At Home with Mark Kostabi: Art’s Bad Boy Goes Classical
When art hustler extaordinaire Mark Kostabi opportunistically labeled himself an “East Village artist,” he actually lived in Hell’s Kitchen. These days, the art industrialist, whose name is so linked with New York, divides his time between a duplex in Chelsea (pictured here) and an apartment in Rome where he forays every other month. When he reaches the “boiling point” in New York, he seeks the tranquility of the ancient city where he indulges (very un-New York-like) in leisurely walks and long lunches. Besides his jaunts to Italy, hitting the ivories is the artist’s other way of letting off steam. “It’s a great way to use my hands,” he says. “The only other time I get to use them is to sign paintings, checks, or autographs.” We wouldn’t want him to soil them by applying paint to canvas.
August 1998