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The Art of Josta
Austrian artist JOSTA, originally from Vienna and shaped by a career in film and television, is developing a unique style within contemporary painting that combines expressionism with abstract art. His portraits of celebrities such as Woody Allen, Helmut Qualtinger, Marilyn Monroe, Elon Musk, and Hedy Lamarr feature thick layers of oil paint, often applied with a palette knife or broad brushstrokes, creating a relief-like texture. His works are characterized by a vibrant, high-contrast color palette—turquoise with red, yellow, green, pink, or violet—that captures the inner worlds of their subjects. Spontaneous splashes of color and dripping strokes lend his images a dynamic energy, inspired by his theater and film-drenched background.
JOSTA's style fits within contemporary art that has been revitalizing expressive and material techniques since the late 20th century, similar to the work of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Georg Baselitz, who deconstruct cultural icons. Unlike Basquiat, he relies on textured surfaces instead of graffiti, and unlike Baselitz, he avoids reversed perspectives. He draws parallels to Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning in his use of color as a means of expression, yet remains figurative and uses colorful, pop-cultural palettes, making his works more accessible.
JOSTA's works are characterized by contrasting colors that reflect emotional depth—like melancholy in Woody Allen or vision in Elon Musk—as well as by textured materiality that creates a tangible presence. His versatility, from portraits to charcoal works to car sketches, reflects his Viennese childhood and artistic passion. He combines traditional portraiture with modern abstraction, bridging the gap between classical and contemporary expression, and invites reflection on pop culture and identity.
A painting is a silent story waiting for the viewer to bring it to life with their own eyes and experiences.
JOSTA
Actual Work
Pencil, charcoal and pastel on paper,
29,7 x 42 cm / 11,7 x 16,5 inch
"TheArtistFormerlyKnownAsPrince"
In this striking portrait drawing, Viennese artist Josta distills the iconic Prince Rogers Nelson into a still, highly concentrated moment. The intense, almost hypnotic gaze, the subtly nuanced expression around the mouth and eyes, the precisely modeled hair texture, and the characteristic mustache—everything is rendered with breathtaking technical precision in the finest gradations of graphite and charcoal. The monochrome black and white amplifies the psychological depth: here, it is not the colorful stage world of Purple Rain that speaks, but the pure essence of a charismatic, androgynous genius, whose inner tension between melancholy and electrifying presence becomes palpable.
Josta masters classical drawing with the utmost refinement: soft transitions, precise hatching, and masterful chiaroscuro create an almost photographic three-dimensionality. The style here is hyperrealistic and simultaneously expressive—not a mere depiction, but a condensed interpretation of the personality. The artistic ambition lies in reduction: by omitting color and superfluity, the essence—the "silent story" of the portrayed subject—is revealed.
This work stands in striking contrast to Josta's well-known main style: the large-format, expressive oil portraits (e.g., Adele, Woody Allen, Elon Musk, Marilyn Monroe, or Hedy Lamarr). In these, he works with a palette knife, thick layers of impasto, dripping glazes, and an explosive, high-contrast palette (turquoise, red, and violet) that merges expressionistic and abstract elements—dynamic, theatrical, almost synesthetic. The semi-abstract charcoal drawings, in turn, dissolve the figure more completely. The Prince drawing, however, remains strictly figurative and monochromatic—a return to the classical drawing "with pen and paper," which Josta has cultivated since childhood. It demonstrates his impressive adaptability to the subject matter: from pop-cultural fireworks to intimate, timeless portraits.
