Kevin Sabo makes work that wants to have fun, and means it. Cheeky, playful, and driven more by how painting feels than by what it declares, this is a practice that trusts emotion and composition over explanation, and that has arrived at its own particular lightness through years of consistent, unglamorous effort. The five lessons learned along the way are honest and unpretentious: taste outpaces ability, cringe mountain must be climbed, practice is everything, and mistakes are fine. That directness, about the work, about the process, about the occasional strangeness of leaning into design while the world burns, is what makes the conversation worth having.

✧✧✧
Do you believe an artist's passion is something destined or a conscious choice?

It could be more of a conscious choice, actually. I say this because I do believe everybody is an artist, but not everybody has a regular habit. I think about my desire to get super fit and go to the gym. I could totally go do it but I just don’t ever get around to it haha. There’s some magic sauce that happens with complete integration of something in one’s day-to-day. I think all it takes is genuine interest and consistency to become passionate about something and to get into a flow-type state. 

Do you think art should have a political or ideological agenda?

I don’t think it should, but I think it always does in a way. Especially if somebody other than the artist is placing it in whatever context they see fit. Personally, I’m thinking of times where I’ve purposefully injected political commentary into my work. It’s nice to say what you have to say, of course, for me, that’s through images. Currently though, I’m letting the political context relax into the background a bit, all of those thoughts can linger somewhere in the essence, but not be so needy in their wish to be understood or seen. I’m letting myself lean way more into design and composition than social commentary, which admittedly at times feels super weird when political conversations are at an all time severity. But back to the idea that it should suggest something political. I think once this generation of artists have all expired on, their work will fit perfectly into art history whether they were thinking ideologically or politically or not. It kind of just happens. We don’t have to force it. 

Under what circumstances do you think art risks becoming pretentious?

Overly academic or researched work can sometimes feel a little pretentious of course. I usually gravitate towards more expressive works that carry a multitude of emotion and experience that can’t always be explained with literature and historical context. That said, I’m completely aware that academic research in art has a very important place, and I am so happy it exists. Art for me has always been way more about how it feels when I paint than what clear message it’s getting across. Both are completely valid and it really just comes down to tastes and interests. 

Artificial Intelligence is increasingly infiltrating creative fields. Do you see artificial intelligence as a threat, a tool, or a collaborator in the art world?

Unfortunately I do see it as a big threat to many mediums and jobs in the creative field. I would imagine jobs like branding, advertisement, graphic design, any sort of creative engineering, those sorts of things are already seeing a huge replacement situation happening. When it comes to sculpture and painting and drawing, anything super tactical and hand made, I find it really difficult to imagine a scenario in which Ai could replace that. Ideally, I’d like to believe an even stronger appreciation could emerge for work that you can see a human touch on. It makes sense that this scenario is totally plausible, right? Ai could very well be the end of so many beautiful things in human society. That part makes me really sad. But I’m hoping for a silver lining of a stronger reverence for physical artwork and live music. Made by humans, of course. 

Name five pivotal lessons you’ve learned that shaped your artistic journey.

✧Your ability can never catch up to your taste level. 

✧You gotta climb cringe mountain. 

✧Consistent practice really is everything.

✧It’s okay to dislike your past work. 

✧It’s okay to make mistakes. 

What kind of legacy do you hope to leave in the art world?

I hope my work makes people want to have more fun. My work can be cheeky and playful so I hope it can inspire people to shed the heaviness they may be latching onto. I also hope there’s some room left for my style to have its little place. I want to keep pushing my style as far as I can until it becomes some unruly beast in the world. 

Are there any upcoming projects or dreams that you’re particularly excited about?

I want to become a great ceramicist. I’ve begun to explore more with clay sculptures and I simply can’t wait to carve out some solid time with it. Big learning moments happen in clay every time, it teaches you so much. I always tell people, if you’re depressed just touch some clay. Time moves so differently in the clay studio, it’s so nuts. Also, your hands are covered in mud so you can’t really touch your phone all day. All of it can wait til you’re back home in the evening. I really love it. 

✦✦✦
Kevin Sabo wants the work to become an unruly beast. That phrase, offered almost casually, is actually a precise artistic ambition: to push a style as far as it can go, past the point of comfort, past the point of easy recognition, into something genuinely its own. The clay studio is next, hands covered in mud, phone unreachable, time moving differently. It is a fitting next step for an artist whose best thinking has always happened in the physical, in the tactile, in the made thing. The hope is that whoever encounters the work comes away wanting to shed a little heaviness. That is both a modest and a generous aim, and it suits the practice entirely.