FORKAS

Denis Forkas

[denisforkas]

Ar-Rahman: Creation Imagined as a Suicide Bomber Motif, 2025

Ink and acrylics on vintage paper mounted on a wooden panel

[denisforkas]

Dear friends,

The much requested prints shop is finally open at inprnt.com/gallery/forkas

I hope you will find the selection to your liking.

The shop will be updated on a regular basis. All prints are shipped from the US.

Love,

D.

[denisforkas]

Saturn Devouring His Son, 2022

Acrylics on an irregular sheet of polymer paper, some gilding 

[denisforkas]

The Angel Half-Fire Half-Snow, a decorative sarloh inspired by Mirâj Nâmeh*, 2020

Watercolour, bodycolour and ink on paper

*original unavailable

[denisforkas]

Study for Dornröschen, after HR Giger (“Face Hugger in Ripley”), 2021

Graphite, tea and ink on paper, 39.5 x 49.5 cm

When I came across the curious drawing by Giger from 1990 I was surprised at how accurately it illustrated my own dream, so I decided to fashion the dream study as an homage to the Swiss artist.

Dream of the Sleeping Beauty and a Hornet Nest

I find myself stricken with fear in front of a glass coffin in an overgrown alcove. The vegetation mimics man-made objects: stairs, drapery, furniture. I examine the girl sleeping peacefully in the coffin and discover that her slumber has brought a terrible scourge upon her body: hornets have built a nest inside and around her ribcage. As soon as I see the nest a loud buzzing sound descends upon me – like a dissonant string orchestra. The girl’s breathing tells me she’s alive but I know my kiss would wake her up and break the delicate balance of her symbiotic existence, killing her instantly. On the other hand, the harrowing idea of leaving her be is too much for me to handle. As is the custom, the stressful hesitation wakes me up.

[denisforkas]

Flower of Pain / Allegory of Poetry, 2020

Ink and watercolour on paper, 29.5x24 cm

Dream of the Scorpion Shadow

I’m writing a letter to a friend in a sunlit room. I know I’m alone, so when I hear a weird noise behind my back it alarms me. I turn around and see that my afternoon shadow is open like a cutout in the floorboards and there’s a dark mass writhing within it. As I stand there stricken with terror a giant scorpion tail rises up from the mass like a threatening cobra. The sting hits my chest with a great weight and introduces a pain that I can hardly describe at all. The pain is so strong it feels tangible – it manifests itself in a sharp sprout bursting from my chest, quickly developing a hard stem that pushes my head back as it lunges upward. I can feel the roots ramify in my veins and right before the dream ends I witness the opening of a large fantastic flower at the end of the stem.      

[denisforkas]

Haradashi Host Welcomes the Damned in the House of Pystryne, 2019/21

Kintsugi acrylics on prepared paper, 38 x 28 cm

***

Wails of the damned interrupted My troubled sleep; I’m awake on the floor Lamenting The loss of contentment to visions of welcoming feast In the house of fire and anguish.  

#denisforkas #forkas #ukiyoe #yokai #haradashi #hell #inferno #kintsugi #houseofphristinus #macabre #grotesque #horror #japonisme

[denisforkas]

Sidonian Ram Consumes Saint Peter’s Heart / Composition Study for the Ecclesia altar triptych, 2020

Ink, graphite and acrylics on paper, 32 x 20.5 cm

[denisforkas]

Lateral View of a Vigile in Hell / Study for Kerberos sculpture, 2020

Ink and bodycolour on paper

[denisforkas]

Aitna IV / Hand of the Old World, 2019

Acrylics on prepared paper, 28.7 x 20.2 cm

[denisforkas]

Dream of Parasitic Grove, 2020

Acrylics on waxed paper, 25x16 cm

I find myself prostrate upon tree roots in a small misty copse. I crawl about and discover that the trees grow from winged bodies piled up like a mass grave. Yet this is not a grave – the angels moan and shuffle in their troubled sleep. The roots reduce limbs, heads and sometimes entire bodies to viscous pitch while miraculously keeping their hosts alive. Only the wings are untouched by the hungry trees – they seem to defy this tableau of decay. Soon a strange itch draws my attention to my own body - and I somehow see it from a distance – terminal parts being liquefied, the body softly plunging into the living pattern of wings. I quickly put some tar into my mouth and enter the angels’ dream, which triggers a rough awakening full of evil doubt...

[denisforkas]

Study for the portrait of Max Schreck as Count Orlok, 2019

Graphite and gold watercolour on paper, 27 x 21.8 cm

[denisforkas]

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/denisforkasofficial/

Dear friends,

I’ve set up an Instagram page, which I invite you to follow. I will of course follow friends and fellow artists so hit me up.

Love,

D.

[denisforkas]

The Valediction Cartouche, 2017-18

Acrylics and gilding on paper/hardboard, 26 x 21 cm 

Commissioned by the Finnish band Children of Bodom

[denisforkas]

Study for Possessed Actor (An actor being taken by an onryō while performing in an historical play), 2018

Ink and bodycolour on prepared paper, 17.9 x 27.4 cm

[denisforkas]

Two Women Teaching a Child to Walk, after Rembrandt, 2018

Red chalk on paper, 21 x 25.7 cm

[denisforkas]

Flechette Attack sketch, 2017

Graphite, crayon and ink on paper, 29.5 x 21 cm