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magazin
POP SURREALISM
SPRING 2011
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Daniel limDanni Shinya luo
mark GleaSonheather WattS
APRIL1stMAY1
st2011
OPENING RECEPTIONFRIDAY, APRIL 1ST 8 11 PM
LA LUZ DE JESUS GALLERY
4 6 3 3 H O L L Y W O O D B LV D . L O S A N G E L E S , C A 9 0 0 2 7
( 3 2 3 ) 6 6 6 7 6 6 7 W W W . L A L U Z D E J E S U S . C O M
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EXHIBITIONS
POP SURREALISM
1 6JonathanLevine
1 8ToyArtGallery
1 8WhiteWalls
2 0 LaLuzdeJesus
3 0ANGER
Congregation Gallery 13
32 Richard Xpres Taylor
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popsurmag.com
DesignerEric KalisherPublisher Richard Kalisher
magazine
Contributing Editors Ana Kim, Tracy Tomko
COVER IMAGE
IAN FRANCISThree People Lose Track of
Time in the Financial Districtof San Francisco (detail)
2010, oil, acrylic, ink, pen on
canvas, 36 x 50
SPRING2011
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ince The Congregation Gallery
opened it's doors, they've been
hosting some o the most exciting group
art shows in the country. The shows ea
ture emerging and established, outside
and lowbrow, dark, and even unknown
artists, allowing both new talent and
proessionals, local and international
to eature their work to new audiences
Hundreds o attendees rom all walks olie attend their art show events. It's be
come not just the art crowd or the
rock crowd but the everyone crowd
In Fall 2008, The Congregation
Gallery hosted Los Angeles County's rst
ever Metal Art Show. The show was so
successul that an event that was sup
posed to run one time snowballed into
a new type o gallery, one that's owned
and operated by artists, or artists. Pro
gramming primarily themed group
shows, the Congregation Gallery strives
THE CONGREGATION GALLERYGALLERY
SPOTLIGHT
S
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From Let: Cam Rackam, The Culprit, oil on ma
sonite, custom assemblage rame; Dean Fleming
Desire, oil on panel, custom rame; Larkin, Year o
the Rabbit, oil on board, custom hand-woven rame
to be an intersection between accom-
plished proessionals and the new blood.
In 2010, they started throwing solo art
shows and now The Congregation Galley
is becoming the nger on the pulse o re-
alism and surrealism on the West coast.
The Congregation Gallery is located inside
Forgotten Saints, which operates as a rock-
n-roll designer boutique and tattoo studio.
The Congregation Gallery is the crossroads
o ashion, music, and art in Hollywood
and us curated by artist Cam Rackam and
owner Cody Varona. The gallery is open
every day rom 11am to 8pm.
Art Selections From
The Congregation Gallery
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Walking through Walls is a show o new
works by Los Angeles-based artist Gary
Baseman. As the title suggests, works in
Walking through Walls convey the con-
cept o breaking through imposed limi-
tations and boundaries, in society as
well as the art world. Visually, Baseman
emphasizes the wall through a oral
wallpaper moti, compositional divi-
sions o space and the transcendence
o his subjects between mediums.
While his previous exhibitions have
been estive and celebratory in nature,
Basemans work takes a more reec-tive, somber tone in this show. With
the recent passing o his ather, the art-
ists deep sense o loss has resulted in
darker, subdued colors, adding shades
o gray to his previously bright palette.
In the new series o work, Base-
man introduces a gure named Lil Miss
Boo, a young girl wearing a homemade
ghost costume. The character is based
on a child in an old black and white
photograph, one o over 2000 vintage
photographs o masked subjects in the
artists personal collection, garneredover the last 20 years. The collection
has oten been a source o creative in-
spiration. This exhibition marks the rst
time Baseman incorporates imagery
rom his photo collection into his paint-
ings, through elements o collage and
silkscreen.
In this exhibition, Baseman ex-
plores the maturation o objective child-
like naivety into the subjective adult un-
derstanding o absolute belies in ideals
such as truth, love, hope, aith, ate and
responsibility. His ghost and skeletonchildren evoke nostalgia o childhood
memories, and support the overarch-
ing theme o mortality in relation to
growth, identity, personal development
and transormation. Among several ar-
chetypes, the artist makes reerences to
Golema Jewish olktale o anthropo-
morphic beings made o mud which can
be animated by inscribing the word emet
(Hebrew or truth) on their orehead, and
killed by removing the rst letter o the
Gary Baseman &
Andy Kehoe
Jonathan LeVine
New York City
[Through Apr 2]
word, to become met (meaning death).
Gary Baseman was born in 1960
in Los Angeles, CA, where he currently
resides. A pervasive artist who works in
ne art, illustration, toy design and lm/
television, his strong iconic images are
at once playul and dark, childlike and
thought provoking. Works by Baseman
have been exhibited in New York, Los
Angeles, Rome, Taipei, Bristol, Barce-
lona, Berlin and So Paulo, including an
installation at the Pasadena Museum o
Caliornia Art, a two-man show at La-
guna Art Museum and a perormance
at Los Angeles County Museum o Art
(LACMA). He is the creator and executive
producer o Teachers Pet, a critically ac-
claimed animated series and lm, win-
ner o multiple Emmy awards. Basemans
work can be seen in The New Yorker
TIME, New York Times, Rolling Stone, and
on the best-selling board game Cranium
Strange Wanderings, new works
by Andy Kehoe, eatures a series o oi
and acrylic paintings on wood panel
expanding upon Kehoes allegorica
compositions, painted in his signature
low-key palette o rich earth tones and
autumnal colors, accented by ne, black
line-work. Most o the artists subjects
are animal-human hybrids, dressed in
ne suits, sometimes smoking ciga
rettes or pipes, oten horned, hooed, o
beaked and covered with ur or eathers
In this antastical world, rolicking oxes
and cats walk on hind legs, orest spir
Gary Baseman
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its linger behind tree trunks, creatures
peer rom above the orest canopy and
silhouetted shadows ade into the mist.
Kehoes aesthetic is largely inspired
by traditional olktales and mythologi-
cal art. His narratives contain primordial
themes o love, ear, mortality, alienation,
greed, deception and betrayal. Nostalgic
or a time beore the age o science and
reason, Kehoes work rekindles a child-
like sense o wonder, recalling an era
when ables and legends were believed
as truths to explain each and every mys-
tery o the unknown.
The majestic grandeur o nature
has also had a strong inuence on the
artist and is present throughout his work.
Colorul oliage and bare branches rep-
resent the seasonal passing o time. In
this exhibition, Kehoes gures are isolat-
ed within desolate wooded landscapes,
yet they are rendered with a greater
contrast in scale than his previous work
and, as a result, take on new dynamics in
relationship to one another. During the
course o working on this show, the art-
ist embarked on an adventurous cross-
country move rom Portland, Oregon,
to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Along his
journey, he stopped to explore National
Parks in Wyoming such as Grand Teton,
Yellowstone, Devils Tower, and Badlands
in South Dakota.
As he says, It was equally inspiring
and intimidating seeing nature in that
grand o scale. A lot o my work or this
show has a sense o scale to it... mostly
with creatures that are larger than lie
Many o the new paintings have char
acters that are on journeys, and meet
something new and unexpected, some
comorting and others rightening
Some o the pieces also deal with nding
home and where your heart lies.
Andy Kehoe was born in 1978 in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 2003, he
received a BFA in Illustration rom Par
sons School o Design in New York City
In the years that ollowed, his paintings
have been exhibited in galleries and mu
seums across the country. Ater recently
living and working in Portland, Oregon
Kehoe re-located again in 2010, return
ing to his home town o Pittsburgh, PA.
Andy Kehoe
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Yosuke Ueno
TOY ART GALLERY
Los Angeles
[ongoing]
This gallery presents their rst bronze
sculpture: Hapiko by Yosuke Ueno. Hap-
iko, as described by its sculptor, is a LuckyGod, common in Japanese olklore since
ancient times. She is a quintessential Yo-
suke Ueno character: a smooth, innocent
gure, nose-less and without eyebrows.
She is oten eatured in Yosukes paint-
ings and represents the Happy Girl. Born
in Japan, Yosuke Ueno has been creating
and drawing original characters since
early childhood. He is a sel-taught paint-
er with his rst solo show held in 1994 in
Yamaguchi when he was sixteen. He also
paints under the name Spaceegg77, and
shows works in Asia, the U.S, and Europe
while living in Tokyo. Yosuke is known as
a specialist o symbolism and innocence.Red, green, yellow, and blue oten ap-
pear in his works. These colors represent
the our bases o DNA: adenine, thymine,
guanine and cytosine, that is, A, T, G and
C-molecular elements that all animate
beings share. Yosukepaints these colors
and A, T, G and C with a message that
all animate beings should have equal
worth. The theme o Yosuke Uenos art
is Love, Space, and Positive Energy. The
Hapiko bronze statue stands nine inches
tall and is limited to an edition o ten.
GREATEST is a new exhibition by artist
Ben EINE. It will utilize both gallery and
public space as a two-tiered platorm
or the artists visual expression. EINE'Swork is a large-scale study o the shape
and structure o the 26 letters ound in
the modern English alphabet in varied
typeaces, color congurations and word
arrangements. In the public spaces o
San Francisco, EINE will be painting each
letter o the alphabet on various walls
around the city. A urther ten canvases
o his work using spray paint, acrylic, and
EINE
White Walls
San Francisco
[Mar 12 - Apr 2]
glitter will be on display at White Walls
gallery. In an eort to engage the com-
munity through the creation o public
artwork, EINE will be painting the entire
alphabet throughout the city o San Fran-
cisco over the course o several weeks on
walls and shutters. This public execu-
tion o street art aims to oer viewers a
more participatory role in the observa-
tion and evaluation o artistic creation.
All members o the community romcollectors and appreciators to rst-time
viewers are invited to partake in the dy-
namic program o events that surround
this ambitious undertaking. White Walls
gallery will be producing a schedule o
live installations, a continually updated
map o works as they appear around the
city, a public artist talk, and an evening
o lm screenings related to EINE'S art.
Rooted in the subcultural practice o
grati, EINE moved into the more so-
cially acceptable expression o street art
in the early 2000s as a way to become
a ull time artist creating public works
that were perceived as more legitimate.
However, his undamental art practice
has essentially remained the same--he
continues to paint words and letters on
walls on the street. Letters either appear
alone, on shutter ronts, or as words on
walls such as 'scary', 'vandalism', and
'monsters' rendered in bright and ami-
able colors. In this way he turns negative
words into positive ones. The contrast o
jovial shapes and colors with dark sen-
timent is also a tongue-and cheek nod
to the artists urtive and taboo origins
as a grati writer. The street art com-
ponent o GREATEST is complimented
by a selection o works to be displayed
inside the gallery. These works are part
o EINEs continual exploration o letters
and words as his quintessential ormat
or aesthetic inquiry. EINEs studio pro
cess involves a layering o stencils ontothe primed and painted canvas. Re-en
visioning basic Victorian typographica
structure, he begins with vintage hand
printed wood block onts, reworking and
rening them until he is inspired to cu
the nal stencil. This working method
ology marks the continual evolution o
the ont by the artists hand. In the early
2000s, EINE began a symbiotic collabo
ration with the street artist, Banksy. The
artists worked and exhibited togethe
or several years traveling to Australia
Berlin, Vienna and Denmark where Gal
lery V1 held the Banksy vs. EINE show in
2003. EINE also collaborated with Banksy
on the amous Palestinian Wall project
In 2010, the Prime Minister David Cam-
eron presented President Barack Obama
with a piece o EINEs work as a git. This
diplomatic exchange between the world
powers catapulted EINEs work into the
limelight on both sides o the Atlantic
GREATEST will be EINEs rst show in the
US since his work was given to Obama.
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Rock You in a Tatami Room is a solo exhibition by Seattle-based Japanese artist
Yumiko Kayukawa. This new collection
o works will continue the artists an-
ity or using pop culture iconography
such as western ashion and rock and
roll with varying aspects o traditiona
Japanese culture. The exhibitions com
prised o her signature acrylic and ink
on canvas works. Filled with conicting
realities o pop culture, traditional Japa
nese aesthetics and cultural traditions
the exhibition presents a varied collec-
tion o themes representing a conuence o personal narrative, whimsica
imagination and contemporary lie. The
acrylic and ink-based works are explo
sions o dynamic color and surrealist
narratives where empowered emales
navigate the intricacies o modern lie
Kayukawas subjects are youthul Japa
nese heroines in contemporary settings
oten surrounded by an entourage o
displaced wildlie such as bears, wolves
bunnies and deer. By coalescing pola
binaries such as nature/urbanity and
the primal/the rened, her work intertwines and extends the relationship o
emininity, nature, and modernity. The
shows eponymous painting, Rock You
in a Tatami Room, exhibits Kayukawas
trademark style, a collision o seemingly
disparate elements: young girls, rock and
roll, and wild animals. An amalgamation
o cultural reerences such as the animist
aspects o Shinto and Japanese olklore
the tones and pallet o Ukiyo-e, the de
ned lines o Manga, and the topica
content o Anime. Nostalgia or Japanese
culture is urther explored in a piece en-
titled New World, where a girl stands at
the ruins o a post-apocalyptic scene
Inspired by Japans suering ater World
War II and its successul recovery rom
devastation, Kayukawa creates a sym
bolic message o hope--that the world
will recover rom the current worldwide
economic devastation as Japan did
when it successully rebuilt the country
economy and inrastructure in the post-
World War II era.
Yumiko Kayukawa
Shooting Gallery
San Francisco
[Mar 12 - Apr 2]
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Fawn Fruits aka Daniel Hyun Lim
relishes the spontaneity o the art and
moves things as he goes with colored
pencils and acrylics. His works are some-
what timeless with a striking juxtaposi-
tion o muted versus vibrant hues. The
colors are an anchor to reality and are
a huge actor to the symbolic message
that he is telling: Somewhere over the
colors o the rainbow there lies a signi-cantly beautiul truth, a truth that can
only be realized with an intimate en-
counter. Sweet IMperections is an artis-
tic interpretation o a promise between
the creation and his/her creator states
the artist. Rather than orceully preach-
ing to the viewer with religious imag-
ery and symbolism, Lim brings new lie
to the genre by producing work that is
based on his personal views on religion.
Although we see ourselves as imperect
souls, in the eyes o a loved one, we are
perect states Lim who eels that thereare enough serious paintings in the
world that shout and make big state-
ments. He wants his work to be more
subtle and speak peaceully to the view-
er, to bring a moment o tranquility. His
dream is to show the world some love,
Four Artists
LA LUZ DE JESUS
Los Angeles
[Apr 1 - May 1]
one Fawn Fruits at a time. Lim is an il
lustration instructor at Otis college o Art
and Design, Santa Monica College and
Red Engine Studios.
In Mannerism, Mark Gleason
continues to use Mannerist techniques
with oil on canvas to explore existentia
themes via absurdist situations. Animals
are oten included to dene aspects o
the relationship o a central charactersorientation or connection to the world
via communion or costume in psycho
logically raught, private environments
Gleasons subjects are shown in mo
ments o preparation and conict -- his
gures have roles to assume, and in do-
ing so, a orm o inner sel is revealed
His metaphoric images may seem cryp
tic but represent the underdog and the
disenranchised deriving earsome capa
bility rom the mask o the powerul; g
ures communing with animals, or don
ning the guise o animals, holding kniveout like some kind o animal sel-protec
tion stance or the Sisyphean struggle
o attempting to lit books when youre
standing on them. Hopeully, my wit
comes through in each painting. I would
eel successul i I could convey the same
kind o absurd humor ound in Samue
Becketts writing. The imagery is a con
struct that has multiple meanings and
layers and I leave blanks or the view-
ers to ll in. Ive come to see that others
bring their own stories and eelings to
the work. Ive intentionally ostered thatkind o response with recent work, and
Im honored and challenged in creat
ing something that may spark others to
open their own responses to the work
I resonate to a statement by Degas to
the eect that art is not what you see
but what you make others see. states
Gleason, whose work is also inspired by
novelist Cormac McCarthy and silent lm
star Buster Keaton. In addition to paint-
ing, Mark teaches high school art in Palo
Alto, Caliornia and writes a music blog.
Suused with pessimistic shadows
and redemptive illumination, Canadian
pop-surrealist painter Heather Watts
intricate paintings harness the pageant
ry o anthropomorphic heroes and mar
tyrs to tell the story o individuals grap
pling with orces larger than themselves
Some o the pieces or this show are
quite dark thematically, but Im not in
terested on ocusing on the darkness o
its own sake in my work, Im interested
in using it to show light, to paint dark
Mark Gleason
Daniel Lim
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ness as something that reveals light, to
see the darkness as a canvas or light, an
opportunity or light to shine states the
artist. Watts is well-known or her past
tiki-inspired paintings and has exhibited
in galleries across the US and overseas.
Danni Shinya Luos emale orms
breathe with a sensuality and intuition
that will shatter your preconceptions
about her chosen medium, the water-color painting. Shinyas uid and organic
gures are ull o eminine mystery and
romance. Her colorul animals are mag-
nicently erce, emanating a primal
magnetism that is practically pheremon-
ic. In Chaotic Harmony, using whimsical
and subtly erotic gures, the interactions
o human beings with their avatars rom
the animal kingdom convey modern
psychological truths while relating age-
old mythologies. The concept o this
new collection is birthed rom the artists
own internal world; her past experiencesare transormed into physical creatures,
textures and color palettes. The subtex-
tural inclusion o archetypal symbolism
is never orced nor heavy-handed, but
urther enriches the central, surace
view with allegorical depth a reward
or those willing to investigate.
Originally rom Shanghai, China,
Danni Shinya Luo moved to Caliornia
in 1995. She ell in love with art in grade
school and ater a ew years o private
study (and an apprenticeship with Chi-
nese watercolor master, Ding Ha) wasaccepted into Art Center College o De-
sign in Pasadena, where she majored in
illustration and graduated with honor in
2006. Shinya participated in key group
shows, select solo exhibitions, and saw
her work published in periodicals like
Bust and Initiativa, books like Eye Candy
and Sugar & Spice, as well as design proj-
ects like Nickelodeons Neopets and a
line o toy dolls or Hasbro. In the year
that has passed since her last eatured
exhibition, Spiritual Deciencies, Shinya
has published a now sold-out collected
volume o her gallery exhibited work,
Breaking the Ice. She also helped develop
the re-branding o Marvel Comics signa-
ture emale mutant X-23 (providing the
cover art or the rst three issues). Later
this year, her second book, Sot Candy:
The Art o Danni Shinya Luo, will be re-
leased through seminal art publisher
Last Gasp Books, eaturing a collection o
200 ull color pages o brand-new draw-
ings and paintings.
Danni Shinya Luo
Heather Watt
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San Francisco-based artist Henry Lewis
eatures a dramatic new series o gu-
rative oil paintings. Combining classicalpainting techniques with tattoo-inu-
enced imagery, Lewis inuses his portrai-
ture with loose expressive strokes and
raw depth. The Absence o Light, Lewis
new collection o works, represents a
catharsis or extraction and reection
based on his xations rom adolescence
and amily. A mirror o human emotions
tied to memories o the present and past,
Lewis draws rom his personal experienc-
es creating timeless narratives and myth-
ological environments lled with heros,
icons o beauty and historical artiacts.Lewis adds, These sel-made antasy
scenes, though dark at rst glance, react
with humor towards the past, ree o ap-
athy, and curiosity o the uture. Lewis
was born in Pasadena, Caliornia, and
moved to San Francisco in 2000 to pur-
sue a career in tattooing, illustration, and
painting. Lewis has worked as a tattooist
or the past 14 years and is a eatured art-
ist at the world-renowned tattoo studio,
Skull & Sword. Adam Wallacavage rst
Los Angeles solo exhibition, Dreamhome
Heartaches, has thePhiladelphia-based
sculptor and photog-
rapher bringing his
magical wonderland
o sculptural works
to the city, unveiling
a new collection in-
spired by the deco-
rative interiors in his
Victorian Brownstone.
For the exhibition,
Wallacavage returnsto his living space as
the source o his cre-
ativity, drawing rom
his personal experi-
ences and memories.
A new collection o
octopus chandeliers,
extravagant wall
sconces, and elk skull
lighting pieces will be
showcased through-
out the gallery along-
Henry Lewis & Adam Wallacavage
Corey Helford Culver City
[Mar 19 - Apt 6]
side the debut o delightul
additions, including table
lamps and smaller handcrat-ed items. Works on display
will be a combination o
hand-sculpted pieces cre-
ated in epoxy clay as well as
larger cast plaster sculptures.
To achieve his signature look,
Wallacavage adds a thick
glaze o secret sauce, produc-
ing a vibrant shimmering n-
ish. Sel-taught in the ancient
art o ornamental plaster-
ing, Wallacavage evolved his
newound skills into makingoctopus-shaped chandeliers
and continued his experimen-
tation by making more and
more. Wallacavage changed
the shapes and colors and
themes, moving on to bats,
snakes, elk skulls, wall sconces
and some rather silly castings
rom his old collection o rub-
ber squeaky toys. Wallacav-
ages chandeliers have been
exhibited all over the world.
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"Arcane Seasons eatures new works
by Bryan Pickens o Visalia, CA; Codak
o Los Angeles; Josh Hart o Los An-
geles, and Skount rom Amsterdam.
This exhibition showcases a diversity
o styles characterized by dynamic
imagery created by abstract uctua-
tions and sharp lines, and expressive
visual narratives capturing a moment
in time. The introspection by the art-
ists used to create each piece exudes
an inescapable subjectivity that holds
the essence to the piece, while at the
same time bestowing the viewer with
a catalyst or sel-reection. Skountand Codak, both prolic and respected street artists, have
transerred the spontaneity used to create their large scale
urban installations into their new canvas paintings - express-
ing the same reedom as their iconic street work. Josh Hart
and Bryan Pickens work with the smooth natural surace o
wood or their introspective pieces, allowing the organic
material to envelope their colorul imagery in a comorting
but raw balance. Collectively the exhibition is an impressive
series o resh, eye-catching styles, inspired by an observa-
tion o the things external to one-sel and personal encoun-
ters that inuence our thoughts and constitute the chang-
ing seasons o time.
Arcane Seasons
C.A.V.E. Venice
[Mar 11 - Apr 2]
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Emergence: Contemporary Artists to Watch highlights art
ists who are making an indelible mark on the contemporary
art movement. Galerie Myrtis is exhibiting a number o art
ists rom across the country, including many with ties to Bal
timore and Washington, D.C. Emergence explores the renais
sance o artistic expression and creativity in contemporary art
and highlights Baltimores position as an up-and-coming arts
scene while raising questions about where art is going, both
geographically and intellectually. Forty artists present a variety
o compelling and technically skilled artworks. Baltimore native
Loring Cornish who makes mosaics out o what the city has to
oer, while Jennier Tams paintings draw on the ancient art o
Peking Opera or inspiration and rely on visual artistry, masks
and makeup, as well as a rich vocabulary o symbolic gestures
props, and colors that are unique to Chinese culture. Daniel Everett uses an eclectic aesthetic or religion and art in the juxta
position o patterns, iconic poses, mythological creatures, gods
and goddesses, and entwines these elements with the portraits
o his loved ones in whimsical and highly-skilled painting and
drawings. For his works, James Williams II has used the bright
color palettes and stylized gures o popular culture to create
a story set in the United States during the 1930s and centered
on the protagonist Little Rooster.
Emergence
Galerie Myrtis Baltimore
[Mar 11 - Apr 30]
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It's got a good beat and you can paint to
it, says Gary Barr. Forgive the pun, para-
phrase, or whatever else you deign to call
that opening sentence. Barr is not mak-ing light o Lyric, a orthcoming show at
323East that he curated. Im just happy
to see that, in an art world lled with ar
too many ambiguously-themed exhibits
that this show will eature two-dozen or
so works by an impressive list o artists.
Its a group shows that don't require a re-
resher course The common denomina-
tor at the very heart o Lyric is as the
title so obviously suggests music. As
Barr notes, What is heard, what comes
rom or is ashioned by the musical scale
o notes, is oten the immediate prelude
to what is elt on the emotional roster
o our eelings. Everyone has a avorite
song or (conversely) a song they wish
they could banish rom thought because
the latter carries a baggage o bitter-
sweet memories. Likewise a line rom a
particular song may prompt a multitude
o images in the mind o the listener. And
i the listener is prone to pick up a pen or
a brush on occasion. That was the start-
ing point or every piece in this exhibit.
Barr asked each participant to tran-scribe" a musical moti and its words
onto canvas. The result is an impressive
show, one lacking in discordant notes. As
Barr lays it out, "Music and its lyrics can
always stimulate our emotions and it can
have us contemplating a visional narra-
tive. Lyrics have been known to be the
odder o some o the greatest works in
the world. This exhibition demonstrates
the artists personal transcription rom a
songs lyric to canvas.
LYRIC
323East
Royal Oak, MI
[Mar 19 - Apr 19]
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A Los Angeles-based grati writer
or over 25 years, Anger has traveled
through the nation painting his gra-
ti art as well as curating or grati art
shows. He wrote dierent monikers be-
ore Anger and was heavily inuenced
by best riends Axis and Rob One.
In 86 Anger and his riends ormed
a small crew. Essentially like a clique or
small group o riends who would skate,
tag, and just hang out ater school. He
got his name one night while out with
Rob One. One night we were catch-
ing tags, and Rob at the time wrote the
name Ager. He caught a tag on a truck
that I really liked, says Anger. Coinciden-
tally Angers mom oten called him An-
gry. Right then, he realized that all he
needed to do was to add the n. From
that point orward, he started to write
the name Anger.
It wasnt until 1988 that his close
riend Danny, who tagged the name
Tren, got expelled rom Hamilton High
or macing the classroom. Tren soon got
transerred to Fairax High where there
he meet another grati writer Crook,
who was a part o another grati crew
called CBS (CANT BE STOPPED). Crook
introduced Tren to SK8 (skate) one, the
leader o the CBS crew. At that time, SK8
one was scouting to or new recruits
From that point, Tren made a strong
bond with the CBS crew and soon in
troduced all o his old riends to his new
riends. Thats how Anger, Tren, Bias, Xink
Axis, Lynk, and Exer became apart o CBS
grati crew; all seven were recruited at
that time. SK8 wanted his new recruits
to not just tag their names, he wanted
to inspire them to develop new artistic
letter styles and to paint more grat
style murals consisting o background
themes with characters and letters.
Anger along with the rest o the
ANGERAna Kim
Proles the
CBS Crew
"A.K.A" on La Brea and Melrose behind Jetrag, 2009;
painted or show "Dress My Nest"
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CBS crew roamed the alleys o Melrose
Ave rom Fairax High to La Brea Blvd
where they painted in the alleys estab-
lishing the area making it their CBS ter-
ritory. In 1992-93, SK8 and Mear, another
CBS member, were asked by shop own-ers o Beat Non Stop to paint their record
store. Due to the over-saturation o tags,
the shop owners allowed the CBS crew
to paint grati style murals on the ront
and back o the building. These murals
brought them such positive eedback
rom the neighborhood that CBS crew
became the local artists on Melrose.
In 1993, though, SK8 one passed
away. Nevertheless, Anger wanted to
keep CBS crew going and rom there on
took over SK8s roll as leader. He contin-
ued organizing crew meetings in order to
keep everyone ocused. This leadership
kept the crew going. In 98 he moved
with riend and ellow CBS member Tyer.
to a warehouse spot on to Washing-
ton and Hauser, which had a basketball
court and walls to paint on. He started
to throw local art events more o an
intimate close riends hanging out such
as CBS, MTA, and Westcoast Crews . The
warehouse became a place where they
would all socialize and collaborate artis-
tically. Later on in 1998, Anger started
to travel up north to the bay area with
Rob One to visit Posh, a CBS member
who established a strong relationship
with another Bay area grati crew, the
Lords Crew aka TFL (The Fuckin Lords).It wasnt too long at the end o 98 An-
ger and Rob one got recruited in Lords.
From there a brotherhood was ormed
between CBS and Lords.
In 1999, the events at Angers
warehouse got bigger than he came up
with Chicken Scratch, another way o de-
scribing term grati. Anger had gotten
a taste o being a promoter and he saw
an opportunity to become a curator.
In 2001, though, the law caught
him. Although this was not the rst time,
this time was worse. He had to serve jail
time due to an incident that took place
in Venice Beach. In act, he was gunned
down by the LAPD. Fortunately, he sur-
vived the injuries and served his jail time.
Ater he got out, he got right back on
track o pursuing his career as a curator.
Later on in 2003, he curated one
o his the biggest grati events in Los
Angeles called Graosangeles . Held at
Quotpia (now called Vanguard), he orga-
nized and promoted along with his close
riend Jimmy. Grafosangeles is still the
largest grati event ever to take place in
Los Angeles. For it, Anger utilized all o
his resources that he had built up since
the days o throwing events such as
Chicken Scratch.Angers main priority today is be
ing a curator,designer, and most impor
tantly a amily man raising two lovely
sons, Landon and Logan, with Mrs. An-
ger, aka Lisa.
Anger is painting at or curating at the ol-
lowing events. From March 10-13, 2011, he
will be live-painting throughout out the
city o San Antonio. CBS crew members,
along with many other grafti writer and
crews nation wide, will participate in San
Antonio, TX-based, annual grafti show
Clogged Caps. On April 22, 2011 in San
Francisco, cobra(cbs) vs lords:10 CBS and
10 Lords Crew members will participate
Some o the artist showcasing are Alex
Pardee, Axis, Xpres, Dey, Greg Crayola
Simkins, Haste, Chip 7, Dment, Atlas, Hex,
Worm, Pastime, Vows, Robert Bowen
Naote, Dj LA JAE (will also be perorming
live), Rebuke and many more to be deter
mined. For more ino, visit www.p1s.com
(clockwise rom top right:) Anger with his two sons; as part o CBS production on Melrose behind Golden
Apple Comics, 2008; Anger (long hair) with Sk8 and Krasher in 1989; Anger; old school photo taken by Nace.
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Xpres is sel-taught, multiaceted artist
rom Los Angeles. He is the son o Rich-
ard Taylor, Sr., a 60s poster artist or The
Grateul Dead and Led Zeppelin who
dropped out o the military academy
in 1973 to ulll his dream as an artist.
Taylor, Sr., got his oot in door at Robert
Abels studio in Hollywood, working as a
special eects artist. He was best known
or working on the special eects in the
1982 movie Tron and later video games.
Xpres himsel was raised in a heav-
ily-inuenced, psychedelic, and artistic
environment has opened his mind to
various types o animations, such as The
Secret o Nimh and The Black Cauldron.
Living in Venice beach and Highland
Park or most o his youth had a big im-
pact on his eclectic outlook on lie. In the
beginning o his grati career, Richard,
Jr., went through several monikers be-
ore settling on the name Xpres in 1988.
In 92 Xpres started working or
Conart clothing apparel owner Ash Hud-
son. At the age o 17, this was the begin
ning o his art career. Although he got
accepted to UC-Santa Cruz, he decided
not enroll in college, putting school on
hold. Later in that same year, he got re
cruited by SK8 One, leader o the grat
crew CBS at Fairax High School. In the
next year the head designer or Conart
studios, Mear One let the company to
pursue his own apparel line Hoodlum
From there on, Ash decided to make
Xpress and Phever his head designers.
RICHARDXPRESTAYLORAna KimProfles the CBS Crew
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At the end o 1993, due to vandal-
ism charges, he received up to 600 hours
o community service. From that pointhe realized, it was time to move out o
Los Angeles or a change in scenery. He
moved to San Francisco, attending state
college in the Bay Area working at Jamba
Juice. In 1994, he did his rst aerosol on
canvas or grati art show, curated by
Stash M or I.C.U. art. The art show was
called Grati Verte and eatured other
artist like Chaz, Spy and Twist One.
In 1995, Xpres came to visit Los
Angeles and got caught tagging the 110
Freeway tunnel near Dodger Stadium,
earning him more community service
and some time in jail.
With the help rom a close riend,
Phever, he moved back to Highland Park
Los Angeles in December 1996. In 99, he
enrolled in Art Center College o Design
in Pasadena or two years. While attend-
ing Art Center, he learned how to use di-
erent mediums and varying techniques.
He graduated with a degree in ne arts
and illustration. At that time, Photoshop
designers were in high demand and tra-
ditional illustrators were becoming a lost
art orm. For the next two years, he got a
job at a print shop doing color correctivework. Wanting to keep up with current
illustrators, he also enrolled in computer
classes at Pasadena City College.
Armed with his new computer
skills, he started working back into the
apparel industry in 2002 . It wasnt until
2007 that he came back strong, design-
ing or a juniors line or Hybrid apparel.
Hybrid allowed him to be ree with his
ideas, enabling him to use some o own
his grati work on T-shirt designs. His
animal series designs or Hybrid eatured
his moniker Xpres CBS . They were sold
in brand name department stores like
Sears. A ew years later working at Hy-
brid became less ullling. The company
had him concentrating more on layouts
and less on design, stiing his creativity.
In 2008, he had the opportunity
to curate an annual art show held at the
Bo Bridges Gallery in Hermosa Beach
called Surside Artillery. This allowed him
to express his creative side once again.
Vans sponsored the event, donating
over thirty pairs o shoes stickers and
apparel. This annual art show gave him
the creative power to introduce othe
crew members and artists that were not
apart o Hybrid apparel. He also got the
honor o painting on Santa Monicas a
mous shaper and owner o Fluid Dry
Surboards Tim Ferris. The surboard
Tim shaped became a collaboration o
Xpress and Esel, another artist and close
riend and crew member, contributedthe pin-stripping detail.
Surng, in act, happens to be an
other o Xpress passions. He relates it
to how he paints: not to second-guess
things, to go right in and just do it. In
turn, many o his paintings are inu
enced by vintage sur art as well as LA
street culture. Another strong inu
ence is multiaceted artist, Ed Roth, wel
known or working with dierent medi
ums, suraces, and designs or apparels
print (silk screening), and canvas work.
Xpres currently uses more allegoryor symbolism in his conceptual paintings
allowing viewers to make out their own
interpretation o the storytelling o his
work. He takes on strong political view
less than he previous has. Working with
tangible mediums and designing graph
ics or apparel (slightly less so) is the
present ocus o his art career. Finding
that presentation and designing appare
in itsel is extremely time consuming. Its
important or him to nd a balance be
tween commerce and artistry. As he says
Commercial work can drain your pas-
sion to create conceptual canvas works.
Its been along time coming, Richard
Xpres Taylor will be hosting his rst solo
show Bar Flies & Snake Eyes on March
5, 2011 at the Solid One Gallery on 334 N
Fairax Ave. in Los Angeles CA. The show
will go on until April 24th come check i
out! For more ino, visit www.urbanartil
lery.net and www.solidgalleryone.net/ex
hibitions_availableXPRES.html
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DJ L.A. Jae is best known as a DJ and
or producing underground sensation The
Shape Shiters or the past 14 years. LA JAE
has been a DJ in clubs since the age 13.
LA JAE has also been a grafti writer since
the 1980s and is known or his throw-ups
and stencils. He begun in LA, then eventu-
ally worked throughout the nation and
Europe. He was involved in the Finland un-
derground hip hop scene. Over the years,
he has produced and remixed hits or per-
ormers like Tony-Toni Tone and Vanessa
Williams. Right now, DJ La Jae is nishing a
new Shape Shiter album as well as working
on Radioinactives album. He has recently
begun working on canvas in mix media and
collaborating in part with Mama CBS. His
rst show o this work premiered in January
2011 at New Puppy Gallery in Los Angeles.
On March 24, he will be perorming a live
music set at the Echoplex in Echo Park, L.A.
My lie in general, I break at least
three laws a day -- a pusher man, run with
people that do bad things, tour the world,
get treated like a king, then sleep on
some dirt bags oor, write on anything I
can, and so on and so orth.
My avorite way o getting up all
o them rom bombing big letters, tags,
stencils, slap tags, scribes which ever
way I can get away with, at the time Im at
any given place. Im always looking to get
a spot doesnt matter how or what style
just as long as my name or my crew gets
up. Its like a un game you can play any-
where at anytime. Gra-e-tay and my lie
are as one. Wheres evers mes goes gra-
ti goes too. Its in my contract.
I write or the thrill o it, I like the
way it eels when I see my name up. And
I cant lie. I like it more when other people
see it that eels goooooood. From getting
chased by gangs to hunting ools down in
the train yards, climbing huge hills to get
to a wall, ducking rom cops, rolling with
my sicko partners on missions to get up...
Writing is like the git that keeps
on giving. The whole thing is a big rush
you cant really explain cause every time
its a dierent experience. Man i I haven
stopped by now I dont ever see mysel
stopping. I Cant Be Stopped! Once you
stop its over your name is dead. At least
thats how I see it.
From March 10-13, LA Jae will DJ and pain
live (on wall) with ellow CBS crew members
in San Antonio or the annual grafti show
Clogged Caps. In April, he will live DJ and
showcase his canvas work at COBRA vs
LORDS in San Francisco. www.p1s.com
DJ LA JAE In His Own Words
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AGALLERYOFSOUND
dionysus records
www.d ionysu s records . co
Website &shopping car
updateconstantly
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ARTISTGALLERIEEVENT
www. lee josephpub l i c i t y . co
Full ServicPR & Marketing
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Santa Fe NM 87501
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Featuring