Julian Klincewicz | Los Angeles Creator’s Creative Scene | THISTIME magazine | CASIO CANADA

Julian Klincewicz's atelier is located in a creative space in Los Angeles, where multiple artists and creators have their studio. Natural light pours in through large frosted-glass windows installed on the walls and ceiling, filling the predominantly white space with warmth. In this space, Klincewicz types on his typewriter, plays the guitar, paints, takes photographs, and skates. The walls are covered with a growing collection of idea notes, making it feel as if one has stepped inside his mind. What fuels his continuous stream of creative inspiration?

―― You are constantly challenging yourself with new forms of expression. Where does your motivation come from?

Punk queen and poet Patti Smith once said in an interview, "You can’t just break on through once and think, I’ve made it, I broke through. There’s a million membranes to break through.” That phrase has always stuck with me. Repeating the same thing twice is uninteresting to me. Even if it looks similar, I always try to incorporate at least a 2% new element. That sense of novelty keeps life stimulating and leads to new discoveries. Art, to me, is about how much of yourself you can reveal. You express your world in some form, and the viewer projects their own experiences onto it. If that happens, then it's art. In essence, the drive behind art is the desire to be understood, to have your existence recognized. For me, art and self-expression are ways to experience life more deeply. That’s why I always want to challenge myself with something new—every experience holds its own value.

―― You work across photography, film, painting, music, and writing. Is there a common theme throughout your work?

My themes have changed over time, but currently, color is the unifying element in all my works. When I compose music, melodies and motifs often evoke colors in my mind, like, "This feels blue," or "This has the color of a lilac flower." When I capture the world through photography or film, I’m expressing the colors I see. Recently, I’ve been deeply immersed in writing, and even then, I find myself thinking, "This passage feels purple," or "This has a green and blue image." I don't explicitly link words to colors, but my mind is always envisioning them.

――Why do you think color is such an important element in your work?

My childhood had a big influence. Many of my early memories are from the Midwest—Chicago and Michigan. Nature there has incredibly distinct colors. Thunderstorms reveal purples in the sky, the sand has a grayish-yellow hue, the dense trees are a deep green, and the lakes are a striking blue. Those landscapes are imprinted in my mind as a color palette. People say California has a unique quality of light, and I feel that too. The cityscapes are filled with bold, vivid colors that directly enter your field of vision. The high-contrast hues of California have strongly influenced the boldness and contrast in my artwork.

―― Your artwork for the DW-6900 featured your signature use of color and nostalgia. What was your concept for this piece?

I wanted to explore ways to express time. Initially, I took Polaroid photos of a G-SHOCK every day for a week, thinking it would capture the passage of time. I also shot videos in extreme slow motion to capture the movement of my hand. I hoped that within those moments, I could find a perfect balance. But at one point, I noticed the way colorful candle wax melted and dripped in my room. I thought that might be a beautiful way to represent the flow of time. This idea eventually evolved into drawing the melting wax. My creative process is always a cycle of experimentation.

―― You created both a video and a drawing for this project. How do you feel about the results?

Working with time as a theme was incredibly engaging. In today’s world, especially in commercial work, there is constant pressure to move faster and be more efficient. I wanted to push against that trend and emphasize the importance of taking time to fully develop ideas. I experimented daily with different ways to depict time, and those ideas evolved, finally culminating in these artworks. I’m happy with the final pieces.

――What does "toughness" mean to you?

To me, real toughness is staying true to yourself. It’s about understanding who you are and being honest about it, even if it causes friction with others. Not everyone will accept your values or perspectives, but being able to say, "This is who I am, even if you don’t accept it," takes real strength. It’s important not to be stubborn but to navigate life gracefully, holding onto your convictions without being swayed by others. To quietly but firmly say, "This is my path." That, to me, is true toughness.

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Recently, Klincewicz has been deeply engaged in writing, using a typewriter to disconnect from digital distractions. "Writing feels like a new realm of expression. Unlike photography and film, which capture the real world, writing emerges purely from imagination. It’s an exciting new creative challenge."

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Klincewicz is also an active musician, expressing himself through guitar, piano, and vocals. During the interview, he picked up a guitar and started playing an impromptu song with words that had just come to mind.

Profile.

Julian Klincewicz

Born in 1995 in California, Julian Klincewicz is an artist working across photography, film, painting, music, and poetry. He has garnered support from musicians and fashion brands worldwide, contributing to projects such as Beyoncé’s “Homecoming documentary” for which he won a Grammy.