Vakay

So you know....

I start my first vacation in 2 years today. So when you are reading this...I will be here:



Cabo San Lucas, my friends.

Hoping I can get a post or two in during vacation, especially since I have some 8-bit sneaks and peeks for ya'll, but Katie will be checking in on you too, so keep the house clean. None of this "The dishes are done, dude" / "Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter Is Dead" crap.

Also, keep these numbers in mind:

88
89
87
89
89
88
89

That is the 7 day forecast for my vacation. AWWWWWWWWWWWWWW. That was just mean.

Jensen
G1988: LA

The 2nd Sign of Apocalypse

First tornados, then volcanos? WHAT is going on in this Jerry Bruckheimer film? If you don't know, yes the Hollywood Hills are burning down. I can see the scene from the corner of Melrose and La Brea and it makes you wonder about a lot of things. If the Hollywood sign burns down, would any douche bag William Morris agent take a second to ponder the symbollism? Also, it makes you question how anyone could have made a bad movie about a volcano in the La Brea Tar Pits (but they did!)

So, someone please call the gallery if you see locusts or if you wanna play the Public Enemy "Burn, Hollywood, Burn" song with me.

Jensen
G1988: LA

A Team to Bank On

Pressing refresh thousands of times got me kinda lucky. My wall will now have a signed Banksy "Morons" Sepia print (the irony cost me more). This gets me one step closer to be being Brad or Angelina.



And just when I thought news couldn't get any better, it did. With 8-bit coming, and the fact that I played Playstation 3 for 6 hours last night, I'm zoning in on video game news.

First, one thing I love about the show is that you see paintings of video game characters that would normally never be near each other, all in one cute scene. But one of these possibilites....Mario and Sonic....are teaming up for a video game!



If you go back in time and tell 12 year old Jensen that Mario and Sonic are going to team up in 2008, I'd react with a face kids usually reserve for when they're first told that Santa doesn't exist. That would never happen. Smooth move, Sega and Nintendo, smooth move.

AND THEN...for those still thinking video games can't be art...feast your eyes on the new Grand Theft Auto trailer.



I think that's enough dork for one day.

Jensen
G1988: LA

PRINTS, PRINTS, PRINTS!!!

Hello!

So, we've been working on some exciting new prints, scheduled to be released in April! We have two new Craola prints in the works, one new Luke Chueh print, and our very first Mark Bodnar print! I can't give away too many details, but I will show you one of the Craola prints...



This was my personal favorite from Greg's last solo show at Upper Playground in Feb, so I'm especially excited about this one! It's called "The Pollen Hunter".

I can't spill any more secrets, you'll just have to wait a few more weeks to see the others. Ok, ok! Fine, I'll give you one hint about the new Luke Chueh print. Does anyone remember Luke's piece from the first "I Am 8-Bit" show? Hmm... I think that was a pretty big clue.

We'll post all the new prints when they're ready, which will be very very soon! Until then...

Katie
G1988 San Francisco

Man vs. Machine

8-BIT is seriously getting more serious by the moment. Exhibit A: This video featuring toy customizers NVC (Dr. Bao and Spive) and their new Mega Man creation for I AM 8-BIT on April 17. Wait, it makes noises? Hands down, the GREATEST artist video ever (original music made for the clip, stop motion graphics, an 8-bit title screen, kid on the couch looking bored). I also LOVE that it looks like an Al-Queda tape, with him building a bomb out of blank Dunnys.



Jensen
G1988: LA

For The Ears

I survived the tornado here in Hollywood, which I guess is now getting some major network coverage, evidenced by my Mom calling and yelling, "Are you OK?," about 10 minutes ago. But look what the wind brought in...






This is a collaboration with our friends over at Gelaskins, a stellar company who produce hi-end stickers to decorate your IPod with. They were nice enough to produce these babies for our SF gallery opening on April 21st. With the artwork of newly G1988 represented child prodigy Matt Dangler, these IPod skins fit the Video Ipod and the Nano. "The Dangler" will deliver his 8-bit opus, which he has been spooning in bed with for weeks, in the next few days and I'm chomping at the bit. Also, he'll be the one wearing the birthday hat at the 8-bit opening reception, as it is his day of birth on April 17 and he's spending it in LA! Tell the kid happy 14th birthday (joke, although he is the age of Lil' Bow Wow) and then drool at his piece.

In the menwhile, you can get these Ipod skins, THANKS TO GELASKINS, for free by attending the Gallery 1988 SF GRAND OPENING on April 21, 2007.

Jensen
G1988: LA

Where's the Cowardly Lion?

Can anyone vouch for the tornado that went just through the Hollywood area?



I'm not sure I can do this one justice, but for about 5 minutes everything went dark, rain started to pour and the winds really picked up. The power at the gallery went out for exactly 4 minutes. The wind was actually slamming our front door shut, although it was already closed.

Then the skies cleared and now it's blue and sunny out again (it's even a little hot). Al Gore is somewhere laughing.

My sources also tell me that a huge building sized IPod ad on Highland and Santa Monica came down, covering small building around it. SOMEONE SAVE ANAWALT NOW!

Either way, G-d is mad at Hollywood. Actually whatever Higher Power you believe is most likely mad at us. It could be G-d and Allah teaming up. For one storm. Like Gnarls Barkley. But if the storm sells, they'll tour together. Then it gets real scary.

Did anyone else see this weather oddity?

Jensen
G1988: LA

Good-bye to a Legend

A rather busy day at the gallery is capped with sadness, as my searching on the Net has given me the tragic news of Larry "Bud" Melman (known to the government as Calvert DeForest, so I guess the whole name shoulda been in quotations) dying a few days ago.

I'll always remember Melman as the incredibly odd contributer to Late Night with David Letterman, but I'm sure some will recognize him from the crazy car commercials he did in the 80's. Either way, pour a lil Squeeze-It out for Melman. We'll miss you, weird-looking guy.

Jensen
G1988: LA

Getting Strong Now...

I AM 8-bit is steadily approaching and just about everyday now we get a piece that seems to outdo the next. Today it was Erik Alos's turn. Erik is an artist who was reccomended to us by Greg "Craola" Simkins and has since become a 1988 represented artist.

I remeber my first meeting with Erik and him explaning how he wanted to utilize his graf roots, but become more character based in the next 10-15 pieces he created. We both instantly saw a vision as to where he could go with his work and insane imagination, specifically for G1988: LA, and since then he's painted some techincal beauties, inclduing his piece for our Cheshire Cat show, which we still get comments on.

This year's 8-bit piece is a monster. It's a Super Mario explosion of sorts with enough detail and work in it to make Isaac Pierro (who was visiting during Erik's drop off) to say "Damn, you did your thing!" And for those who don't know, that's a major compliment from Isaac (right behind him saying the F word, then your name in an elongated fashion).

Erik works hard and it shows. The paintings take him weeks. This 8-bit piece (subtly displayed in the above picture, but still not blowing it's eventual unveiling) should help the world know his name. This one is gonna be a Mario fan's dream.

Jensen
G1988: LA

He's Just A Man...

How can anyone be stressed at work with a visit from LA art darling Luke Chueh? Luke came by to meet minds on an upcoming print at 1988 and shoot the shit with me about the definition of a "solo show." If anyone ever wants to get bored quickly, feel free to ask me about it.

Anyway, Luke has a big show coming up at M Modern in Palm Springs, and a "solo show" with us later in the year - not to mention a really funny 8-bit piece next month - so he's a busy bee. He and I also chatted on our common love for Toygers (if you don't know, please google it).

Katie and I sometimes call our LA gallery, "The House Luke Chueh Built," mostly because he was our first sell out and helped us really understand our mission and focus here. His incredible work was able to get us a lot of attention and it was then that we learned how to work our asses off for an artist. He brought Joe Ledbetter and Thomas Han into the gallery, which is always a plus, and he's just an all around fun guy.

Katie and I have talked about it before, and we really do feel like Luke is a member of our actual families (albiet just a cousin). It just really feels that way. He's done a lot for us, we've been through a lot and we're sure we'll be friends for a long time. Until then, please study the above picture of him, as it is rare that he is not doing his signature "FOB Peace sign," as seen below. PEACE!



Jensen
G1988: LA

We'd Be Awesome Friends!

If you aren't MySpace pals with us yet, you don't know what you're missing. Ok, I'll be honest, you're not missing much. But I believe you'd be an intregal part of our inner circle. Ok, I made that up. But I do think we'll get cooler artists showing in our space if you become our MySpace friend. Ok, that's a lie too. But just do it....cause that's what friends are for.

"Click here for the Gallery 1988: LA My Space Page"

"Click here for the ALL NEW Gallery 1988: SF My Space Page"

Jensen
G1988: LA

Visitors...

It's been artists galore lately, even with quicky (and blog undocumented) visits from Erik Alos and Shepard Fairey, and today was no exception.



Misha swang through to drop off her new I AM 8-BIT masterpieces and sign prints we produced for this year's exhibit. This post could be a love letter to Misha, but I know that's boring so I'll just put it like this: Misha understands everything. The art aspect, the business side and the world of art galleries. She's always been there for us (and "Vice Versa" in that awful Ben Savage/Judge Reinhold switching bodies movie way), and now it looks like it's paying off. We'll be showing a lot more of Misha soon, both in LA and SF, and it just feels right. But yes, these prints are from her "Last Supper" 8-bit piece last year (which is still BY FAR the most talked about piece from the 2006 installment), and no, we aren't taking pre-orders yet.



Los Angeles resident, and "artist we know with the deepest voice," Isaac Pierro also rolled by and checked in. He came with presents (drawings for me and Katie), which is always a plus. He's currently working on his 8-bit piece and a smaller group show he's in here at 1988 in a few months. He also let me peek into his sketchbook, which, to put it nicely, questions a lot of racist imagery. Someone call Spike Lee, I think he's feeling Bamboozled.

Jensen
G1988: LA

Aye Aye Kii.

Nothing makes a day brighter than a visit from LA-LA Land Guru Kii Arens. Kii was actually the first artist Katie and I met when we putting our LA gallery together back in 2003. We showed him what was to be our space then (now a maternity clothes store across from Meltdown), ate at Cheebo, got the bill, then realized we can't treat artists to Cheebo anymore, and basically felt out what we were in for with future artist dealings (although he ended up being super easy breezy). He showed his Spin Art series with us sometime during our first 4 or 5 shows, when he was still calling Minnesota his home, so we were thrilled when he moved out to LA for good.

One thing I LOVE about Kii is that he THINKS SO BIG. Ask him what he's up to, and he isn't gonna say, "Oh, I'm just watching old CSI episodes on TiVo" or "I'm really getting into Sudoku." He's gonna throw his arms in the air and yell, "I'm running for President of Peru!" or "I adopted a pack of wolves and they're living in my loft."

And the CRAZIEST part is...he pulls these things off. Today he told me about his newest idea, which made my head bleed a bit, but like most of his brainchildren, it was genius. Also, his new pieces are utilizing random sidewalk splatters that he takes photos of, so keep an eye out for that, as not to step in it.

Random Trivia on Kii:

Used to be in a rap group.
Was seen individually cheering for Loverboy during a reunion special on television
Was the only artist to tell us it was a good idea to name our gallery "Anthony Michael Hallway," which was our leading candidate before we settled on "1988."

Until tomorrow.

Jensen
G1988: LA

San Francisco Happenings

Well, hello! This is my very first blog post ever. It's actually harder than it looks because I feel an enormous amount of pressure to be interesting and funny. So, here we go... I will try my hardest to entertain you, but I'm not making any promises...

We've been working really hard to get the SF store up and running! We have the flyer done for our very first show - exciting!! Here it is:



We have a ton of amazing people involved in the grand opening and it's definitely going to be a fun event! I'm still trying to convince Jensen to charter a bus to take people up to SF for the opening night and then back to LA the next morning. Anyone interested in coming up?

Anyway... I'll post pics of the new gallery space soon. Stay tuned...

Katie
G1988: SF

Lifesaver?

Thanks, Amy Winehouse, for making my usually awful Hump Day here at the gallery, into a magical day of Itunes.

Jensen
G1988: LA

Um, there's something on your head.

Octopus_small
Originally uploaded by hotkizzle.

A beautiful new print, "Octogirl," by artist Camilla d'Errico was announced today to coexist with the opening of G1988: SF on April 21, 2007. It's a celebration, bitches.

Signed, numbered and printed on archival paper, this giclee will cost only $60.00 to kick off our Bay Area hub. It will be available starting the 21st of April. You can buy it at both of our locations and on the World Wide Web.

Does anyone else eat Baby Octopus at sushi bars? I do, and I love it. But from a marketing standpoint, I think they should probably change the name. Cause I don't know too many people willing to eat something that sounds so young and naive, that wasn't given a chance to grow up. Octopus or not.
It's like calling Baked Lays, "Innocent Potatoes That Have Been Mutilated" or calling bacon, "Young Pigs From Tight Knit Families Who Had Dreams Of Becoming A Dentist But The Vision Fell Short When They Were Cut Into Small Pieces." I don't care, but I bet most do.

Anyway, buy the print? - Jensen G1988: LA

Sausage King Of Chicago

My first day off on the blog and all I keep thinking about is our upcoming "I AM 8-BIT" show. Artists keep sending us pics and it seriously just keeps getting better. We usually get a lot of press attention for this show, so it seems like the participants really step it up when creating pieces based on 1980's video games. Not to mention this year the line-up is redonkulous. I mean what's Amy Sol or Ekundayo gonna paint from vintage video games? Will Greg Simkins and Luke Chueh continue their streak and deliver some of the exhibit's best? 8-Bit virgins Anthony Ausgang, Jon Burgerman, SEEN, Jesse LeDoux, Travis Lampe and Mike Leavitt all seem like they could contribute some real winners. And Paul Wall?

Here's the full line-up (although be ready for some late additions) - and you tell me who you're excited about:

Erik Alos
Attaboy
Anthony Ausgang
Crystal Bedford
Leanne Biank
Brandon Bird
Blinky
Mark Bodnar
Ryan Bubnis
Jude Buffum
Jon Burgerman
Mike Burnett
Scott Cambell
Martin Cendreda
Anna Chambers
Paul Chatem
Dave Chung
Sean Clarity
Matt Clark
Nic Cowen
Steven Daily
Matt Dangler
Bob Dob
Nome Edonna
Ekundayo
Sandra Equihua
Jose Emroca Flores
Carl Greenblatt
Peter Gronquist
Jorge R. Gutierrez
Mr. Joe Hahn
Ryan Heshka
Elizabeth Ito
Aaron Jasinski
James Jean
Brian Kesling
KMNDZ
Travis Lampe
Mike Leavitt
Joe Ledbetter
Jesse LeDoux
Christopher Lee
Ryan Lesser
Travis Louis
Jim Mahfood
Benjamin Marra
El Maz
Brian McCarty
Chris McD
Jeff McMillan
Brandi Milne
Misha
Tony Mora
Scott Morse
Chris Nichols
Ciro Nieli
Kieth Nordzy
NVC (Dr. Bao and Spive)
Kathie Olivas
Nathan Ota
Annie Owens
Daniel Peacock
Peekaboo
Vincent Perea
John Pham
Isaac Pierro
Dave Pressler
Steve Purcell
Jen Rarey
Lesley Reppeteaux
Lou Romano
Reuben Rude
Dan Santat
Scott Scheidly
SEEN
Jason Sho Green
Erik Siador
Greg Simkins
Amy Sol
Nathan Stapley
Stone
Shuji Suzuki
Gabe Swarr
Sean Szeles
Peter Taylor
Jeremy Tinder
Roland Tamayo
Rich Tuzon
Yosuke Ueno
Michelle Valigura
Joe Vaux
Amanda Visell
Paul Wall
Dave Wasson
Andrew Wilson
Rachel Wong
Johnny Yanok

Jensen
G1988: LA

He Looks Like Andy Richter

Just got in these incredible giclee prints from genius artist, and Webby Award recepient, Brandon Bird. He's always a hit with his random celeb portraits (and the ladies), and he doesn't miss with these. They're all hand signed and numbered and on fancy paper, like the Gettysburg Address, sort of.


"Nobody Wants To Play Sega With Harrison Ford"
$50.00


"Lazy Sunday Afternoon"
$45.00


"Man Of Tomorrow"
$45.00


"Signifier Signified" (N. Chomsky)
$45.00


I'm excited to see what he does for 8-bit this year, as he asked me earlier in the year if anyone had ever done "Altered Beast" (Sega Master System represent, and morph into a werewolf!)

Jensen
G1988: LA

The Furleys Knock On Our Door

After some horrid miscues on my part, artists Annie Owens and Attaboy (who, for the record, can not have a "Solo Show" when they're showing as a pair) swung by and talked shop today. I'm really a fan of both their work, and their magazine Hi-Fructose is what I like to call "next in line," so it was a pleasure seeing them. We have a rather large undertaking together in the end of 2007, which for now is thinly under wraps, but it's shaping up to be a worth while tag team (consider us "The Bushwackers" of Underground Art). But for now, we'll just share our love for Dan Goodsell's Mr. Toast, the amazement in Mark Ryden's new show and the hard task of smiling for photos.

Jensen
G1988: LA

Live Blogging Seems Cool

Kozik is signing ANYTHING! (toys, posters, t-shirts, leg casts, New York Posts, gutted salmons, DVD copies of "Lil Nicky," steering wheels, unused tickets to that Pirate Restuarant in Buena Park).

Jensen
G1988: LA

Kozik Toy Signing Tonight!

Yes, we have a blog. We decided on this mostly because we have so much stuff going on right now, between the new SF store opening April 21, and the LA store (I AM 8-BIT is coming again!) - that this is gonna be the best way to keep you up to date for one, and also let you in on what happens here on a steady basis. From installing to de-installing, artist's visits, the creation of a gallery in a whole new city, and our current events are just a taste of what you'll see here. And we'll make the blog nicer looking with time, don't you worry. For now, you get template.

What a better way to kick it off than a Frank Kozik LA toy signing? We had 63 boxes delivered with these Anti-Jesus (it says he will "rape" him, Mel) and they are ready to sign. Tonight, it'll be 6-10 PM, so bring a crucifix and point it at Frank...he just might sign it.

- Jensen
G1988: LA