PREVIEW: Tim Doyle “Unreal Estate” Solo Exhibit @ Spoke-Art [SF]

January 30, 2012 in art, Global Destruction, Movies / Television


It’s been a good 3 years since we first heard the name Tim Doyle.  After catching a glimpse of his “Bill Murray Times Six” print, which quickly sold out through Doyle‘s own Nakatomi Inc.,  it was pretty clear that the Austin-based designer was definitely someone that we’d be hearing from again.  In September of 2010, we were contacted by the R&R Gallery in L.A. about a Bill Murray themed exhibit they had in the works and the first thing that I thought about was how I’d already seen Doyle nail the subject over a year and a half prior.  I noticed that he didn’t seem to be a part of the group exhibit and decided to hunt down what he had been up to.  To my pleasant surprise, I came across another Murray-related print, but this time it was Rushmore-inspired.  Along with the image was the information that it was created for a new Wes Anderson-themed exhibit.  The show was titled “Bad Dads” and was being curated a the fledgeling new gallery/publishing house known as Spoke-Art.

The Bad Dads show was wildly successful and the 3rd installment of the trademark exhibit is scheduled to take place later this year.  With the aid of consistently impressive themed group exhibits, such as the Quentin VS Coen series, Spoke-Art has continued to establish themselves as one of the top underground contemporary/pop-art galleries on the West Coast.  Not only has Timothy Doyle been along for the ride but, with his -typically multiple- contributions to these shows, he’s remained one of the major contributing factors to Spoke-Art‘s success.  Nakatomi has found continued success in it’s own right and Doyle‘s art has continued to pop-up in such places as Gallery 1988 and on poster work for the infamous Alamo Drafthouse.  Still, for whatever reason, we’ve yet to really see Tim shine in a full-on show of his own.  Now, as with Serge Gay Jr. before him, Spoke-Art is honoring one of the artists who’ve helped make them become what they are today, by playing host to Tim Doyle‘s very first solo art exhibit. Read the rest of this entry →

PREVIEW: [GALLERY 1988 x ADULT SWIM] Group Art Exhibit (Melrose)

January 13, 2012 in art, Comedy, Movies / Television

GALLERY 1988: MELROSE

“Gallery 1988 x Adult Swim”

Opening Reception: Friday, Jan. 13, 7-10pm

January 13 – February 4, 2011

When it comes to the pop-culture-themed art exhibits, no gallery has proven more consistent or prolific than the Los Angeles area’s Gallery 1988.  Since 2004, G1988 has become one of the foremost destinations to view high quality work from from some of the most talented established and up-and-coming contemporary artists in the game.  With popularity and interest growing for their original space (located on the corner of Melrose and Labrea), founders, Katie Cromwell and Jensen Karp, found themselves expanding with a second location in Venice, allowing them to consistently run two separate, but equally impressive, exhibits simultaneously and in different areas of the city.  [The Venice location is currently hosting a solo exhibit by Robert Brandenburg].  Perhaps, best known for their themed group art exhibits -a coffee table book based around their annual Crazy4Cult show was just released, featuring a foreward written by yearly host/filmmaker, Kevin Smith- G1998 has become much more than just an underground forum for underground contemporary artists and the nerd culture to express their affinity for film, video games, and TV; they’ve actually received tremendous feedback, praise, and cooperation from the entertainment personalities and corporations behind the inspirations that they are paying tribute to.  Actors like Paul Rudd have personally purchased artwork, Funny Or Die co-presented the stand-up comedy-inspired IS This Thing On? exhibit that we previewed last year, and the Wet Hot American Summer-themed exhibit not only featured a screening for the cult film’s 10yr anniversary, but was actually presented with a Q&A with writer/director, David Wain.

Tonight’s [Adult Swim]-themed show is slated to set off the new year with one of the greatest exhibits that the gallery has curated/hosted yet.  Officially sponsored by the Cartoon Networks infamous late-night programming block, [GALLERY 1988 x ADULT SWIM] will feature more than 100 contributions from upcoming talent, G1988 regulars, and big name artists whose careers the gallery has often helped to play an integral role in over the years. Read the rest of this entry →

The Lovers, The Dreamers & Me: Jim Henson Tribute Exhibit @ Gallery Nucleus

December 10, 2011 in art, Movies / Television

The West Coast has it’s share of quality art museums.  As for underground contemporary works, we have often found ourselves posting about 3 venues in particular: the pop-surrealism focused, ROQ LA RUE in Seattle, San Francisco-based Spoke Art, and Gallery 1988, with it’s dual locations in the Los Angeles area (Melrose and Venice).  All 3 regularly venture into hosting group shows, but both Spoke Art and Gallery 1988 have a heavy lean towards pop-culture-themed exhibits.  Another space that has long been on my peripheral is Gallery Nucleus in Alhambra, Ca.  Like the other 3, they consistently host amazing works with high-quality artists and it’s due time that we posted something about them.  Since Nucleus will be hosting the opening for their new Jim Henson tribute show, “The Lovers, The Dreamers, & Me” tonight (Dec. 10th), this seems like the perfect opportunity to do so. Read the rest of this entry →

[Preview] ABSOLUTE HAPPINESS: A Solo Exhibit by Serge Gay Jr.

December 1, 2011 in art, Global Destruction, Politics, With Video

Prior to October of last year, we had never even heard the name Serge Gay Jr.  Since then, we’ve conducted/published an interview (March ’11) with the artist here on the site and I’ve personally purchased 2 of his works (an original piece and a giclee print).  The last year has shown itself to be quite successful for Gay, finding him earning a Grammy nomination -shared with director/frequent collaborator, Matt Stawski- for his work on Cee Lo Green‘s “Fuck You” video.  As the Bay Area gallery/publishing house, Spoke Art was launching themselves into the art world with their breakthrough Wes Anderson-themed art show, Bad Dads, Serge was catching our attention with his standout contributions to that exhibit.  Since then, Gay and Spoke Art have proven to be mutually beneficial to each others success, as the San Francisco-based painter has continued to submit impressive piece after impressive piece to such Spoke Art events as the multiple round (NYC, SF, LA) “Quentin vs. CoenAn art show tribute to the films of Tarantino and the Brothers,” the Pangaea Seed-curated shark exhibit/benefit “Sink Or Swim,” and  “Bad Dads II.”  This Saturday, the two of them will work together yet again; this time with Serge Gay Jr‘s work finally taking center stage in a solo exhibit of his own. Read the rest of this entry →

Daniel Barrow – “Every Time I See Your Picture I Cry” @ City Arts Fest 2011

November 5, 2011 in art, Reviews

DANIEL BARROW

City Arts Fest

Seattle, Wa

0ct. 22, 2011

Possibly one of the most unique additions to Seattle’s City Arts Festival, visual artist Daniel Barrow performed his Sobey award-winning “Every Time I See Your Picture I Cry” at FRED Wildlife Lounge on Oct. 22.  Having seen Barrow’s performance for the first time a couple of years ago in Milwaukee, I jumped at the chance to witness it again.  Without experiencing his work for yourself, it might sound odd to hear that it possesses a cinematic quality, but I definitely think that’s an apt way to describe it.  The performer manipulates lush, darkly comic illustrations manually via a simple overhead projector, sliding the transparencies back and forth, while narrating a tale of alienation and violence in the life of a failed art student.  The visuals are set to an original score of chiming, Pet Sounds –like instrumentals composed by Amy Linton (The Aisler Set), which provides a stunning backdrop to Barrow’s sad, matter-of-fact intonation, and serves as a cheery counterpoint to the often-grisly scenarios that his characters encounter.  The result is a multi-sensory psychedelic experience; cinematic, but unlike anything that conventional cinema could conjure. Read the rest of this entry →

PREVIEW: Bad Dads “Round 2″ – A Tribute to the Films of Wes Anderson [SF]

October 27, 2011 in art, Movies / Television

Joshua Budich
“Bad Dads”
limited to an edition of 100
signed and numbered by the artist
18″ x 24″
300gsm archival giclee
($50.00)

We first became familiar with SPOKE ART around this same time last year.  Back then, the Bay Area art gallery/publishing house was still finding it’s footing and, without their own permanent space to call their own, they had just recently held their inaugural art show in Oakland and were now preparing to launch their next exhibit at the LOPO gallery in San Francisco.  What really peaked our interest about this follow up event, early on, was that it was a group show themed around the talents of filmmaker Wes Anderson.  The impressively curated exhibit was titled “BAD DADS“, in reference to the overwhelming number of family issues -and more specifically, father issues- which are consistently represented in Anderson‘s work.  The amount of quality pieces that were created for and featured in the tribute show made BAD DADS an instant success, helping to catapult SPOKE ART firmly onto the radars of the contemporary art world as a force worth keeping a close eye on.  Over the last year, they have continued to put out tremendously successful exhibits -including 3 separate installments of  “Quentin vs. CoenAn art show tribute to the films of Tarantino and the Brothers – introduced us to exciting young talents like Serge Gay Jr., and have locked down a permanent space in San Francisco to host regular showcases for this amazing art.  This coming weekend, that space will be utilized to it’s full potential, as SPOKE ART revisits the original concept that is responsible for first truly putting them on the map. Read the rest of this entry →