The painter, illustrator, and founder of Wholesome Era talks album artwork, community-driven design, and fostering a creative scene free from hierarchies.
“No matter what happens, it always guides you back to the work you love. That’s the lesson from my last 10 years, trying to make an impact on the world around me and the one I’ve created through my art.”— Techin KhurukitwanitCHELSEA, MANHATTAN, NY, UNITED STATES, October 7, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — This week, New York Art Life Magazine—the online publication dedicated to the artists shaping the city’s cultural landscape—features an in-depth conversation with Techin Khurukitwanit. Based in New York, Khurukitwanit works as an illustrator, painter, curator, and teaching artist, and he is the founder of the Wholesome Era collective. During the discussion, he reflects openly on ten years of creative output spanning music, fashion, sports, and local communities.
Khurukitwanit has produced cover art and visual campaigns for artists including KayCyy, Peter $un Antha Pantha, BLK PRL, and others. Additionally, A$AP Ferg personally asked him to create a digital painted portrait for the Sewer Sounds label.
In uptown Manhattan, he acts as the lead designer for numerous Hood Holidayz community gatherings alongside Mikey Phelps. These occasions have featured partnerships with Adidas Originals, The North Face, GloGang, and E11even Vodka.
The interview spans 16 questions and exceeds 3,500 words. It offers an honest look at an artist whose career has been defined by perseverance, cooperation, and giving back. As Khurukitwanit states in the piece, “Everything that happens will always lead you back to doing what you love.
“Techin embodies the type of artist we hope our audience finds,” said Max Anthony Sciarra of New York Art Life Magazine. “His work appears on album covers, in galleries, and on neighborhood posters at the same time. Most importantly, he gives every one of those platforms equal attention.”
Inside the Interview
The feature traces Khurukitwanit’s journey from his initial album covers to his present role as a curator and educator. Along the way, he discusses the decisions that kept his creative practice going. For instance, he explains why he dedicated the last four years to accepting commissions and a significant amount of work without credit. According to him, that period extended his ability to work as a full-time artist by several additional years.
“Uncredited work trains your ego in a healthy way,” Khurukitwanit tells the magazine. “You learn to serve the project instead of your reputation. Then, when you finally sign your own name, you carry all that discipline with you.”
The conversation also looks closely at his creative process. He talks about listening to a track repeatedly before picking up a pencil, letting the colors and forms emerge from the music itself. He also explains his decision to return to traditional paint for Peter $un’s single “My Favorite Drug” on Red Bull Records. For that project, Techin hand-painted three unique covers that are now seen by audiences globally.
The publication also asked about his involvement in the TW2052 campaign for KayCyy. Khurukitwanit says that working on the major-label project gave him lasting confidence in his approach. “Bigger budgets do not replace a clear idea,” Techin explains. “In fact, the more people a project involves, the more a clear idea matters.”
Readers will also discover how a simple flyer for Lite Feet Day developed into a long-term collaboration with Mikey Phelps and Hood Holidayz. Khurukitwanit recalls designing the 2025 Ultimate Dodgeball Tournament, which united 48 teams across Atlanta, Los Angeles, and New York City. He also talks about winning the 2025 E11even Vodka bottle design competition and painting live at the launch event held at Seminole Casino Coconut Creek.
To close, the interview offers practical guidance for fellow artists. “Keep making things, even when nobody claps,” he says. “Whatever happens, show up! Because Impacts require presence and passion. No matter the medium.”
A Career Across Music, Brands, and Community
Khurukitwanit’s body of work includes some of the most recognizable names in today’s music and culture. In 2019, he designed the artwork for “Moonlight,” the first single from Egyptian artist Bayou. Later, while serving as a designer on KayCyy’s internal creative team, Techin painted the cover for “Motown” featuring BabyTron. He then developed the complete visual campaign for the TW2052 EP, released via BuVision in partnership with Columbia Records. He also created merchandise for KayCyy’s 2023 European tour.
He also handled the front and back cover designs and merchandise for Feline Season, the debut album by Antha Pantha on A$AP Ferg’s Sewer Sounds label. His other credits include the artwork for “Wannabe,” the first single by BLK PRL on MNRK Music Group, and title design for the Kanii music video “Sins.” Most recently, he served as a production assistant on a Dazed MENA issue featuring A$AP Ferg.
Outside of music, his designs reach both retail environments and personal projects. He created the logo, signage, and fitting room graphics for Archive New York, the vintage shop on Essex Street. He also designed custom tattoo artwork for NBA center Jalen Duren.
Still, community events sit at the core of his work. Alongside Mikey Phelps, Tweek Tune, and Xtramoney, he has designed flyers, signage, and apparel for swimming lessons, bike rides, calisthenics challenges, and dodgeball tournaments. “A good flyer brings people outside,” he tells the magazine. “In turn, those people create memories that last for years.”
Wholesome Era: Art With No Hierarchy
A key theme throughout the interview is Wholesome Era, the multidisciplinary collective founded by Khurukitwanit. The group came together through unexpected encounters and, as he puts it, “a whole lot of luck.” From the beginning, its members shared a single guiding principle: no hierarchy, only art.
Before starting the collective, Khurukitwanit presented Polaris, a solo exhibition in the Bowery in 2022, which he also curated. Then, in March 2024, Wholesome Era held its first group show featuring nine artists. Just two months later, Wholesome Era 2: Sunnier Days Ahead filled The Chocolate Factory in Bushwick with more than 200 works from around 50 artists. It was one of the venue’s first art exhibitions.
The collective has since expanded in multiple ways. In December 2024, it presented Wholesome Holidayz with Hood Holidayz. In late 2025, it launched Art Intelligence, a three-part series of community workshops focused on painting, drawing, and screen printing. Then, in January 2026, WE3 displayed works by core members alongside pieces created by workshop participants.
“Many people want to make art, yet they never get a chance to learn,” Khurukitwanit says in the interview. “Watching someone full their first screen print is always pure joy, because it means the medium will continue to survive, through their memories and sparks to their artistic journey.”
Read the Interview
The complete interview, “Techin Khurukitwanit: Everything Leads Back to the Art,” is now live on the New York Art Life Magazine website at this link. Readers can view more of Khurukitwanit’s work at mlscstudio.com and follow the collective’s events at wse. world.
About Techin Khurukitwanit
Techin Khurukitwanit is a New York-based illustrator, painter, graphic artist, curator, and teaching artist working through MLSC Studio. His work spans album art, branded community events, retail identity, merchandise, and fine art. He has created visual work for KayCyy, A$AP Ferg, Antha Pantha, Peter $un, BLK PRL, Mikey Phelps, Hood Holidayz, Adidas Originals, The North Face, and E11even Vodka. He founded Wholesome Era, an independent art collective and exhibition platform built on collaboration and community.
About New York Art Life Magazine
New York Art Life Magazine is a digital publication for artists, curators, and creative communities in New York and beyond. Through interviews, profiles, and features, the magazine gives readers a close look at the people shaping contemporary art and culture.
Max A.Sciarra
New York Art Life Magazine
info@nyartlife.com
