a place for me and my art in the world, I just needed to dig myself deeper into it.

I’m really thankful I know the people that I do, because they are the sole reason I landed some of my most exciting opportunities and have the confidence in myself to keep pursuing more of my own goals. Relationships and connections within your community are some of the most valuable things that you can have as an artist and for that I will treasure them eternally.

There’s a lot that I can say about the brand that I’m trying to build, but I like to think that my art lives without me after I’ve finished it, which is why I present myself as a character when attaching a face to my work. I’ve always loved artists who present a sort of mystique to their career, so I figured I could take inspiration from those and do the same with my work. GHOUL.EXE is an entity that wants to portray the deepest pains of being truly human while also searching for the beauty within all of the horror. Until we confront the darkest parts of ourselves can we truly start to appreciate and love every aspect of this weird, haunting, human experience.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Columbus is full of so many great spots, choosing just a few is so daunting. If I had to give someone a tour to remember though, we’d definitely hit up Wario’s Beef & Pork. This sandwich shop is hands down the best food I’ve had in my entire time living in Columbus. Not only is the food outstanding, the entire crew working are such genuine and hospitable people, so I’m glad that I can be supporting my community by taking my business there.

There are also a lot of great spots for sightseeing in Columbus, the Scioto mile comes to mind first just because of how beautiful the river looks in the summer during sunset. It’s a great area to walk or take a drive further down to riverside with the windows down. Plus if you’re there on the right weekend you can catch some really great events like the Columbus Arts Festival, or if you travel a little bit down Broad to Franklinton you could visit Scrawl, which is one of my favorite places to get exposed to a lot of really great Columbus based artists.

Night time is definitely when Columbus transforms into something new entirely, and is arguably my favorite way to enjoy it. I love video games and there’s nowhere better to enjoy them with friends than at Old North Arcade. Their video game inspired cocktails are some of the best I’ve had in the city, and they have a great selection of video games to top it all off. Plus, being in the Old North, it’s right next to places like Ace of Cups or Spacebar, which host CHURCH and CATHEDRAL, some of my favorite places to enjoy goth culture and music within the community.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to shoutout some of my professors I’ve met through my time at CCAD that have helped me push myself further and gave me the creative freedom to pursue any direction I wanted my art to take: Thom Glick, Kathy McGhee, Gloria Shows and Joseph Pigg.

I actually reconnected with Joey Pigg outside of class and graduation and I sort of see him as a mentor figure within my artistic journey. Vending at cellfiVe was the first time I felt a sense of belonging within my artistic community in a lot of ways, and it made me feel even more confident in myself and my body of work.

My partner Mina, who got me this interview in the first place, has also been a great help in regards to supporting me and introducing me to a lot of great people, like Hannah Avalon, who contacted me to do an album cover for their second EP: Visceral Anatomy Vol 2. Not only was I already in love with the music, but I was in love with being given the opportunity to help forward a creative vision.

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