Opening tonight, October 20th, at the Joshua Liner Gallery in New York is a duo show from two outstanding artists: Chloe Earley with Feathers and Wax and Ryan McLennan with his show Abominations. In Chloe Earley’s show she is focused on the idea of flight, with the figures in the work caught in a state of suspension, they are not falling or rising. I like the idea that while the figures are suspended in motion, the brush-work and energetic splashes of color that mark Chloe’s style give a sense of movement to the paintings. Each piece is dripping with color, well balanced, and gives your eye the impression that any moment the painting will start moving and break the tension. In McLennan’s show the works will deal with “universal questions, such as speculating on the existence of God and what it means to be moral.” The shows run until November 19th, so if you can’t make the reception you have some time.
The Butcher Kings @ Gallery 1988
On October 6th, Gallery 1988 in Melrose opened a duo show with Alex Pardee and Skinner under the moniker of the “The Butcher Kings”. The two artists took aim at pop culture and created over 80 works of art that were not only offensive in some cases, but were quite brilliant and make this show a must see. I have always been a fan of pushing art to the edge; art should move people, make them think, make them laugh, and make them offended if need be. The works in this show feature characters from many cartoons, movies, comic books, and various pop culture icons. Some of the titles in the show feature the kind of wordplay that seems easy to come up with such as Karate Kid N’ Play, and M.C. Hammerhead, and I know quite a lot of people do this with friends and in daily situations. The idea here is that these two artists took it past joking in the halls and at work, and made a cohesive full show. It looks as though Skinner might have a bit more work on view, however Alex Pardee came up with some pieces that really defined the show such as C3PeeHole and ElephantMan-At-Arms. Head on over after the preview and take a look at the rest of the show.
“Zombie in Love” @ Gallery Nucleus by Scott C
Back in September Gallery Nucleus opened a solo show from Scott C, that completely slipped our radar. The show was entitled Zombie in Love, and fits perfectly with the Halloween season. The show featuring a series of paintings that made up Scott’s latest book Zombie in Love. The reception had Scott give a book reading, a drawing demo, and fans even showed up dressed like zombies. Looks like it was quite a fun evening. The show and reception photos are online to view, and you can still grab the book from the Nucleus online store (here). Hardcover, 32 pages, and you can order it signed or unsigned.
Chet Zar, Dan Quintana, and Mark Garro @ Copro Gallery
Opening this Friday, October 15th, to the Copro Gallery in Santa Monica is a three person show featuring the work of Chet Zar, Dan Quintana, and Mark Garro. You might remember that Chet Zar recently had a solo show, Faces of Death, at Last Rites Gallery in July. Even after a show that opened close to this one, Chet brings 13 oil paintings to this latest solo show entitled The Left Hand Path. Dan Quintana opens Tinsel, and Mark Garro brings more than 9 new works to Apocalypservice. This is an outstanding show, all three artist are insanely talented. If you have the ability to see this show in person, make sure you do. It will be up until November 5th. Copro Gallery has also released a new limited edition print by Mark Garro to coincide the show. The print is a 30″ x 26″ giclee on wood, varnished, framed, and signed and numbered in an edition of 30.
Preview: Johannah O’Donnell “Somewhere In Time” @ Bold Hype Gallery
Opening this Thursday night, October 13th, at the Bold Hype Gallery in New York is the latest solo exhibition from Florida based artist Johannah O’Donnell. Bold Hype has shown Johannah’s work quite a few times and now is hosting her first solo show with the gallery entitled “Somewhere in Time”. She has been working on the art for this show for a fw moths now, Hi Fructose posted a studio visit back in March (here) and gave a preview of what was to come. The show features 25 works of art in a variety of sizes ranging from 4″ x 6″ to 24″ x 36″. This work in this show is very cohesive, and shows how strong her style is. I really like the juxtaposition of the monochromatic figures against the colorful backgrounds, and then each is set off against a vividly colored outline, shape, or text that surrounds the figures. The show runs until November 5th.
“Bewitching” Stranger Factory Annual Halloween Show
Stranger Factory, the newest gallery from the Circus Posterus Collective, opened a group show last weekend, October 7th, entitled Bewitching. This is the first installment of an invitational annual group art show that takes inspiration from the vintage esthetic of Halloween. Growing up I was always mesmerized with the various decorations that would spring up during Halloween. In recent years the decorations are cheap, lazy looking, and lack any kind of uniqueness, so it’s great to see a show that harkens back to the hand-made, and often “outsider” feel the vintage designs had. The show features work by Andrew Bell, Colin Christian, Sas Christian, Doktor A, Travis Lampe, Leecifer, Travis Louie, Jon MacNair, Irene Mendonis, Kathie Olivas, Brandt Peters, Rhode Montijo, Chris Ryniak, Scott Tolleson, and many more. The show runs until November 12th, and if you aren’t able to make the show in person all of the work is now online to view. Love those paintings by Emily Trovillion (shown last).
Stella Im Hultberg, Mari Inukai, Audrey Kawasaki, and Amy Sol @ Thinkspace Gallery
Amid the variety of Halloween related art shows, and the I Want My Music Video Art Show, Thinkspace Gallery opened a group exhibition featuring the work of Stella Im Hultberg, Mari Inukai, Audrey Kawasaki, and Amy Sol entitled In the Wake of Dreams. This show brings new paintings, drawings, and a new print set. Overall the show is as cohesive as it gets, there is no denying that these four artists fit very well together. I love the idea of being able to see the painted style each artist has, and the drawings, especially in the way each artist presents the drawings. With Stella Im Hultberg and Audrey Kawasaki’s drawings, you see only clean, well-planned linework. Each one also adding colored pencil, and in the case of Audrey laser cut sections of the paper. Amy Sol and Mari Inukai have a looser style of drawing, as you are able to see lines that were made while the artist worked out the forms. To me, this style of drawing has a very energetic feel and in a way is as intimate as a signature can be. The show will be up until October 29th.
“I Want My Music Video Art Show” @ Meltdown Gallery
Opening tonight, October 7th, at the Meltdown Gallery in Los Angeles is a massive group show, over 100 artists, all taking inspiration from music videos for the first “I Want My Music Video Art Show” curated by Chris Marrs Piliero and Dave MacDowell. Artists such as Sarah Joncas, Aaron Jasinksi, Aunia Kahn, Apricot Mantle, Chet Zar, Dan Harding, Dan Quintana, Edith Lebeau, Jason D’Aquino, John Cebollero, Kelly Vivano, Larkin, Kolaboy, Nate Van Dyke, N.C. Winters, Paul Chatem, Scott G Brooks, Scott C, and many more have created art based on their favorite music videos. Oh, and yours truly also has a piece of art in this show (thanks to Dave for talking me into it). The reception starts at 8 PM and I have heard that a good majority of the artists will be there, so if you stop by make sure to say hi to the artists that made this show a must see. The exhibition will run until October 20th, so if you can’t make the reception you have a little bit of time to see the show.
I am very honored to be a part of this show, there is so many amazing artists. To be honest I was a little too nervous in the beginning and thought about not entering. I will stay with my original goal of this site and not show my work here, however I am proud of the piece and hope the viewers of the show enjoy it. Take a look the preview images of the show, and then check out the site below for some more images and video links.
Iwantmymusicvideoartshow.com
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Preview: Laurie Lipton: The Carnival Of Death @ Last Rites
On October 1st, Last Rites Gallery in New York will be opening the latest solo exhibition from Laurie Lipton. Entitled The Carnival Of Death, this now show features 19 graphite drawings, and on October 2nd from 4 – 6 PM, the gallery will host Looking Lightly On Death, an art discussion and book signing. Laurie will go over her new show, drawing techniques, and thoughts on the afterlife all while patrons enjoy some tea and prepare questions for the artist. She will also be signing copies of her book Extraordinary Drawings, which will be available at the gallery. I’ve only been able to see Laurie’s work in person a few times, but I can assure you that it is work the trip. It’s not often you get to see graphite works of this scale and precision; the content alone makes this is a must see show.
Preview: Varnish Fine Art Relaunch Part I
Varnish Fine Art in San Francisco was forced to leave their previous location, due to some construction projects going on at the time. It was one of my favorite galleries to visit, as the space was not only beautiful but they consistently showed amazing art. It was at Varnish that I saw works by Jennybird Alcantra, Chris Mars, Michael Page, and Ron English for the first time. Well they have a new location, very close to the old one, and are having their official relaunch exhbition opening this Saturday Night, September 24th. This show will feature works from 21 artists that are represented by Varnish such as Chris Mars, Robert Williams, Jennybird Alcantra, Laurie Lipton, Isabel Samaras, Scott Musgrove, Annie Owens, Craig LaRotonda , Nathan Spoor, Kevin Peterson, Beth Bojarski, Edith Lebeau (featured), Aunia Kahn, Ciou, Robert Bowen, and more. The reception goes from 4 – 8 PM, and the show will run up until November 5th.
See the rest of the show here: Varnish Fine Art
Preview: La Luz de Jesus 25
La Luz de Jesus is turning 25 soon, and to celebrate the galleries is having a massive group show, featuring three generations of artists that have shown with the gallery. Not only have more than 200 artists submitted a work of art, but also a small anecdote about their experience with the gallery. There is no doubt that La Luz de Jesus has been a major force in this art scene, and has helped to push many artists into the spotlight. Along with the exhibition a book will be released, going over the past 25 years of the gallery and the surrounding art movements that helped it along. I know I say this quite a lot, but this is one of those shows that you should not miss. I firmly believe that all art should be seen in person, but how often do you get to see so many amazing artists in one show? Robert Williams, Joe Coleman, Mark Ryden, Glenn Barr, Elizabeth McGrath, Gary Panter, Mark Mothersbaugh, Marion Peck, Owen Smith, Frank Kozik, Gail Potocki, Dave Cooper, Daniel Martin Diaz, Laurie Lipton, Shag, Scott Musgrove, Gary Baseman, Tim Biskup, Joe Sorren, Chris Mars, Eric White, The Pizz, Jessica Joslin, Gary Baseman, Bob Dob, Clayton Brothers, Shepard Fairey, Jennybird Alcantra, Carrie Anne Baade, Ana Bagayan, Shawn Barber, Scott G Brooks, Matt Groening, Charlie Immer, Michael Hussar, and the list keeps going.
The show will be in two parts, with the first part opening on October 7th, and the second part opening November 4th. The entire show with all of the works from both parts is now online to view, so head on over after to preview and take a look. There is some outstanding work in this show. Below are just a few of my favorites.
Review: Skinner – The Fragile Art of Existence @ Shooting Gallery SF
Just over a month ago, the latest solo exhibition from Sacramento based artist Skinner opened at the Shooting Gallery in San Francisco. Entitled “The Fragile Art of Existence”, this new show featured work that was created with a different mindset, one with less pressure, less expectations, and more experimentation. There is a great video that has Skinner talking about this series in lead up to the show (Here). I stopped by the show reception night, took some photos and a video. This video tour idea is working out pretty well, let me know if anyone has any ideas or ways I can make them better. On to the review!
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