My Lights And Action Were Messed Up

I've had some issues with my camera lately, so please excuse the photo heavy update today, but I gotta get you back in the groove here.

First up, we had the 2-day Kurt Halsey Frederiksen Meet & Greet last week, and it went really well. I know I called the Kurt fans "the word I must not speak again" once, but now I can call them "friendly." They really are the kindest art buyers around. Which works out, cause Kurt is a nice dude himself. My favorite fact about Kurt I realized this last week: He may depict some sensitive, girl oriented, emotional artwork - but dude is a SERIOUS football fan. Listening to him talk about vintage Cunningham (not THAT Philly Young Gun vintage Randall, but the Purple Monster Minnesota version) might be one of my favorite "I own an art gallery" moments. Anyway, so the events were fun and lots of Kurt fans (some even travelling from Texas) were ecstatic to meet him. Witness the strength of street knowledge:











And trust me when I say, I can not forget the newest member of the Gallery 1988: LA family.



I got a dog. Yes, his name is Benjamin and he is a 4 month old Bugg (hybrid of a Boston Terrier and Pug) and he is totally freaking adorable. I know it's hard shoes to fill with Finnigan the Mini Pin moving to SF, but I think Ben (or Benny, but NOT Benjy) could do it. I dare you to not to smile. At least at this picture:



No, those are ACTUAL shorts, not my boxers. But YES, I am hairier than those werewolf kids that Maury Povich used to always have on his talk show. Anyway, he's a genius and we welcome him with open arms (and a bag for picking up his stinky poo) into the 1988 clan.

Jensen (and Ben)
G1988: LA

THEY'RE BACK!

For this year's "I Am 8-Bit," Scott Campbell created 27 small PacMan paintings and we've made a sweet little print set with 5 of them!



These little guys are 2 3/4 x 2 3/4 inches each and limited edition of 50. They'll be sold individually or in a set of all 5! And Scott is going to hand sign and number each and every single one!

These prints will be ready next week and will be available in LA and SF, as well as on our website! Hooray!

Katie
G1988 San Francisco

HE'S WATCHING YOU

...weird HTML code put this thing all over our regular Gallery site too. We've gotta talk with our host.

Also, make sure to head over to the new forum at the Kid Robot website, that I'll be moderating, revolving around fine art! Come speak on prints, artists, originals or just show off your collection. Hence, I will also be watching you...but not as much as The Silent One.

Jensen
G1988: LA

CRAZY FOR CULT

Start your engines.

Jensen
G1988: LA

This Land is His Land

I know I'm supposed to focus on art, and I'm currently getting ready for the KHF Meet and Greet tonight at 6-9 PM, as well as leaking one of many teaser video trailers for July's CRAZY 4 CULT group show on Vinyl Pulse.com, but I couldn't let this pass.



Reported in the Daily Mail in the UK:

This 60-storey house is for just one family.

India's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, is planning a palace in the heart of Mumbai with helipad, health club, hanging gardens and six floors of car parking.

His wife, mother and three children will live there with him, looked after by 600 live-in staff.

Construction has already started on what will eventually be a 175m tower and planners are aiming to complete it in September 2008.

Earlier this year, Forbes rated Mr Ambani as the richest resident Indian with a net worth of US$20.1 billion.

He came 14th in Forbes' 2007 worldwide rankings.

Currently he is chairman of petroleum major Reliance Industries Ltd, India's largest private sector company

The building, already worth £500 million, could start a rush on skyscrapers.

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The thing that struck me most is that he number 14 on the Forbes' list. Number 14???? What are these other 13 people living in? This shit is so Fifth Element I don't know what to say? Why 6 floors of parking? For LA reference, that's the Grove's parking lot. And who wants to replicate that? Is this art?

Jensen
G1988: LA

Meet, Greet, Feet.

No eye infections on the horizon, as the Kurt Halsey Frederiksen Meet & Greet is happening Friday night (June 1st) from 6-9 PM and Saturday afternoon (June 2nd) from 12-3 PM. Kurt will be in the Los Angeles gallery signing autographs, taking pictures, kissing babies, giving his take on the recent Elizabeth Hassleback comments, Kobi Bryant's behavior, tasting grape soda, etc. He also has promised some gifts for those who attend either day, as well as a sneak peek into some future projects he's working on. Should be a fun night, and what better time to buy the two remaining pieces in the show, then in front of the artist himself? Alright, that was stretch. But we'll have fun no matter what.

See you there.

Jensen
G1988: LA

SAN FRANCISCO - SNEAK PEAK

Hello!

Here's a very early sneak preview from our next SF show "Back For Seconds," which opens on June 29th...



That amazing piece up there is by Kathie Olivas and is called "Girl Canary Mask." That's one of three pieces Kathie is contributing to the show, along with 36 other exciting artists! "Back For Seconds" is going to be a great show and I'll post another teaser or two over the next few weeks! Stay tuned...

And check out Kathie's website here!

Katie
G1988 San Francisco

Stuff Me.

I was contemplating a title that incorporated how much I ate yesterday (2 turkey dogs, a BBQ chicken breast, and 3 bags of the new cheeseburger flavored Doritos can make one rather "stuffed") and the plush dolls for our next exhibit, "Packed and Loaded," in LA, but I figured it was just to 'Memorial Day obvious." You tell me.

Anyway, we've been showing one-of-a-kind handmade plush art here at Gallery 1988 since our first year and it's given us a fun little fanbase that normally doesn't come to art galleries. AND, the cool part is, many of our everyday art collectors have also gotten in on the fun, buying plush while also noticing the prices and demand have risen over the past 2 years within the genre. Horvath's Ugly Dolls may have just paved the way, but i think some of the artists we've been showing, especially during the last two years' Plush Weeks, are taking it a step further.

And I do love plush, but I have NO IDEA how these creatures are made. I mean, they just appear one day at the gallery in a box. That's it. But Jen Rarey, one of my favorite plush artists, is one of the 8 artists in our next show (where she is the only "plusher" amongst some GREAT painters), and she was nice enough to send me this picture and let me in on the secret a bit:



Deflated little guys, huh? This is right before the stuff and sew portion, and I figured I had to post it. Sure, you've seen plush art, but have you seen the steps before plush art? Next time you see these guys, they'll be stuffed fatter than Carney Wilson asking you to "Hold On For One More Day." Obviously, pre-surgery.

Jensen
G1988: LA

A Horse is a Horse

3 day Holiday weekends don't mean much when you own and work at a gallery that is always closed Mondays, and almost always open on Saturdays. So while you're striking up the BBQ and playing old Donnie Hathaway records, I'm staring at the only 2 Kurt Halsey pieces still available for purchase and playing Donnie Wahlberg records (OK, not really. But the double bookend useage of Donnie seemed to be literary).

But I did venture down the street to Munky King again, this time to say hi to old friend EWOK 5MH (NY), who released his new toy, the Horselington, today. EWOK showed with us in one of our first art shows back in 2004, "Three Corner Hustle," with REVOK (who I also saw today when he got his oil changed across the street. Thanks, Jiffylube!) and TOTEM TATS. AAAANNNNDDD....EWOK also did produce a nice little landmark in the gallery bathroom back when we first opened...



So when I pee, I think EWOK (and not just because I'm hairy, you jerk). Anyway, here are pictures of EWOK's toy and the man himself (who is starting to look a lot like vintage Groucho).



And who could miss the sneak peek at Buffmonster's upcoming toy, which looked great and numerous in colorways.



So go back to your corn and the cob, and I'll go back and stare at my EWOK in the bathroom. No, not that! You're really mean to me and I'm not sure how much more I can take.

Jensen
G1988: LA

Name Brandt Goods

It's not every single day that I get email sneak peeks at Brandt Peter's paintings for our upcoming "Packed and Loaded" group show in Los Angeles, which will open June 19th, 2007. OK, it's every 3 weeks. BUT STILL! Look at the progress in Brandt's work, not just in this piece, but on the piece that sits on the front of the exhibit's postcard (viewable on our regular website in "Future Exhibits," I can't give you everything). Watching his growth over the past year has been a transition to marvel, as his rendering has become some of the best in the biz. I really can't wait to see the rest of his pieces, and two will get the distinction of becoming prints available during the show. Excuse my gimmick infringement on Mr. Simkins (who is almost mid-flight to his 2-man in Philly right now), but this Brandt dude is a monster.

Jensen
G1988: LA