By EMILY CLUTE
Contributing Writer
When someone thinks of Albany, they may not always jump right into thinking of local art. Local art has become a growing scene here in the Capital City as of late. A lot of the art has a contemporary, urban style that will appeal to many different people.
YarK Inc. is an up and coming business run by Joshua Boyark, 21, and Tom Salamonowicz, 19. The pair is set on making contemporary art more available to the community through clothing.
The company promotes the artwork of Boyark, and is also used to show the collaboration between apparel and artistic design. Through the printing of their apparel, the two partners hope to make Boyark’s artwork more mainstream in the area. YarK Inc. uses screen-printing to produce the shirts, incorporating supplies like ink and the printing press. The pair operates the screen-printing out of their homes.
Boyark, who has had an interest in art for a long time, has developed his own unique style over the years. He has shown his work in many different areas around Albany, including the popular tattoo shop, the Dead President’s Lounge on Madison Avenue.
His art has also been featured at the Albany Center Gallery at 39 Columbia Street and the Upstate Artists Guild at 247 Lark Street. Although he lives in Schenectady, a lot of his artwork makes it into the Albany area. Boyark feels that he has already brought a decent amount of artwork into the area, and would like to continue.
“The more people who know, the more people will buy, as well as discover Josh’s art,” said Salamonowicz, who is in charge of promotion and graphic design.
Expansion is a main goal that Salamonowicz is going for, which is why they have turned to Facebook. They use the social networking site to promote the artwork that they have developed. They also have a website in the works where customers will be able to buy the shirts.
Christine Scott, art director of the Dead President’s Lounge, where Boyark’s work has been shown in the past, enjoys what she has seen.
Scott said, “He is one of the most fun prolific honestly good people I have had the pleasure of being associated with. He is fun and easy to deal with.”
Scott shows enthusiasm towards Boyark’s work and the contemporary art style as a whole, saying that there are entire magazines dedicated to the type of art that YarK Inc. promotes.
YarK Inc. will continue to expand their production, as well as continue to update their Facebook page. Although the company is currently local, the two partners expect to expand it in the near future. Salamonowicz believes that the clothing will appeal to anyone who enjoys urban art, as well as stylish clothing. “It brings a crazy sense of art to clothing,” Salamonowicz said.
Yark Inc Designs: