The Power

2010 is so close. I can feel it. Which means we're just a few weeks away from our newest installment of "Under The Influence," the annual show where we work hand-in-hand with a major influence on the artists we work with to create a tribute show in their honor. Past honorees have included the Walt Disney Company, Stan Lee and Beastie Boys - and this year we partnered with Mattel to tribute He-Man and the Masters of the Universe! Still can't believe this is happening!

The show will open Friday night, January 8th with an opening reception from 7 - 10 PM and it will NOT want to be missed, TRUST ME. We're working with Mattel to create quite a Grey scene in the gallery for the show. And the artwork is incredible - and so many new names in the show to introduce you to.



Bill Carman



Alessandra Fusi



Audrey Pongracz



Jeff Boyes (print)

Our friends at SlashFilm.com ran a story about the upcoming show today....



CLICK HERE for that article, which features almost 20 more pieces that will be seen in the show!

You should not miss this show. It's a wonderful way to kick off 2010 with your sword to the sky!

Jensen
G1988:LA

Cause the Cause

We're honored to tell you guys about a special charity art event put on by our friends at Mattel called "Dream Halloween: The Art Show." Benefitting an incredible charity G1988 has worked with in the past, Children Affected by Aids Foundation (CAAF), there will be a silent auction for original art, mostly from the in-houses geniuses at Mattel (which includes 1988 regular Brandon Sopinsky above) and your bids go to such an amazing cause. We ask you guys to check out their website, www.halloweenintoyland.com and give to a worthy cause and pick up some worthy art! And artists: You can donate art too! Check out the "Donate Art" section to see how!

UPDATE - Art donation submissions can be sent to David.Voss@Mattel.com with an estimated value.

QUICK UPDATE HERE TOO - There will be a preview night that is open to the public. It will be October 22, from 6:30 to 8:30 PM at the Automobile Driving Museum (610 Lairport St. El Segundo, CA). Casual attire, drinks and light food will be served. And get this - a good amount of original He-Man Packaging Paintings from the 80's will be in the silent auction at the preview. The ones from the boxes! BUT LET THIS BE SAID - you will be bidding against me! And all a nice early set-up for the He-Man show we're doing with Mattel in January!

Jensen
G1988: LA

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

I'm focused, man.

Feeling great today. Not sure if it's the full-swinging weekend, the beautiful weather, the fact I'm seeing Dark Knight tomorrow, or just the sound of Melrose traffic, but I'm smiling and amped to celebrate the weekend, forcing me into revealing some of our secrets we got coming up in the next few weeks.

I held this one back yesterday because I was just bombarding you with G1988 Comic Con info, but we'll also be debuting a brand new customized Hot Wheel van at Comic Con, viewable at the Mattel booth. Just to remind you, artists were given this blank HW van to work with and told to do whatever they want to it...



And we had some incredible results at the TOYS show earlier this year. But for Comic Con we decided to go to the big gun, the head honcho of toy customization, Doktor A, and ask him to customize the van for an unveiling at Comic Con. And unveiling, unschmailing. I wanted to give you a glimpse into the INCREDIBLE job the good Dok did here on the blog first!



It is the coolest thing I've ever seen. And you will be able to see it up and close and personal at Comic Con!

And while I'm on spoiling surprises...

"Crazy 4 Cult II: This Time It's Personal" is now right around the corner, opening Friday night, August 22, from 7-11 PM. Hosted again by the minds behind Clerks, Mallrats and the soon to offend you, Zack and Miri Make A Porno, Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier, this show is totally insane. Boasting over a 100 artists, including 1988 newcomers Sas and Colin Christian, this will be one for the ages, as we're holding onto the line-up (our best ever me thinks) for just a little while longer. It will shock your eyeballs. But why not tease you with a piece now? From 1988 fav Ken Keirns, paying homage to a movie that wasn't depicted last year, but is near and dear to everyones' hearts, "Heathers."



"Transfer to Washington. Transfer to Jefferson. No one at Westerberg is going to let you play their reindeer games."

I better get off the blog before I ruin anything else. Hope your day is as good as mine.

Jensen
G1988: LA

Con Jawn

It's a-coming! It's right around the corner, kids. It's San Diego Comic-Con! And it begins this coming Wednesday!

I'll actually be out in SD representing 1988 all week, but this time as an artist liaison for the Mattel company. Following up on our partnered show "TOYS" which opened in April 2008, we'll be displaying many of the customized vans and a few pieces of artwork from that show, this time at the Mattel Hot Wheels booth. And together with Mattel, we've lined up 3 limited print releases and signings with artists that you won't want to miss.



First up we have husband and wife Tampa residents Kathie Olivas and Brandt Peters releasing a new giclee print of "Leadfoot" on Friday, the 25th, at 3 PM. They will also be on hand signing products for you, celebrating their involvement with Hot Wheels' 40th anniversary and the numerous products being made from this actual piece. These prints (from the image you see on the postcard) will be limited to 190 and will be $100 each.

Next up...Ken Garduno will be releasing a print of his piece, "Imagine," and participating in a signing, on Saturday, the 26th, at 11 AM. I couldn't find a great scan of the piece, so you'll have to live with this:



That print will be $65 and limited to 220.

And lastly...



Greg Simkins, a.k.a. "Craola," will be releasing a new print from a piece he created for Hot Wheels and their 40th anniversary celebration (which you see on the postcard above, and soon on shirts) on Saturday, the 26th, at 2 PM. Better line up for this one. The print is limited to only 110 and is $125 each.

Remember, you're also competing with Hot Wheels fans on these.

Come to the Mattel booth and support one of the first moves by a mainstream toy company to include artist and gallery participation at Comic Con, as they do see how important our crowd is. Who knows? Maybe a Greg Simkins designed He-Man toy isn't as far off as you think....

In totally unrelated news, congratulation to 1988 frequenter Allison Torneros!



Allison just left for New York to be a part of MTV's Engine Room, a TV show debuting soon pinning different countries against each other in design and illustration competitions, all in hopes of winning $400,000 and tons of related products. She's one of four people on Team North America, chosen from 1000's of portfolios, so it's kind of a big deal. Wish her luck (not so much in the contest, but in surviving being that close to host Suchin Pak).

And lastly, if you're in the SF area tonight, I highly suggest you make it out to G1988: SF, as "Strangely Mannered," which opens tonight, is hands-down the best show we've had there. Joe Vaux, Brandt Peters, Travis Louie and Scott Schiedly really contributed some of their best work yet to this 4-person exhibition. 7-10 PM tonight, stop on by - you can even say hello to artists Joe Vaux and Travis Louie since they made the trip to N. California.

Have a great weekend ya'll. It's our last chance before the smell of nerd takes over our lives.

Jensen
G1988: LA

Connie Stevens

You've been emailing and asking....I've been waiting. Now let's meet in the middle.







Be the FIRST to pick up the Angry Woebots Shirt/Print Combo for only $65!

at San Diego Comic Con - Saturday, July 26th at 12:30 PM
A majority of the run (which is limited to only 150 total to start, so get there early) will be on sale at SDCC at the Baby Tattoo booth - booth #601
credit cards accepted for the combo
each print hand signed and numbered, 8x10 inches
each shirt on vintage thin jersey t-shirt

Any questions? Email us at gallery1988@aol.com. The small remainder we're holding back for those who won't be at Comic Con, will be available through the Internet soon, so there's that answer.

See you there. More Comic Con announcements this coming week at Gallery 1988 will be present at Mattel's Hot Wheels display this year. Signings, unveilings, prints, OH MY.

Jensen
G1988: LA

Up and Early

Been at the Gallery since 8:30 AM as ABC is filming a nice little segment on the TOYS! exhibit...



Max Grundy is ready for his close-up. Look for this segment to run at 5 PM tonight on Channel 7 (unless we get bumped for breaking news like a 2 headed bird birthed in Switzerland. In that case, it would run tomorrow). I'll link it up when it's available online, as I may have been able to once again sneak the sentence, "...and you can tell by the results" into my interview (a practice I've tried to accomplish since our first coverage in 2005).

Oh, here's a long version of the news segment that's been running all week. CLICK HERE TO SEE THE VIDEO, as this is the Channel 2 CBS version. Weirdly, in LA, our Channel 2 and Channel 9 are owned by the same people, making for a weird deja vu feeling when changing the channels during the news hour.

Shout out to Jack FM, who gave us the same thing during drive time the other day for the TOYS! exhibit. I also want to thank Seth Green for jumping into the press madness on opening night and saying such nice things about the exhibit and the gallery. Good people that Seth.

So, when we do big events like this, sometimes a photographer is hired to take photos of the night and try and get them picked up the Associated Press and hence, published all over the Internet. And they'll take a bajillion pictures, but only about one or two will be ever seen by someone outside of the show production. So I usually get a disc of all the pictures a day or two later, and this disc is always dependable for a dozen or so laughs, and this one is no different. Here we go...and we'll end with this show's winner, finding itself all over the web. These were all taken during the private 6-7 reception we had in the gallery for a Mattel only preview.



Greg has a serious stare down with his Hot Wheels illustration.



The Dangler HAD to smile, even if it just barely snuck in there. I mean, look at how cute that bear is. You have to grin a little. Making an angry face in front of that painting would be like meeting the person behind Hello Kitty and finding out they have a Swastika tattoo on their bicep.



Danielle Rizollo, a newcomer to 1988, not only sold her piece, but also took pictures of other artists' pieces in order to print them on her home Epson and sell them through Photobucket. I kid. She uses Flickr.

Since in my prior life I found myself on a stage a lot, I know that I usually look like a total moron with a microphone in my hand. While talking (or performing) I make faces that would make Peter North jealous. I'm like the John Mayer of gallery owners. Take these examples, as we had a small little presentation for the employees and VIPs of Mattel and our partner charity CAAF.







I mean, really? I look AWFUL.

I also had to introduce Greg Simkins, who did the whole dog and pony show for the press and such. He did a great job, as I know being put on the spot like that isn't exactly what you sign up for when you decide to start showing in galleries.



Here's a better picture of the real size Hot Wheel that was parked outside during the exhibit.



And then the photo guy makes you take a lot of posed pictures, pretending they are candid, which is always good for a laugh. Usually, during these shots, everyone involved is saying, "Man, this is awkward" and laughing, but to anyone looking at the photo on the web, it looks like someone either just told a joke or watched an elderly person fall.









Those are all mixes of me, Greg, the execs at Hot Wheels/Mattel and our representative from CAAF. Here's our 3rd grade class photo.



And as if they didn't get enough attention this week (I mean, it was the dude's first gallery showing EVER and now he has a commission waiting list)...The Browns.



Mark celebrated his first (and second) gallery sale ever and this dude has a future brighter than Ryan Seacrest's teeth.

Even artists got into the staged photo ops. Jeff McMillan and Greg Simkins present: "Amazement."



Which brings us to the TOYS! winner. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the winner, a picture now picked up my numerous sources and plastered throughout the WWW: Jeff McMillan asking you to touch his car.



Don't believe me? Check this out:

Breitbart

AN ARGENTINIAN NEWSWIRE!!!!

A JAPANESE NEWS SITE!

I mean, and that's three I found with a quick search. Congrats, Jeff, you're our Associated Press darling and we couldn't be happier.

On top of that, thanks to Hypebeast for the post, as well as GermanCarScene.com, Clutter Magazine, 4Kidsnus.com, German Welt Online, MetroMix, GoingLosAngeles.com, Flavor Pill, La2Day, The Guide at LA Times, LAist, All About Duncan, DUB, Thrillist and Vinyl Pulse for their coverage.

And there's still more to come. I'm looking at you, Wolf Blitzer.

Jensen
G1988: LA

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