A Conversation with Abstract Artist Rostarr

Meet Romon K Yang, better known as Rostarr, a multidisciplinary artist who works mainly with abstract paintings.  

Like every work of art, Rostarr’s abstractions may have different meanings for different viewers, but there’s one figure you can constantly perceive in his creations: humans. “I love meeting people,” he says. “I’m interested in people. Like, why people get along or don’t get along. Like, good energy. And also, growing up in New York, and seeing all these really interesting mugs, these really weird people on the train. Once you see those people, you can’t unsee those people. Their faces are, like, burned into my head.”  

Similarly, after moving to Bali with his family a few years ago, he also finds himself moved by the humans. “The thing that inspires me the most is the people, the Balinese people and their culture, the Hindu culture. The way that they’re always smiling, you know, even if they don’t have a lot of money. And the smiles are real, the smiles are not fake.”   

“My influences weren’t just about the city; it was really about people or energy, you know,” he says. “So, when I do my abstract paintings, I feel like it’s like more creating energy fields, you know; different types of energy fields. I know that because when I have my paintings up and I’m around them, it gives me a lot of energy back. I hear that from other people who collect my work, they just love looking at my work, it gives them a lot of positive feelings back, or rhythm, or something. It really gives them something, which is what art should be or should do.”