VANity

As we stare at the orange and yellow goodness that is Andrew Bell's "Burning Desire," which will be up here at our Los Angeles gallery until the 27th, we sometimes wish this exhibit would never go away. But luckily we have another incredible show opening on April 1st, when "TOYS" opens.



This show, over a year in the making, will be a tribute to the childhood gems we cherished before video games did all the work for us, the items that helped develop our imagination and creativity, all the while keeping us busy and out of our parents' hair. There really are two elements that make up this amazing theme show. The first aspect will have over 50 artists painting and creating pieces inspired by their favorite toys of yesteryear, employing some of the favorites seen here on 1988's walls throughout the years. Two examples of these pieces are seen above by Greg Simkins and Ken Garduno. And the second element, as if that wasn't enough, has just about 40 artists celebrating the 40th anniversary of Hot Wheels, in conjunction with our friends at Mattel, customizing 9 x 5 inch blank Hot Wheels vans in their own styles! Here's the blank van each artist was given:





And here's your first sneak peek at one of the customized vans - this one from Jon Bugerman & Stu Witter from the UK.









I mean, for reals? It's THAT good. And all of them I've seen/received so far are THAT good too! VinylPulse.com featured the Burgerman/Witter car today also, highlighting the Van customizing, but they also list the entire roster of artists getting behind the wheel. You can read that baby by clicking here. We're going to keep giving you nice little sneak peeks right up to the show, including both vans and paintings, so keep an eye on this blog for more, including some early looks at the ACTUAL full sized Hot Wheel concept cars that will be parked at the opening reception on the 1st! KIT and Hasslehoff eat your heart out!

Jensen
G1988: LA