Love Hurts - Just in Time for Valentine's Day

We have a new print release today by Ruel Pascual. "Love Hurts" was one of our favorites from our recent Garbage Pail Kids show at our Melrose location.


Ruel Pascual
"Love Hurts"
giclee print on fine art paper
11 x 14 inches
signed & numbered edition of 30
$40.00

These prints are NOW AVAILABLE just in time for Valentine's Day:
http://nineteeneightyeight.com/products/ruel-pascual-love-hurts

I Get By

THANKS TO EVERYONE who came out last night to the opening reception of "Cackle Factory," and we want to personally thank Brandt Peters for putting together such an impressive collection for his debut LA solo show. I've always felt such a strong connection to Brandt and seeing him put so much effort into this, really just reaffirms my love for the man (no on Prop 8). And related, thanks to his wife, Kathie Olivas, for her help and her contributions to the show, as the collaborations were BIG hits last night.

For those who haven't seen the show, and don't live in LA, you can check it all out by CLICKING HERE. But if you do live in LA, we highly suggest stopping by the gallery. Maybe after your weekly stop at the Hot Wings spot across the street. I C U.

Also, small note about last night. It all felt very positive. I could argue that every show feels positive, but I'd kind of be lying. There were so many incredible artists there - Sas & Colin Christian (who flew in to LA for like 6 hours to be there and support), Nathan Spoor, Lola, Jenny Mollen, Travis Louie, Greg Simkins, Ruel Pascual, Misha, and more I'm sure I forgot right now. But they all were such a strong community last night. Even Dan May called during the show to say he wished he could be there. I think as time goes on, and we hit the 5-10 year mark of this scene (meaning the 25-35 year old artists not painting motorcycles) finally getting traditional art galleries to show this work - it will all work itself out and competition amongst everyone will seem so stupid. Everyone is finding their groove and everyone seems so happy about it.

Jensen
G1988: LA

They Made A PORNO

Censorship has always seemed to shock me. The line of indecent material seems so blurry, I'm not sure how anyone is able to decipher what is "lewd," "dirty" or "unacceptable," and what is not. For example, I find a lot of the things that Ann Coulter says to be censor-worthy (and I don't mean her political beliefs, I mean instances like when she un-ironically called John Edwards a "faggot"), yet I think Sarah Silverman should basically be allowed to say whatever she wants....cause she's joking! I know my theory isn't going to stand up to any debate - cause it's basically just saying, "If you're joking (i.e. Howard Stern, George Carlin, etc.) you should be able to freely move around in the name of satire and society based commentary, but if you're just doing it in hate (i.e. Bill O'Reilly, Larry the Cable Guy, etc.) I think we should take away your rights - and that's a crazy stance. But I have it. And the only reason I bring this up is because 1988 homies Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier have their newest film opening October 31st and it seems the title and poster have been causing quite a stir. First....they were banned from using this poster, which IS allowed to be used in Canada...



...and once that got banned, the US got this....



Which OK, I kinda get. I mean, I'm cool with the first one, but I understand why maybe someone could get the first one banned. But NOW....we're dealing with people banning the posters or ads because the word "Porno" is in the title. SOOOOO, people are pulling the ads down AND FOX isn't allowing commercials to run during the World Series because of the title. And I know it's all a taste thing, and it depends on if you have a family, etc....but because of the word "Porno?" Off the top of my head, I would argue that all those Axe Body Spray commercials are 7 million times worse, but whatever. I kinda just wanted to advertise Kevin and Scott's movie...so there you go.

Back to art - after Ruel Pascual's success a few days ago here on the blog with his 3 new pieces (2 sold, 1 on hold), we figured we'd follow up with some blog exclusive new pieces from LA artist Misha that are so sweet. These pieces from Misha are all influenced by vintage 8-bit video games, part of a series she's been working on since 2005 (p.s. all the rest are SOLD). So break out the Power Pad and check these insanely affordable pieces out...



Misha
"Monkey Love - Game Over For Mario"
12 x 12 inches
acrylic on canvas
$550.00



Misha
"Painting the Roses Red"
5 x 7 inches, framed
acrylic on canvas
$250.00
SOLD



Misha
"Drink Me"
5 x 7 inches, framed
acrylic on canvas
$250.00



Misha
"Eat Me"
5 x 7 inches, framed
acrylic on canvas
$250.00

If you are interested, feel free to call us at (323) 937 - 7088 or email us at gallery1988@aol.com.

Jensen
G1988: LA

Hello Ruel.

My favorite time of the year for weather. That totally confused state where the sun is shining on one side of the street, yet the other side is overcast and 65 degrees. Last night the Art Rally opened in SF and from what I hear and see in pics, that thing was packed to the gills. Lots of incredible artwork still available by CLICKING HERE. And we did get the cover of the SF Weekly Arts and Entertainment section, which is great to see that scary monster stuffed animals and customized vinyl toys can get peoples' minds off the idea that people think Obama is "Arab."

Every once in a while we like to debut artists to the 1988 crowd through the blog, and going off what's happened in the past, it's usually a great start (Rude and Mark Brown were our first two to get the blog treatment). And now, we'd like to introduce you to Ruel Pascual. Ruel is in the animation and video game industry and will be showing his more personal work at Gallery 1988 in group shows during 2009, and we're really excited to finally show his work off. For his day job, he's worked on Kung-Fu Panda's character animation and Pixar's Monsters Inc. 3-D website, but also video games like Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Golden Axe and Area 51. You'll be seeing more of him in 2009, especially now that he's on the blog and that seems to be a favorite for galleries to pick new artists from, and here's three three to kick it off...get em while they're cheap.



Ruel Pascual
"The Playground"
11 x 14 inches, framed
oil on board
$550.00
SOLD


Ruel Pascual
"Magnolia Kid"
11 x 14 inches, framed
oil on board
$400.00



Ruel Pascual
"The Chase"
14 x 11 inches, framed
acrylic on board
$300.00
SOLD

You can email us at gallery1988@aol.com or call us at (323) 937 - 7088 if any of these interest you...

Jensen
G1988: LA