T Australia: The New York Times Style Magazine’s inaugural Culture issue released today, featuring a cover depicting Australian dancer and model Rhys Kosakowski in fashionable motion and Australian artist Harold David creating “Thigh High and Safety Net” in the background.
The abstract expressionist artwork was painted live as photographer Levon Baird shot the cover, and was inspired by Kosakowski’s movements, the music and the spirit of the moment.
The Culture issue is driven by the theme of “Renewal” as the edition looks at the reawakening of the arts in Australia and abroad. After the decimation of the past two years, the sector is cautiously welcoming back audiences and Kosakowski discusses with T Australia how he used the hiatus to set the stage for unapologetic originality.
Since his career began, Kosakowski has evolved creatively and is finding new self-confidence within dance and modelling. About to take a leap of faith by relocating his life to Paris, he has begun to redefine who he is and how he wants to live. Once a heavily scheduled and structured performer, Kosakowski now finds freedom in the movements of dance, something he has carried across to his modelling career.
T Australia editor-in-chief Katarina Kroslakova said: “Our cover star, Rhys, is one of a kind and the true epitome of what T Australia is about. In developing the complex creative concept, I wondered how we could capture the magic between the incredible work created by Harold David and the movement of Rhys. The cover represents what we envisioned, the regeneration of art as seen through the eyes of early career artists as well as established arts identities.”
The edition also includes layered tales of inspiration, ingenuity, reinvention and the strength of the human spirit. The author Kathy Lette reveals the private side of her close friend the acclaimed artist Cressida Campbell; Lee Tulloch profiles four Australian women at the vanguard of ceramics; and T Australia tracks down that elusive cultural player the celebrity book stylist.
“The arts and culture are very close to my heart, so I’m extremely proud of the stories we were able to find and tell in this issue,” concluded Kroslakova.
