Monday, February 28, 2011

In LA

We're so close to the opening of the Greg Simkins curated epic art show, "INLE," where 100 artists will reinterpret Greg's favorite book/cartoon, and a major source of inspiration for his own career, Watership Down. It opens March 11th and has one of the most impressive lineups we've ever seen. Figured today was as good as ever to show some previews, especially a few that have been blazing through the Internet the last few days...



Josh Keyes is one of those universally loved artists, and for good reason. I remember maybe 5 years ago, when LA Weekly had Josh do an illustration for their cover (CONGRATS to them, because they were EARLY!), and it absolutely stunned me. He was about to show at Fecal Face in SF, and it was obvious this guy's talent was going to end up on some serious walls. And it has. Words aren't going to help explain how beautiful this piece is, the picture above does that perfectly well for itself already. But here are some words directly from Josh Keyes about the acrylic on board piece -

"This was influenced partly by Richard Adams Plague Dogs as well as the Inle character from Watership Down.

The products depicted in the painting are made by companies that continue to test on laboratory animals including rabbits.

The crows are in the shape of Inle and I though Black Angels was fitting in that though the act and natural behavior of carrion birds and other scavenger animals is disturbing (to us) it is part of the natural cycle of life. I see the crows as an active agent of liberation, freeing the lab animals bodies from a life of torment and by consuming and breaking down the body the animal is absorbed into the energy of the life cycle."

Again, I won't be able to say something better than the piece does, or Josh did himself. Just wanted you to see it.



I'm not giving you a second to catch your breath. Up next is Amy Sol, an artist who has graced our walls before, and we're so happy to have her back. This piece follows the tradition of Amy knocking it out of the park and takes a very emotional, soft look at the pages of Watership Down.



LA artist Scott Belcastro is a great example of how varied and different everyone's pieces are. Although they used the same pages for inspiration, hardly anyone was on the same page. Scott gives us a panoramic view of the countryside, the calm before the storm one might say, and it stands out as one of my favorites so far.



Martin Wittfooth is known at Gallery1988 for making one of the most memorable pieces from our LOST art show, and we couldn't be happier to be exhibiting a painting from him again. This time he gives us a portrait of the Watership Down character that seems to speak thousands of words. Such an innocent glare in the eyes.



Jason Limon's piece is might be my favorite yet from him (and that says a lot, as I had two of his pieces hanging in my place). This one makes me smile, which is ironic, cause I can;t keep a dry eye when I watch the Watership Down cartoon.

Hope you dug our 1st look at the show, and we'll have more previews in the next 2 weeks!

Jensen
G1988 (Melrose)

Sunday, February 27, 2011

K-E-N!

Gallery1988 (Venice) is gearing up for its first solo show on March 12th, featuring the outstanding work of artist Ken Keirns.



We've been looking forward to this one for quite some time and now that we've seen some of the show's pieces, we are even more excited. Time to share!

Here are 3 pieces from the upcoming impressive exhibit...







Mark it in your calendars now, as "Alone With Ghosts," a solo show from artist Ken Keirns, will open March 12th, with an opening reception from 7-10 PM. He's hands down one of the most talented painters we show, so you'll want to see this one in person! I'm looking at you L.A. peeps.

Jensen
G1988

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Here Comes The Fuzz

And here come the sneak peeks into INLE...

1st up....artist Dan May's incredible contribution....



Jensen
G1988 (Melrose)

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Interview with Greg Simkins about INLE

In anticipation of the upcoming INLE show here at the Melrose location, artist, and curator of the show, Greg Simkins and I sat down at computers and talked over this new upstart Internet company called Skype. This thing is gonna be huge.

Anyway, here's the transcripts from that chat.

----

Jensen Karp
Hey man. I think we may live too close to each other to actually use Skype for its intended purposes...

Greg Simkins
by intended purposes you don't mean you are going to ask me to undress right?

JK
FOILED!

GS
not going to do it man, not for any amount of cookies

JK
fair. so your first curated show ever is right around the corner and my first question is super important....ISN'T IT HARD CURATING ART SHOWS????

GS
YES! thanks man, you didn't say that I was going to actually have to do work... I've got a whole new respect for what galleries have to go through and I am not even responsible for half of it this time around. I mean my involvement is still just a fraction of what y'all have to do

JK
Now you're just being sweet. So explain to me the concept of this show and what it means to you

GS
Well as you know the show is called Inle,´which is a character from my favorite childhood story "Watership Down" by Richard Adam's, which I believe was published in 1972. As a kid my mom rented me the movie on BETA, yup beta. I was abbout 5 or so and as she left the room with her little boy entertained by the movie about bunnies, then something weird happened. There were pools of blood, rabbits tearing each other to bits and it was a lot more gruesome than she probably inteded to let me watch. Years later, when I was about 12, my grandparents took us on a road trip and my Grandpa purchased me Watership Down to read along the way. It made sense of all those images and became a real important book to me. It was about heroes escaping oppression and good versus evil and all that good stuff that can leave an impression on a young kid. It was at that age that I began drawing rabbits.... a lot.. I even raised a bunch of them and gave them the names of the ones in the book.

JK
And that was always kinda of the slippery slope for me as a curator and gallery owner, when people would ask what some of the references in your paintings were referring to. It wasn't a secret per se, but it also isn't something you just come out and say in regards to "Watership Down." Was that intentional? Because once you told me about the show's idea, my initial reaction was to tell you "I don't know what you're talking about."

GS
Yeah, I have always snuck tiny references to my favorite story in my pieces, be it "INLE" scribed in a wall or a tree or the number 280 which is the page which references the Black Rabbit of Inle in the edition of the book my grandfather bought for me. I was always fascinated with the dual idea I had gotten of this charachter from the movie and the book. Since he is Death per se´, at least to rabbits, they feared him, but what they really were afraid of was the unknown. In the movie, Inle leads Fiver to a wounded Hazel which ultimately saves him from death. It is Inle who appears for a fraction of a second again to Hazel at the end of his life and takes him to a future of unknown adventures on the other side. I just found him mysterious and created my own stories for him since he isn't mentioned a whole lot throughout the book. He is more of an under tone, or a shadow present throughout much of the book

JK
What was it like telling artists about the using this point of reference to create new paintings for the show? Did any of them know exactly what you were talking about?

GS
I was surprised by how many of the artsists had similar occurance as kids seeing the movie. I also found that a lot of them were just as taken with the story as I was. Especially Josh Keyes who enjoys listening to the sound track at times while painting, which I found fascinating being that I had a suspicion he was a fan of Richard Adams before I had even thought of doing this show. A bunch of the artists went out and bought a copy of the book and read it and enjoyed it which I was super stoked about. Part of me wanted to do the show just for the purpose of inspiring our collective audience to read the book. So much of our world is focused on entertainmant via movies and television and the internet these days, it is my way of saying, don't forget about the millions of great stories out there just pages away

JK
I don't want you to pick favorites, but tell us about some of the artists you're excited to see contribute to the show, especially when imagining them reimagining your favorite character and book ever.

GS
Wow... there are too many and they were all selected because of my respect and admiration for their work. But to answer your question - Josh Keyes of course, Alex Pardee, Gris Grimley, Martin Whitfooth, and Ron English definitely stand out. I am super stoked to see Matthew Bones and Colin Christians work especially since he works in 3D. Gosh I am looking down the list ight now and don't feel it is right to choose favorites, too many man. They are all going to be dope

JK
It has to be considered one of the best line-ups in our scene's history, let alone just at the gallery. It feels like everyone is going to bring their A game. Tell us about your contribution to the show.



GS
I had to take this piece serious since it is one I have been wanting to do for a while. I haven't ever fully tackeled a straight up "Watership Down" piece more than hinting at it and hiding various portions of it through my work. I'm looking at it right now and it is one of my favorite pieces I have painted to date. I toned down my color pallette using only black grey and red. I based it upon all the creatures that "The Lord Frith" which is the God charachter in the book, made to hunt and kill rabbits. Inle sits on a clouded mound of these creatures almost the king over death. He sits among the gravestones of our favorite heroes from the book who inevitably will have to pass on. Their ghosts are seen flying upwards to the moon in the background and onto other adventures and life after death. It's almost as if the dangers in life be it the fox, owl ,cat and weasles are no longer a threat to them in Death and Inle has just ushered them on.

JK
I've only seen the pictures and it's stunning. The opening is March 11th, 7-10 PM, and we're just excited to see the who's who of artists walking around the gallery to be honest. And to see the debut of Greg Simkins' curating (which by the way is a "hard job" said by Greg Simkins). Thanks for doing this interview!

GS
I'm excited too, man, it should be a good time, I am surprised by the emails of artsists who are flying out for the show! it should be a real good time. Thanks Jensen for the opportunity!

Friday, February 18, 2011

WHATTALINEUP!

Here's the official line-up for the upcoming Greg Simkins' curated show entitled "INLE." If this isn't epic, I don't know what is.

Aaron Della Vedova
Aaron Jasinski
Adam Hathorn
Alex Garcia
Alex Pardee
Amanda Louise Spayd
Amy Sol
Annie Owens
Anthony Ausgang
Anthony Filo
Attaboy
Audrey Kawasaki
Augor
Axis
Beast Brothers
Belin
McEvoy & Rodriguez
Bob Dob
Brandi Milne
Colin Christian
Brian Despain
Thomas Lynch III
Haste
Buff Monster
Camilla d'Errico
Carrie Ann Baade
Charles Wish
Chase Tafoya
Chet Zar
Chris "Devious" Gliebe
Chris Ryniak
Christian Rex Van Minnen
DabsMyla
Dan May
Dan Quintana
Daniel Danger
Dave Correia
Dave Flores ATC
Dave Pressler
David Choong Lee
Deph
Dytch 66
Scribe
Eric Merrill
Eric White
Jason Limon
George Thompson
Fred Harper
Graham Curran
Gris Grimly
GUnnar
Tomi Monstre
Jenny Mollen-Biggs
Johnny Vampotna
Jon Beinart
Jordan Buckley
Steven Daily
Jeff McMIllan
Johnny "KMNDZ" Rodriguez
Joshua Clay
Joshua Keyes
Shaun Kasl Singer
Kevin Dickinson
Kevin Knight
Kevin Peterson
Kris Lewis
Logan Hicks
Luke Chueh
Man One
Mark Bodnar
Martin Wittfooth
Matthew Bone
Maxx 242
Meggs
Michael Page
Michel Gagne
Mike Mitchell
Mike Stilkey
Misha
Miss Mindy
Molly Crabapple
Naoto Hattori
N8 Van Dyke
Nathan Pearce
Natoe
Neko
Nicnak
Nicholas Charles
Nome Edonna
Peekaboo Monster
Persue/BunnyKitty
Peter Gronquist
Poor Al
Pose
Rabodiga
Rask Opticon
Retna
Revok
Robert Bowen
Roland Tamayo
Ron English
Rory Keating
Sam Flores
Sas Christian
Sergio Hernandez
Skinner
Skot Olsen
Sram
Tara McPherson
Jason D'Aquino
Jason Maloney
JAW Cooper
Jeffrey Page
Jeff Soto
Jen Lobo
Jeremy Fish
Jeremy Sutton
Jersey Joe
Rime
Jesse Smith
Joe Capobianco
Joe Hahn
Joe Ledbetter
Joe Vaux
Tim Hendricks
Tony Curanaj
Travie McCoy
Travis Louie
Tyke Witnes
Vic Back
Yosuke Ueno
Lyte
Werk
Zoso

Can't breathe. Too much typing.

Jensen
G1988 (melrose)

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Steve Martin & John Candy



Last night was tons of fun as we opened our new Venice show - "The Road to Shermer: A Tribute to John Hughes." We had a great turnout and everyone seemed to enjoy reminiscing about their favorite scenes from Ferris Bueller, The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles and the many many amazing movies created by John Hughes. I thought it would get you in a nostalgic mood to post a video that our friend Jeff Yorkes made of clips from one of the greatest movies of all... Planes, Trains & Automobiles (yes another John Hughes masterpiece). This made Ariel and me smile this morning when we got to the gallery, so hopefully it makes you smile too. http://vimeo.com/19720549

To see more amazing John Hughes moments, check out the artwork from the new show, which is now online here:

Originals - http://nineteeneightyeight.com/sf/rtsfeb11.html
Prints - http://nineteeneightyeight.com/sf/rtsfeb11print.html

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Set Recap

With all this excitement between the Scott C. success and the upcoming John Hughes tribute on Friday at G1988 (Venice), we didn't really have time to wrap up what was our biggest show ever at G1988, "Is This Thing On?"

What an insane exhibit! Thanks to everyone who was involved, especially our co-curators, Michael Rapaport and Chris Kurumada, and our friends at FunnyOrDie, who not only helped publicize the show, but also helped us produce the viral video that took everything to a very crazy place! If you haven't seen it yet, check it out by clicking HERE. We're approaching 200k views on FOD alone!



Some of the coolest days during "Is This Thing On?" is when comedians/funny people who were depicted on the walls actually stopped by to see the show. Here are some highlights...









And we had Neil Patrick Harris (he was in the SF Sketchfest Scott C piece) and Jeffrey Ross swing by too!

And the good news is...we're doing it again next year with FunnyOrDie! And this time, we might have some other friends involved too.

Fun times...

In the meanwhile, we have two NEW pieces to celebrate the close of "Is This Thing On?" - both are totally amazing.

First up, we have Ellen Schinderman's ode to "Arrested Development" in the form of a custom embroidered family pillow. This thing is so true to the show, it's incredible.



This pillow is only $300.00 and you can purchase it directly from our website by CLICKING HERE.

And secondly, Sarah Sae Soh has delivered a second piece, a beautiful companion to her Eddie Murphy "Coming To America" ode that sold during the exhibit. This one is a tribute to Steve Martin and his first film role in the "The Jerk."



It's called "Stay Away From The Cans!!" is 8 x 10 inches, acrylic and gouache framed and only $275.00. You can purchase this piece directly from our website by CLICKING HERE.

We're also currently getting ready to release a print set from Sarah, that will include both this Steve Martin image AND the Eddie Murphy one. So that's awesome.

Adios Comedians Show. Till next year.

Jensen
G1988 (Melrose)

announced...

More details have emerged regarding "INLE," Greg Simkin's curated G1988 (Melrose) show...



Read DailyDuJour's preview which includes much of the line-up (!!!!!) and some sneak peeks...

CLICK HERE FOR THE COVERAGE.

CAN. NOT. WAIT.

Jensen
G1988 (Melrose)

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

I Want My MTV!



In Venice this week, we're setting up our new show "The Road to Shermer: A Tribute to John Hughes." The entire show features artwork inspired by the movies John Hughes created, including some my personal all time favorite movies like The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Planes, Trains & Automobiles, Home Alone, Pretty in Pink, and the list goes on and on. This show is really a perfect match for Gallery1988 and we're hearing a lot of excitement about it. MTV just covered the show on their Clutch blog, so a HUGE thank you to Adam Raymond for putting the images online. You can check out the article here and see some sneak peeks from the show: http://clutch.mtv.com/2011/02/08/11-amazing-artistic-depictions-of-john-hughes-movies/.

Stay tuned for more images coming over the next few days. And defintiely stop by the opening this Friday, Feb 11th from 7-10PM at Gallery1988: Venice.

Katie
G1988: Venice

Monday, February 7, 2011

Drake and Shake

A new print release here at G1988! This time it's a favorite from 2010's Crazy 4 Cult from artist Drake Brodahl inspired by the classic film "The Princess Bride."



Drake Brodahl
"There Was A MIghty Duel"
14 x 11 inches
hand signed and numbered edition of 25
$55.00

You can purchase this print, it's just as easy as CLICKING HERE for more details. There are only 25, so move quick!

AND, there's no better time to tease our next show at Melrose opening March 11th.



The Greg Simkins' curated "INLE" show, featuring 100 artists interpreting the understated hero of Richard Adam's Watership Down. YOU WON'T BELIEVE THE LINE-UP. I hardly do. More info soon...

Jensen
G1988 (Melrose)

Saturday, February 5, 2011

CONTEST WINNER AND ANSWERS

So, for everyone who attended The Great Showdowns exhibit last night, we have the answers and results of our "Name That Movie" contest. Just a reminder, 21 of the never-before-seen Showdowns were only titled with a number, leaving it up to the gallery-goer to decide which movie was being depicted. We handed out little forms to fill-out and wished you luck. If you got all 21 films correct, you got your name in a little Lottery and we picked one winner from the bunch. That winner will get their very own Showdown from Scott C. - of ANY movie you choose. May I suggest Leonard Part 6?

Here are the answers...

#1 - The Lost Boys
#2 - Ben-Hur
#3 - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
#4 - Footloose
#5 - Bram Stroker's Dracula
#6 - My Neighbor Totoro
#7 - The War of the Worlds
#8 - Cheech & Chong's Up In Smoke
#9 - Monty Python's Life of Brian
#10 - O Brother, Where Art Thou?
#11 - Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
#12 - Hedwig and the Angry Inch
#13 - Mon Oncle
#14 - Mean Girls
#15 - Singing in the Rain
#16 - Babe: Pig In The City
#17 - 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea
#18 - Forbidden Zone
#19 - Say Anything
#20 - True Romance
#21 - Desperado

Annnnnnd, here's the exclusive list of the 11 movie geniuses who got all 21 films correct, but were not chosen in the very official (aka we put your names in a hat) lottery.

Josh Garrell, Brandon DeVine, Amanda Sankey, Sarah Charleton, Richard Sankey, Andrea McCallin, Kristen Crabtree, Jessica Hoffman, Rob Renzetti, Tracy Royce and Jesse Warren,

And the one LUCKY winner, who will get their very own Showdown, of ANY film they choose (even if Scott has the buy the DVD), is....

JESSICA COFFIELD!

Congrats Jessica and we'll be emailing you soon!

We're already coming up with ideas for next year's contest, so keep you guessing hats on.

Jensen
G1988 (Melrose)

It went down.

What an amazing, fun time we had last night! Thanks to everyone who came out to Scott C's Great Showdowns opening reception. It was packed, in the perfect "we can still see the art" sense, and Scott was signing posters/coasters/babies/cats/etc. And so many people participated in the film naming contest. We'll have the answers and winner announced here on the blog later today.



The response to the Showdowns has been incredible. So many have found great homes and there are still some amazing Showdowns left.

You can see all the painted Showdowns, and purchase directly from our website, by CLICKING HERE.

And you can see, and purchase, the newest Showdowns giclee print set (#6) and the Coaster Set, by CLICKING HERE.

THANKS to Scott C. most importantly. That dude created 200 Showdowns over the past year and we were honored to have displayed them. And here's the GOOD NEWS - we're doing it again in 2012.

Jensen
G1988 (Melrose)

Friday, February 4, 2011

COASTING

The Great Showdowns exhibit from artist Scott C. will open in just a few hours, as the opening reception runs 7-10 PM tonight. All 200 of the Showdowns are hanging and it looks so impressive. And we also have these:



The Great Showdowns Coaster Set! They're limited edition and are only $35. And they come with a sweet little wooden coaster holder. These will be available tonight 7-10 PM and on the Internet starting tomorrow.

Scott will be hanging out all night, which is awesome. And don't forgot the contest where if you can name all the unmarked Showdowns in the gallery - then you have the chance to win your very own Showdown - where you can pick ANY movie. Scott may even have to rent it if he hasn't seen it. And that would be ridiculous.

Hope to see you tonight!

Jensen
G1988 (Melrose)

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

SCOTT C!!







Steadily approaching, Scott Campbell's "The Great Showdowns," will open THIS Friday, Feb. 4th with an opening reception from 7-10 PM at G1988 (Melrose). By now you know that Scott will be in attendance and that over 200 new Showdowns will be available and on display. These things you know.

BUT, we're also going to have an opening night contest that can not be missed. A few dozen of the Showdowns will not have their cinematic inspiration listed, so you'll be in the dark about what film has influenced the piece. The gallery-goer who can name the most films correctly by the end of the party will get a FREE Showdown of a movie of their choice! Just tell Scott what movie you want to see, and you'll get your own painting! Just like that. GOOD LUCK.

And that's not all for the opening night reception. Act now and we'll throw in the release of the newest Showdown print set and the Great Showdown Coaster set release. That's right, DRINK COASTERS! These are so cool and they have to be seen to be believed. They are also very limited, so keep that in mind.

THIS FRIDAY at Melrose, join us why don't you.

Jensen
G1988 (Melrose)