Meet, Greet, Feet.

No eye infections on the horizon, as the Kurt Halsey Frederiksen Meet & Greet is happening Friday night (June 1st) from 6-9 PM and Saturday afternoon (June 2nd) from 12-3 PM. Kurt will be in the Los Angeles gallery signing autographs, taking pictures, kissing babies, giving his take on the recent Elizabeth Hassleback comments, Kobi Bryant's behavior, tasting grape soda, etc. He also has promised some gifts for those who attend either day, as well as a sneak peek into some future projects he's working on. Should be a fun night, and what better time to buy the two remaining pieces in the show, then in front of the artist himself? Alright, that was stretch. But we'll have fun no matter what.

See you there.

Jensen
G1988: LA

SAN FRANCISCO - SNEAK PEAK

Hello!

Here's a very early sneak preview from our next SF show "Back For Seconds," which opens on June 29th...



That amazing piece up there is by Kathie Olivas and is called "Girl Canary Mask." That's one of three pieces Kathie is contributing to the show, along with 36 other exciting artists! "Back For Seconds" is going to be a great show and I'll post another teaser or two over the next few weeks! Stay tuned...

And check out Kathie's website here!

Katie
G1988 San Francisco

Stuff Me.

I was contemplating a title that incorporated how much I ate yesterday (2 turkey dogs, a BBQ chicken breast, and 3 bags of the new cheeseburger flavored Doritos can make one rather "stuffed") and the plush dolls for our next exhibit, "Packed and Loaded," in LA, but I figured it was just to 'Memorial Day obvious." You tell me.

Anyway, we've been showing one-of-a-kind handmade plush art here at Gallery 1988 since our first year and it's given us a fun little fanbase that normally doesn't come to art galleries. AND, the cool part is, many of our everyday art collectors have also gotten in on the fun, buying plush while also noticing the prices and demand have risen over the past 2 years within the genre. Horvath's Ugly Dolls may have just paved the way, but i think some of the artists we've been showing, especially during the last two years' Plush Weeks, are taking it a step further.

And I do love plush, but I have NO IDEA how these creatures are made. I mean, they just appear one day at the gallery in a box. That's it. But Jen Rarey, one of my favorite plush artists, is one of the 8 artists in our next show (where she is the only "plusher" amongst some GREAT painters), and she was nice enough to send me this picture and let me in on the secret a bit:



Deflated little guys, huh? This is right before the stuff and sew portion, and I figured I had to post it. Sure, you've seen plush art, but have you seen the steps before plush art? Next time you see these guys, they'll be stuffed fatter than Carney Wilson asking you to "Hold On For One More Day." Obviously, pre-surgery.

Jensen
G1988: LA

A Horse is a Horse

3 day Holiday weekends don't mean much when you own and work at a gallery that is always closed Mondays, and almost always open on Saturdays. So while you're striking up the BBQ and playing old Donnie Hathaway records, I'm staring at the only 2 Kurt Halsey pieces still available for purchase and playing Donnie Wahlberg records (OK, not really. But the double bookend useage of Donnie seemed to be literary).

But I did venture down the street to Munky King again, this time to say hi to old friend EWOK 5MH (NY), who released his new toy, the Horselington, today. EWOK showed with us in one of our first art shows back in 2004, "Three Corner Hustle," with REVOK (who I also saw today when he got his oil changed across the street. Thanks, Jiffylube!) and TOTEM TATS. AAAANNNNDDD....EWOK also did produce a nice little landmark in the gallery bathroom back when we first opened...



So when I pee, I think EWOK (and not just because I'm hairy, you jerk). Anyway, here are pictures of EWOK's toy and the man himself (who is starting to look a lot like vintage Groucho).



And who could miss the sneak peek at Buffmonster's upcoming toy, which looked great and numerous in colorways.



So go back to your corn and the cob, and I'll go back and stare at my EWOK in the bathroom. No, not that! You're really mean to me and I'm not sure how much more I can take.

Jensen
G1988: LA

Name Brandt Goods

It's not every single day that I get email sneak peeks at Brandt Peter's paintings for our upcoming "Packed and Loaded" group show in Los Angeles, which will open June 19th, 2007. OK, it's every 3 weeks. BUT STILL! Look at the progress in Brandt's work, not just in this piece, but on the piece that sits on the front of the exhibit's postcard (viewable on our regular website in "Future Exhibits," I can't give you everything). Watching his growth over the past year has been a transition to marvel, as his rendering has become some of the best in the biz. I really can't wait to see the rest of his pieces, and two will get the distinction of becoming prints available during the show. Excuse my gimmick infringement on Mr. Simkins (who is almost mid-flight to his 2-man in Philly right now), but this Brandt dude is a monster.

Jensen
G1988: LA

BEST WEEKEND EVER

So this past weekend was especially fun because LA artists, Jeff McMillan and Brian Kesling, came to visit! Emily from StrangeCo and Pete Gronquist rounded up some friends and we took Jeff and Brian down to good old Zeitgeist. The night led to an art making pizza party not appropriate for children, a mild food fight and a house party with Cass, the three-legged dog.








All three of these artists are in our current show, The Onset and you can check out their websites here (click their names)...

Peter Gronquist
Jeff McMillan
Brian Kesling (unfortunately doesn't have a website, but you can see his work in The Onset)

Katie and Emily from StrangeCo
and Three-Legged dog photo courtesy of Jeff McMillan

We Have A Virus

Being the comic book nerd I am, things revolving around Batman and the film adaptations of the Dark Knight, cause a bit of a stir within my little dorky soul. I liked the first Burton Batman a lot, LOVED the second Burton one with Penguin and a quick cameo of Paul Reubens, but every incarnation since had smelled like the poop that was found near our gallery dumpster last week (take my word, that means the movies sucked). But once Chris Nolan took over, I was brought right back in where Joel Schumaker threw me out. And with a sequel looming for Nolan's Batman, I was hesitant to celebrate when Heath Ledger was named the new Joker (I still campaign for Crispin Glover, thanks). BUT this week, a website was built for "Harvey Dent" (also known as Two-Face from the comics) showing Aaron Eckhart (of "In The Company of Men" fame) depicting the villian like this:



THEN, next door to the gallery, at Golden Apple Comics, we noticed this on the front sidewalk, written in chalk...



THHHEEEENNN, when they were cleaning up Golden Apple, they ended up finding these all over the store (in comic books, in the bathroom, etc.)...



Yup, it all says "I believe in Harvey Dent," with nutso laughter depicted next to it. I smell a very well thought out viral campaign and I'm aboard. I tell ya, we are slowly becoming the dorkus hub over here on Melrose and La Brea, so don't come to the corner talking bout Winston's on Santa Monica, your agent at Endeavor or your lunch at Mazzo with Amy Heckerling. Bring your B game, we're getting nerdy.

Jensen
G1988: LA

Like Wolverine...

Listen, I know I came under fire for calling the fans of Kurt Halsey "rabid," and I caught my share of focused poop during the opening by the fans, but we can all agree on one thing, you Kurt fans have very fast dialing phones!

The LA opening for the Kurt Halsey Frederiksen solo show was a huge success, besides the fact that an awful eye infection grounded Mr. Halsey from attending the opening. I'd post the pics of his eye he sent me, but #1) not sure he wants anyone to see it, #2) I just ate those mochi balls on a Pinkberry, so it might make me sick.

But Kurt is a super class act and has created a Meet & Greet event for June 1st (from 6 - 9 PM) and June 2nd (from 12 - 3 PM) where he will sign and shake whatever you want (his eye bandage maybe?). Almost fully sold out of his work for the show now, half at the opening reception, half, as I hinted to earlier, to the many phone calls that poured in once the work went online this morning. I will change "rabid" to "rapid."

Katie and I would like to thank Kurt for putting together a wonderful solo show and doing it with professionalism rarely seen in this little world of art. I couldn't think of an artist more worthy of such rabi...I mean, support.

BUT, you wanna see some other die-hards?



Down the street at Munky King, the line went for over a block with fans waiting for the release of the Luke Chueh "Possessed" vinyl toy. Saw some familiar faces in line, including 1988 favorite Adam, who skipped out on a brain surgery he had to perform at a chance to pick up the black colorway. I'm just kidding. He wanted the regular colorway.



Oh, and here's Patrick, the owner of Munky King. He's happy.



With G1988 involved in Luke's next toy, I'm already starting to practice that little pose Patrick has in the picture.



I have a long way to go.

Jensen
G1988: LA

TONIGHT IN LOS ANGELES!

Tonight is a big night in LA!!

In just a few hours, the KURT HALSEY FREDERIKSEN solo show is opening! This is our first solo show with Kurt and the work is amazing. If you're in the LA area definitely stop by the gallery 7-10PM. Trust me, this show should not be missed. You can check out Kurt's website at www.kurthalsey.com

Up in San Francisco we had a great time at the opening of "The Onset" on Tuesday night! Thanks to everyone who came out. It ended up being an amazing show...



And a very special thanks to Brett Pinkin and David Allen for DJing at the opening! They did an awesome job and everyone definitely loved the music. Thanks guys - you're amazing and we loved having you at the reception!

And last, but definitely not least, we've added a new new member to our family. This is our new intern Emily...



She's the best and we're so happy to have her!

Katie
G1988: SF

Kurt's Hurt

Here's a little preview of Gallery1988: Los Angeles's next show, a solo from Oregon artist Kurt Halsey Frederiksen. Kurt is leading the pack in an unannounced, and just created, contest to see who has the most die-hard, rabid fans in the underground art world. He's got a little army I tell ya. He's created just a tad under 50 pieces for this show, so add prolific to the list of emos that Kurt evokes. It's going to be a GREAT show and it opens Thursday night, May 17th, from 7-10 PM. I'll be the one talking about past relationships and situations that his paintings force me to remember. All as I take your sales order.

Jensen
G1988: LA

Friends In Hi Places

We have the EXCLUSIVE first look at he brand new Volume 5 cover of our favorite art magazine, Hi Fructose, and low and behold...




...it graces the image of Amy Sol's I AM 8-BIT masterpiece, "Peach & Yoshi In Subcon, The Land Of Dreams!!!!!" We're HUGE fans of the magazine, so to see a piece we've displayed on the cover, with the likes of Mark Ryden paintings and such that have had the same placement in the past, is an honor for us....so we can only imagine how Amy feels! CONGRATS Amy and nice selection Hi Fructose. Video game art seeping into everyday life my friends....we've only just begun.

CHRISTMAS IN MAY WITH TRAVIS LAMPE

The artwork for our next SF show is starting to be dropped off! It feels like Christmas (even though it's 100 degrees outside. Trust me - I'm not complaining. I love this weather!) But these are definitely my favorite days in the gallery. I know I don't get to keep them for myself, but it's still exciting to open big packages and find these amazing paintings inside. Yes, I do have the best job ever!

The new show is REALLY strong. There's some great work coming in! Here's one by Travis Lampe...



It's called "Accidental Mishap" and I can't get over the expression on the unicorn's face. I love it! Travis has another piece in the show too, but you'll have to wait until the show opens to see it. It's a surprise.

The show is called "The Onset" and it opens a week for today! YES, ONE WEEK! I'm excited and I know you'll be excited too when you see the lineup...

Derek Albeck, Angry Woebots, Bob Dob, Mark Bodnar, Buff Monster, Scott Campbell, Keeley Carrigan, Matt Dangler, Nome Edonna, Ekundayo, ESM-Artificial, Peter Gronquist, Ahren Hertel, Aaron Jasinski, Brian Kesling, Wednesday Kirwan, Travis Lampe, Joe Ledbetter, Dan May, Jeff McMillan, Brandi Milne, Misha, Isaac Pierro, Reuben Rude, KRK Ryden, Jason Sho Green, Nathan Stapley, Jophen Stein, Roland Tamayo, Cameron Tiede, Michelle Valigura, David van Alphen, Amanda Visell, Andrew Wilson, and Yoskay Yamamoto.

See, I told you. That's a great lineup.

The opening is Tuesday, May 15th 7-10PM at G1988SF. We're trying out our Tuesday night opening tradition up here in SF for the first time. Wish us luck, or even better... see you there!

Katie
Gallery1988SF

Free Comic Book Day????

It's a madhouse here in the old Saks Fifth Ave. building (yes, our whole building used to be a Saks over a decade ago. So use that for trivia). It's Free Comic Book Day next door at Golden Apple Comics and, as you know, free stuff equals lots of people! They also have the creator of Hellboy, Mike Mignola, signing stuff right now....OH....and they have this in front of their store:



Yes, it's an 8-foot Silver Surfer to promote the new Fantastic Four movie. And it's shiny. And I take pictures with it like I'm a tourist.



Anyway, stop on by today. Between 8-bit and their festivities, we're sort of having a nerdy block party.

Jensen
G1988: LA

Embed with 8-bit

"Click Here for great MTV Game Trailer's coverage..."

"And here for Game Head."





I know I've seen more, I just weirdly can't find them right now. Fuel, Spike TV, G4, etc, and The Associated Press and Tom's Hardware came by yesterday, so I'll post when they do.

Jensen
G1988: LA

Ill-us-tree-eight

Back to the artist's visits for you, Mr. Blog Reader. Today, Jeff McMillan swung by the gallery to not only study the red dots on ALL OF HIS Mike Tyson Opponents, but to just say hello. He had a schedule of galleries to vis...oh wait...here's the picture I took today:



So, anyway, he had a group of galleries to visit today, just to catch up on the LA scene, as he readies himself for a NY solo show, and figured he'd stop by (with his GF of two years....TODAY). Jeff will always be one of my favorite artists we show, as I even own his first I AM 8-BIT piece from 2006 AND employed him to illustrate my very first book (available from Abrams Publishing in October 07, thanks). He's whimsical, but at the same time can dedicate an entire show to angry rival horse jockeys or agressive Masonites. He's a good dude and a David Lynch fan, so you know he likes good shit.

Back to intern interviews for me. Talk amongst yourselves.

Jensen
G1988: LA