Thursday, July 30, 2009

Jason Limon "My Tricks are Quite Safe"

OK! This coming Tuesday, we're going to release a brand new Jason Limon print of "My Tricks are Quite Safe" which was one of my absolute favorite pieces from our "Beyond the Page" show!



Jason Limon
My Tricks Are Quite Safe
giclee print on Ultrasmooth Fine Art Paper
10 x 17 inches
limited edition of 30
$60.00

These prints will be released Tuesday, August 4th at 12PM PST through the SF gallery. (We can't take pre-orders, so please contact us on Tuesday if you're interested). I'll post again on Tuesday as a reminder.

Katie
G1988 SF

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Announced

Thanks to everyone who came out last night to our Book Signing for the Travis Louie book, "Curiosities." Big success! Travis surprised all with some paintings and new sketches and some people went home with some Travis originals! Big thank you to Travis who did the whirlwind that is Comic-Con to promote the book, then drove with me and my girlfriend back to LA (he ate Jack in the Box for the first time) in order to partake in last night's events. When Katie and I wanted to do our first book, there was really no other option. Travis's paintings, and insanely cool character descriptions, were just a no-brainer for us. And we hope you all get to see the book and see how cool everything turned out. We do have some of our G1988 variant cover editions left (few, so act quick). These are super limited (we're selling less than 100), are signed by the artist and come with a free signed and numbered giclee print. $30. Same as the retail cover, which we have too! Call us up quick though if you want the 1988 cover, cause that's moving fast. (323) 937 - 7088.

That is our first book and our first partnership with Baby Tattoo. If you stopped by the Baby Tattoo booth during Comic-Con you realized what our second book is going to be. For those who weren't able to see it...



"Igneus Gero (The Book)" collecting the works of Luke Chueh, spanning 2003 - 2009. His first book!

And while we're on announcements, if you swung by the Mattel booth - you saw our other announcement, letting you know who 2010's "Under The Influence" honoree will be. This means that come January, over 100 artists will pay tribute to someone/something in their own styles. Past tributes to Walt Disney, Stan Lee and Beastie Boys have been huge successes. And sure to be falling right in line...



Gallery1988 & Mattel presents 
"Under The Influence: He-Man and the Masters of the Universe"
January 2010


We're giving artists the opportunity to bring He-Man and the cast of characters up to 2010 and into their own styles! Hard to breathe while typing that. Big props to Alex Pardee who created Skeletor to celebrate the announcement, and supplied us with what is the first piece for the show. You just wait until you see what this show is going to be like...and what the gallery will look like. By the power of...

Jensen
G1988: LA
Jensen
G1988: LA

Opening Pics



SF Station took some great pics from our "Beasts From the Bay" show last Friday. Check them out here...

http://sfstation.smugmug.com/gallery/9068238_KQADf#P-1-15

Thank you, SF Station!!

Katie
G1988: SF

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

BOOK RELEASE AND SIGNING TONIGHT!

TONIGHT! Travis Louie's book, "Curiosities," published by G1988 and Baby Tattoo, is released here at Gallery1988: LA! You'll have the chance to also buy the G1988 variant, with the signed and numbered print. The party will run tonight, 6 - 9 PM, with Travis hanging out in-gallery the whole time!

STOP BY! Should be fun. LAST MINUTE UPDATE: SOME ORIGINALS WILL BE AVAILABLE FROM TRAVIS TONIGHT! YEAHHHH!

Also, I know a few people have been asking, the Greg Simkins painting that he did live here in the gallery - will be up for auction middle of August - and we'll show it all spiffy and finished around then. Just too much going on right now, both here and at Comic Con, to give it the right attention needed, so we can raise as much cash as possible for Cancer research.

SEE YOU TONIGHT!

Jensen
G1988: LA

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Our Comic Con



www.DamonCarltonAndAPolarBear.com

What if I asked you to trust me and follow this site?

Jensen
G1988: LA

Beasts Opening



I know lots of people are at Comic Con this weekend, but everyone who's not there came to our San Fran opening last night. At least that's what it felt like cause there were a ton of people here, which was awesome. A BIG thanks to all the participating artists who did a phenominal job and thanks to all the friends/family/fans who came out to support them. There are some great pieces still available from the show, so check it out here... http://g1988beasts.blogspot.com/

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Beasts from the Bay PREVIEW




The preview for our new SF show is up!
Check out the entire show here: http://g1988beasts.blogspot.com/

(Image above by Dave Crosland)

Anne-Julie Aubry



Anne-Julie Aubry is our new featured artist on www.88point5.com! The show is beautiful and very afforable, plus there are two new exclusive prints available! Hurry cause we're already getting a ton of emails for her...

SEE THE ENTIRE SHOW HERE...
www.88point5.com

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Con and After

2 small announcements as you pack your hand sanitizer and start the trip to Comic Con. First, you can find out who the next honoree will be for our annual January Under The Influence show by visiting booth #3029. It's a pretty awesome announcement, and a pretty awesome little sign announcing it. We'll let you all know after the Con. AND when you stop by the Baby Tattoo booth #601 to check out the Travis Louie book we published with them, look for a collectable postcard announcing our next book. You'll even want the postcard. This one is gonna be HUGE. It's only 5 years in the making.

Soooo....you're not going to Comic Con? That's ok. You'll miss men and women dressed as their favorite Anime character, but you won't miss out on the release and ballyhoo of our first book (co-published by our friends at Baby Tattoo). At the Los Angeles gallery we will be having a release party for Travis Louie's book "Curiosities," where artist Travis Louie will be in the gallery signing books and meeting fans! This will be on Tuesday night, July 28th, from 6-9 PM. This will be your opportunity to buy the book and pick up the exclusive G1988 variant cover version, which will come with this giclee print below, "Pumpkin Eater," signed and numbered by the artist. This whole edition will have under 100 available and produced.



So with that, I ask you to keep walking and not hold up everyone behind you as you walk through Comic Con, cause some of us are fighting anxiety. And SEE YOU TUESDAY!

Jensen
G1988: LA

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Bay Area Love

We're getting through the insanity of our Crazy 4 Cult show in LA and approaching the insanity of Comic Con this weekend, but stuck right smack in the middle of these two big events, we have a really cool show opening in SF. The show features all local, Bay Area artists and is therefore called "Beasts from the Bay." We have so many amazing artists living and working or going to school in San Francisco area, so with this show we want to help promote our local art scene. There is a ton of variety and the work we've so far looks great and ALL very reasonably priced! Here are a few sneak peeks...


Lawrence Yang "Berry Picking"



Ken Keirns "Fishing"



Gene Guynn "Blood and Gold"



Peabe "You OK Little Guy?"


The show opens this Friday, July 24th at G1988 San Francisco. We'll have an opening reception from 7-10PM and the best part is that all the artists live close by, so they'll be at the opening! Come say hi if you're in town.

Katie
G1988 SF

Monday, July 20, 2009

Lazy Monday

Well, it's supposed to be my day off today, but it's proving to be anything but. We've been selling through prints from Crazy 4 Cult 3-D, selling out of Bike and Trap from 2cents and The Professional print from Jeff Boyes. And although we're low on many other prints, and we're still selling paintings everyday, there are still some amazing pieces left. But you should act fast. Still check out the show, and the updated sales, HERE.

But, today I've dedicated mostly everything to the monolith known as Comic Con, which opens this Wednesday in San Diego.



There really isn't a picture in the universe that can give me a quicker panic attack, BUT this year I'll be there Saturday and Sunday - and G1988 has some pretty awesome presence in this year's con.

First off, our first book, partnered up with our friends at Baby Tattoo, will be released! "Curiosities," by NY artist Travis Louie will become available at Comic Con, purchasable in many ways and forms. Baby Tattoo's booth (#601) will be selling 2 of the 4 available covers (Retail and San Diego Comic Con variations), as well as having multiple signings with the artist Travis himself, so you can meet the man and get him to sign your book. The Baby Tattoo booth will also have a pretty cool opportunity to get a whole set of 4 covers, for those who buy fast! Travis will also be making appearances at Hi-Fructose's booth (#4939) and the Last Gasp booth (#1616) - two other places you can pick up the SDCC exclusive cover. And if you can't make it out to San Diego, don't worry, because we're having a book release and signing party on Tuesday with Travis Louie in attendance. More on that later.

Secondly, I do believe we'll be announcing our newest honoree for the Under The Influence art show happening in Jan. 2010. After last year's tribute to Beastie Boys, we've been excited to announce the newest source of inspiration involved, but we think SDCC will be the place! More on that later as well. Stay tuned to the blog for where to see the reveal!

And lastly, something totally secret. You won't know it's us. Yet. In due time.

Sorry to be so secretive. But we'll come clean in time. And we think you'll love it.

See you at the Con!

Jensen
G1988: LA

Friday, July 17, 2009

Last night...



Yeah, so I wasn't able to take any pictures, cause we never really stopped working last night to take one. But am hoping some good pictures start to pop up on the interwebs today that I can show off. Especially of 2cents in-gallery installation. It was one of our print surprises, but 2cents did it again, after last year's incredibly successful portraits (CLICK HERE to see those). This year he picked famous cult objects. Each of these prints are limited to 40 (we're close to selling out on some and have to start the day with some serious inventory counting), are signed and numbered and are just $25 each. But here they are...



The Bike



The Trap



The Lips



The Hearse



The Button



The Stapler

Thanks to these prints and around 1,000 attendees, this year's Crazy 4 Cult first night was one of our most successful opening receptions EVER. It was awesome to see people still buying art that speaks to them, even though economic times aren't what they were for Crazy 4 Cult in 2008.

You can now sell ALL the artwork, and see what's still available, by CLICKING HERE.

We want to thank every artist who participated in this year's show, as probably about 100 people came up to us at some point last night and commented on how everyone REALLY stepped it up this year. When another now-mangled theme show hit it's third year, we sat back and watched as artists admitted they were out of ideas and thought the concept became stale. With Crazy 4 Cult 3-D, it proved this show just gets better and better - and we only have the artists to thank for that. This had the best artwork delivered yet. THANK YOU all so much.

Also big thanks to Kevin Smith (a co-creator of this art show), who's spirit we felt in the gallery, although he was shooting a film in NY, our friends at SlashFIlm.com, KROQ's Kevin, Bean and Ralph Garman and comedian Paul Scheer, along with the many others who promoted (and twittered their brains off about) the show all day with us! 

Here's to Crazy FOUR Cult in 2010.

Jensen
G1988: LA

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Holy Poo

With 150 pieces getting the final touches, an in-gallery installation coming together and just pure chaos ensuing...I didn't get to preview as much work as I wanted to on the eve of Crazy 4 Cult 3-D. So I figured I'd make up for it, by posting some favorites of mine that haven't yet been previewed online.

Surprise participant Bob Dob makes a long-awaited return to Gallery1988 with his first painting on our walls in over 2 years. Mr. Pink and Mr. Yellow get the treatment this time.





Rik Catlow, quickly becoming a collector favorite at 1988, gave the show's MVP Edward Scissorhands a makeover.



The always dependable Mari Inukai is up for a little bit of the ultra-violence...



Australian artist Jodee Knowles channeled Donnie Darko....



Shannon Bonatakis reminds us the gum chewing is rude.



And I swear to you....there are 100 more incredible pieces JUST LIKE THESE!

DO NOT MISS THIS SHOW!

It open tomorrow, Thursday, July 16th, with an opening reception from 7-11 PM.

Make sure you come on through...I'm getting some much needed rest.

Jensen
G1988: LA

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Sol x Simkins



And there it is....Greg Simkins and Amy Sol's collaboration based on "The Neverending Story." Debuted by ArrestedMotion.com.

Goes without saying we think this is one of the biggest, and best, pieces we've ever shown.

Click the AM motion link above to see it bigger...

Jensen
G1988: LA

Back in Effect

Time for another preview! This time from LA artist Lola, who hasn't shown at Gallery1988 since 2005, where she stole the show at our "Remixing The Magic" exhibit with the fine folks at Disney. Well, she's at it again. This time with her take on "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory."



This is just the piece, wait until you see it in the beautiful frame!

So excited to have Lola back in 1988, and happy to have her stand out once again!

Jensen
G1988: LA

Dave MacDowell takes on Rpbert Williams

Artist Davie MacDowell will not only put his own spin on cult movie Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory for "Crazy 4 Cult 3-D," but he will also be reinterpreting a classic piece from a low-brow master. Robert Williams first created his painting, "Appetite For Destruction," for the Guns N' Roses album of the same name. But unfortunately his vision was banned, due to what some might call graphic content. Robert's now legendary piece is seen below...



When it came time for "Crazy 4 Cult" Dave MacDowell took aim at both this painting and the Gene Wilder classic, "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," with his own vision, "Appetite For Veruca."



LOVE THIS PIECE! We're hanging now and this show is going to be one to remember. More later!

Jensen
G1988: LA

Monday, July 13, 2009

Doyle!

It's become a bit of a tradition now to create a poster to promote the Crazy 4 Cult show. And these posters (in the past created by Chris Lee, Andrew Wilson & Scott Campbell) pack so many movie references in one punch (and are so beautiful), it's mind-blowing! This year we asked artist Tim Doyle to create the official Crazy 4 Cult 3-D poster, and we are glad we did. Tim was our secret weapon...literally.



Here he references just about 40 weapons from cult movies, one more obscure then the next. I've wasted easily 20 full hours just trying to figure it out. Which might explain why none of the Cult artwork is hung yet. OK, so just like the last two years, we're doing a contest. Can you name the weapons seen in this Tim Doyle poster? If so, you're kind of a cult movie genius. The key is below:



And here's the thing. Send us an email, matching which movie each weapon is from with the corresponding letter or number we have assigned it. Send it to gallery1988@aol.com, with the email headline "Cult Contest 09." The winner will not only get a handful of prints from this year's Crazy 4 Cult 3-D, but also an Artist Proof of Luke Chueh's "I Asked For Scrambled" print. That thing easily is worth a few hundred bucks. You have until the show closes on August 8th to email it in. GOOD LUCK and aim high.

Jensen
G1988: LA

PRINTS PRINTS PRINTS (from us)

One thing that this year's Crazy 4 Cult installment has over the prior years is PRINTS. We have never in our 5 year history had as many prints available as we will for this exhibit. Arguably, this might have more prints than any of our other group shows combined.

Figured today would be a good day to unveil a fraction of these prints, at least those made by G1988 printing. These are the digital giclee prints we did in-house, with our own process and on our own printers (which is how about 70% - 80% of the prints we sell here are created).



Kirk Demarais
"The Torrances" (from Crazy 4 Cult 2)
giclee print on archival paper
11 x 14 inches
edition of 50
$65.00

Possibly the most anticipated of the prints, Kirk brings back his Sears-like portrait of the Shining family. I know a few people buying multiples of this one.



Scott Campbell
"Cult Tree" (from Crazy 4 Cult 2)
giclee print on archival paper
12 x 18 inches
edition of 35
$100.00

One of last year's most popular pieces was made into a Crazy 4 Cult 2 poster at the time, and that had all the show's text, logos and information on it. It's got dozens of your favorite cult characters done in Scott's signature style, all just hanging in a tree. This year we bring you a super limited version, now on archival watercolor paper, without any of the bells and whistles, just the straight image. This came out beautiful.



Scott Campbell
"Showdowns (Set 3)" (from Crazy 4 Cult 2)
giclee prints on archival paper
about 5 x 5 inches each
edition of 50 sets
$65.00 per set

You know how fast these sets have sold out in the past. We've got a new set, not printing half of last year's showdowns from Scott Campbell. Depicting classic duels from Teen Wolf, Taxi Driver, Princess Bride, Deliverance and Blade Runner - these won't last long. And just wait until you see the new original showdown Scott put in "Crazy 4 Cult 3-D."



Erica Gibson
"Fargo" (from Crazy 4 Cult 2)
giclee print on archival paper
11 x 14 inches
edition of 25
$45.00

The woodchipper! One of my personal favs from Crazy 4 Cult 2, Erica Gibson (who was an OTIS student at the time, part of our first Art Show program with them) knocked it out of the park with this one. Now available as a print, not to mention her first!



Julian Callos
"Class Dismissed" (from Crazy 4 Cult 2)
giclee print on archival paper
11 x 14 inches
edition of 25
$50.00

Our first ever Battle Royale piece from another OTIS exchange member, Julian Callos, now becomes a print. I'm a HUGE fan of the movie, so maybe it was me who made sure this was made into a print, but also tons of people come into the gallery and talk about how much they loved this piece. And since, Julian has grown into one of our absolute favorite artists here at 1988, so it's nice to remember, and hang, the first time we saw him.



Nathan Stapley
"Founding Members Of The SICTT (Society of In Control Time Travelers)" (from CRAZY 4 CULT 3-D!)
giclee print on archival paper
11 x 14 inches
edition of 25
$50.00

A brand new Crazy 4 Cult piece available as a print! This one from NY resident artist Nathan Stapley. A club picture of cult movies' best time travelers, presumably at a meeting I wish I could've went to. The original to this piece will also be available at the show! LOVE this one.

And this is less than half of the prints available in the show!

Like I said, I'll be updating all day, so stay tuned...

Jensen
G1988: LA

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Flesh Wound

Have you seen Krista Huot's Monty Python painting? No? Oh, then here:





AWESOMMMMMME!

This Thursday night - Crazy 4 Cult 3-D at G1988: LA! Also, I'll be updating a few times every day now, all with updates and sneak peeks!

Jensen
G1988: LA

Friday, July 10, 2009

The Artwork is Up!!



Terribly Odd's solo show is now online and available for purchase! Check out the entire show HERE:

http://www.88point5.com

GREAT new series and we are so excited to be working with him. Terribly Odd will also be in our Crazy 4 Cult show next week!

Katie
G1988 SF

On The Daly

Here's the segment that our friends at Last Call With Carson Daly did with Pete Wentz at the gallery about 2 weeks ago, featuring the "Americana" solo show from Reuben Rude. Thanks for the shouts, Carson.



Jensen
G1988: LA

Thursday, July 9, 2009

MY FAV YET!

About a year ago, I stumbled upon the website of artist Dan Lydersen in such a random manner that I can't even recall now how it happened or how I got there. I just remember seeing his work and being totally blown away that #1) he was this good and #2) I had never seen his work before. So I immediately booked him into Crazy 4 Cult, the art show where we book our highest number of new artists (either to showing at galleries in general or just to 1988). And I just sat back and waited to see what Dan would come up with. And today I found out.

Quite possibly one of the most impressive Crazy 4 Cult pieces ever (not quite possibly in my mind, cause I think it is), this painting is epic. Based on the 1485 Hieronymus Bosch painting, The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things, Dan references 19 different cult movies, all in the spirit of the original masterpiece seen here...



Dan took each of the deadly sins, and employed different cult characters into each depiction. Check this out...



I'm nervous the scale doesn't come off on the blog, but it's 30 inches in diameter, and almost every square inch has complexities all over it. Just like Bosch's original, each section represents a different sin. For example, "Envy" (written in Latin on both versions) is represented by Francis wanting Pee-Wee's bike and John Cusack kissing his girlfriend before his life turns to a downhill ski slope in Better Off Dead. "



"Pride" is displayed using The Jesus from The Big Lebowski, the girls from Heathers, members of the world's greatest band Spinal Tap and a small nod to Monty Python.



I'm not going to ruin them all for you, so here are some others...











And in the original, you have Jesus Christ looking on from the middle. In Dan's, it's Edward, with a nice little message from Evil Dead below him.



Dan made a key to point out all the references, as some are very small and obscure, but I won't post it yet because I know you guys like to guess. I'll post it in a few days.

This piece is epic! Can't wait for more!

Jensen
G1988: LA