Opening this Saturday, September 17th, is the latest show by Morgan Slade. The show is entitled “They Live By Night” and features a new series of mixed media works. Along with his familiar portraits of bikini clad girls wearing a variety of masks, this time from G.I Joe, there is also a couple of collaborative works with Alternative Press Magazine photographer Norman Wonderly. Morgan chose photos of Nikki Sixx and Blackie Lawless from W.A.S.P., and added his style of embellishments to the photos. The reception is from 7 – 11 PM, and the exhibition runs until October 22nd.
The Art Amry Royalty x Mike Leavitt @ Jonathan Levine Gallery
Over the weekend the Jonathan Levine Gallery opened two solo shows, the one that really caught my attention was the new “Art Army Royalty” by Mike Leavitt. Each one of these figures is based on a member of the art world that could easily be considered royalty, even though I gnash my teeth when thinking of a few of these artists placed in the same perch as the others. Each figure is made with polymer clay and is sat upon a custom made display that also has a metal name tag. I love how each artist is designed in a way that brings their own art into the presentation; this is most prominent with Ai WeiWei, Barbara Kruger, Gerhard Richter, Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami, and Damien Hirst. Head on over and took a look at the entire show, each one of these figures is outstanding.
7th Annual Blab Show & Ryan Heshka @ Copro Gallery
In anticipation of the upcoming BLABWORLD No. 2 and 3, Copro Gallery opened the 7th Annual “Blab Show” featuring work by many of the best artists working today, such as: Joe Sorren, Ana Bagayan, Shag, Marc Burckhardt, Chet Zar, Martin Wittfooth, R.S. Connett, Laurie Hogin, Sas Christian, Ryan Heshka, Gary Baseman, Owen Smith, Alex Kuno, and many more. Ryan Heshka was not only in the group show, but opened his latest solo exhibition “Strange Powers 2″ at the gallery as well. The great thing about this new show by Heshka, was that along with the paintings he also offered original drawings and sketches, that were used to prepare for the paintings. It was a great way to give the fans an insight into the working process, and show off Ryan’s drawing skills as well.
Aaron Nagel, Jeff Ramirez, and Jennifer Nehrbass @ Thinkspace Gallery
This past weekend was good for art as some amazing shows opened up. Instead of making a single post talking about all of the shows, I’ll do one post for each of the shows since I have been lax on posting lately. The first show to pop up was at Thinkspace Gallery, and featured a three person show in the main room with work from Aaron Nagel, Jeff Ramirez, and Jennifer Nehrbass. I have been waiting for this show for a while now, and previewed some of the new paintings that Aaron Nagel was working on a while back. The three artists fit very well with each other, and I am excited to see more artists creating work that is not only figurative in nature, but also a new wave of “realists”. In the project room Lindsay Carr opened her debut US solo show entitled “Homage to Canton”. I have been a fan of her work for a while now, and am happy to see her work taking more interest in galleries. It’s a very strong series, and not only shows how skilled she is, but also how consistent. Take a look at the preview images and then head over to the galleries site for both shows.
“High Class Lowbrow” @ Hyaena Gallery
On September 1st a group show entitled “High Class Lowbrow” opened at the Hyaena Gallery in Burbank, CA. The show is curated by Chris “The Creep” Densmore, and is inspired by the Lowbrow Art Movement. This scene – once subversive and filled with monsters and pin-up style girls – has changed over the years adapted new styles of art, younger and tamer artists, and has been referred to as anything buy “Lowbrow”. Under the surface is still a group of artists, and fans that love the gritty, often grotesque art that started it all. This show features work by Dave Burke, The Creep, Peter Adamyan, Eric Ortiz, Rick “Dienzo” Blanco, Sara Ray, Eric Pigors, and more.
Preview: “Dig For Fire” group show @ Cave Gallery
Opening this Friday, September 9th is a new group show from Cave Gallery entitled “Dig For Fire”. The show features art from an impressive list of artists all drawing inspiration from The Pixies. Work from Allison Sommers, Annie Owens, Ben Kehoe, Casey Weldon, Chris Berens, Chris Mars, Craww, Eatcho, Jennybird Alcantra, Kathleen Lolley, Luke Chueh, Macsorro, Ojimbo (featured), Robert Hardgrave, Shaunna Peterson, Tom Haubrick, and more. If your in the area make sure to stop by, the show is up until October 8th. This is a good chance to see some amazing work in person, such as the submissions by Allison Sommers, Chris Berens, and Ojimbo all seen below.
Garbage Pail Kids @ Gallery 1988
On September 2nd, Gallery 1988 in Melrose opened a new themed group show, this one with work inspired by the Garbage Pail Kids. I remember when the collectors cards first came out in 1985, and kids went insane for them. The biggest draw for me was the art, and it’s the one thing that made the concept of this show exciting. There is a huge amount of work available in a variety of mediums, as well as limited edition prints. It was great to see what each of these artists would bring to show; would they make a painting styled like the classic cards, or opt to make something new and unique in design. There is a good mixture of both, and I am happy to see works styled like the cards and some that are not. It helps to break up what could have become too much. There is some amazing work in this show, seen below are some paintings by Allison Reimold, Dave MacDowell, N.C. Winters, and some killer prints available from Rhys Cooper. Take a look at the preview images and then over to the website for the full show.
Brian M. Viveros: Returning Art To The Unclean @ Last Rites Gallery
Opening this Saturday, September 3rd is the latest solo show from Brian Viveros opening at the Last Rites Gallery in New York. Entitled “Returning Art to the Unclean”, this new show will feature 12 new paintings, 4 drawings, and 6 hard to find prints that are long sold out. The reception starts at 7 PM and runs until 11 PM, and knowing Last Rites it’s going to be a party with live painting and everything. The show runs until September 25th, so if your in the area, make sure to stop by otherwise check out the full show online after these preview images.
Preview: Feminality Art Show: Couples Edition Round 2
Opening September 3rd at the Hive Gallery is the Feminality Art Show, Couples Edition Round 2. The show is brought to the gallery by Mike Franco from Wizard Sleeve Toys, as well as Gnomon School of Visual Effects. The show features art submitted by artistic couples, and has the couples showing a solo work a piece as well as a collaborative work. It;s great to see how some of the couples have similar styles, while others have drastically different styles but work so well in the collaboration pieces. Participating artists include: Tim and Emma Mount, Apricot Mantle and Jessica Ward, Meats Meier and Misaki Sawada, Cory Daigler & Brandi Read, Erlend & Pamela Tait (featured), Alan DeForest and Bethany Pratt, Brandan Styles and Ellie Rusinova, Tracy Tomko and Erin Asmussen, The Chung and Desiree Fessler-Chung, Stuntkid and Elizabeth Levesque, Dan Barry and Robin Coronel, and Ted Von Heiland and Anna Chung
Nathan Stapley’s “Same Gang” @ Gallery 1988
On August 26th, Gallery 1988 in Venice opened the latest solo show of Nathan Stapley. Entitled “Same Gang”, Nathan created 20 watercolor paintings with pop culture icons as influence. “Greaser Party” below features characters from such movies as The Outsiders, Grease, and there is even Lenny and Squiggy from Laverne and Shirley. There is a few paintings setup like these large group portraits, and a few smaller ones that have a “VS” vibe to them, much like the “Great Showdowns” series by Scott Campbell. Overall, “Same Gang” is a great show, and it’s fun to see how many of these pop culture references you can get on the first look. Head on over and check out the full show.
Brendan Danielsson – “Diarrhainbow” @ Copro Gallery
On August 11th the Copro Gallery in Santa Monica opened three solo shows for Rob Sato, Matt Rota, and the highlight of this article Brendan Danielsson. All three exhibitions are amazing, however the work of Danielsson stays with you well after you leave the page. Or of course for those lucky viewers that were able to see the show in person, I imagine that after you left the gallery these drawings and paintings were burned in your mind. Not only is Danielsson extremely talented with graphite and oils, he has a way of creating grotesque imagery that is a blast to look at. In a way it reminds me of some of the drawings that Da Vinci had created. Portraits and figures that were meant to be grotesque, and an exploration into medical curiosities. The work in “Diarrhainbow” seems to touch on the gross, awkward, and nasty vibe that everyone is sure to feel once in a while. A couple of the preview images here will be behind the jump link, for those browsing the site at work. After you look at these works head on over to the gallery for the rest.
Brendan Danielsson @ Corpo Gallery
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Review: The Blab! Show @ Roq La Rue Gallery
On August 12th Roq La Rue in Seattle, WA opened the latest Blab! Show group invitational, with a specific theme of the Krampus as inspiration. For those not familiar with the Krampus, he is a pre-christian demon like creature that accompanied St Nick during Christmas and punished the bad children. The exhibition features work by Ryan Heshka, Nicoletta Ceccoli, Erik Mark Sandberg, Yoko d’Holbachie, Travis Louie, Travis Lampe, Martin Wittfooth, Ana Bagayan, Owen Smith, Chris Buzelli, Shag, Brian Despain, Mark Garro, Marc Burkhardt, Laurie Hogin, Andy Kehoe, Derek Nobbs, Alex Kuno, Andrew S. Arconi, Julianna Swaney, Jason Holley, and Fred Stonehouse. The folks over at Loved To Death, made their way from San Francisco to Seattle to check out the show. Brennan was nice enough to write a review for the Creep and share some photos as well. Take it away Brennan, after the jump.
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