VeePee

And like that, an LA art tradition is over. We opened Vivisect Playset VI last Friday night and had a great turn out and had quite a fun time. Big thanks to Luke Chueh, and all the artists involved, for a beautiful show. You can see all the artwork, and check out what is still available at http://thedeathofvivisect.blogspot.com.

And try to stop by, the show will be up only until December 10th, making room for our next show....

Jensen
G1988:LA

Early Animal Carving

Usually the day before Thanksgiving is slow, and I'll be sitting at the gallery desk wishing I could leave early. But today, is a whole different story. Since we're opening our newest show, "Vivisect Playset VI - The Death of Vivisect" on Black Friday, November 27th, we're all working as slow as we can, unwrapping the incredible work and checking out every detail. This show is an annual exhibit, now in it's 6th (!!!) and final year, curated by LA artist Luke Chueh and the gallery, in an attempt to unite artists who all employ animals in their work to convey the human condition. We consider the first Vivisect Playset show to be the quintessential art show that lead us in the direction and lane the gallery currently drives in - and this year is not only shaping up to be the finale, but also possibly its strongest year. This year, in addition the almost 20 artists creating original artwork for the show, we also have a handful of artists creating customized toys out of the Vivisect vinyl set that came out 2 years ago. It's a nice celebration to put an LA art tradition to bed.

Since we'll all be eating tomorrow, I figured we'd give you one of the best sneak previews we've ever given on the blog today. All pieces from the upcoming show on Friday. And also, announce what I think is the coolest shirt in 1988 history.

Vivisect alum Amy Sol delivered a beautiful piece...



Vivisect freshman Ewelina Ferruso's piece is absolutely stunning, and in person it's even better if you can imagine. The colors and vibrancy are unline any other piece we've seen.



A Vivisect Sophomore Ben Strawn is slowly becoming my absolute favorite artist. His pieces, on layered plexiglass, are dimensional and stunning. All you have to do is ask someone who's seen one in person...





(detail)

Vivisect Freshman Mark Brown just gets better and better and better. The realistic Lion face is an awesome sign of his progression.



Another artist who continues to progress is Vivisect alum Roland Tamayo. The past 2 years has seen Roland get such a distinct, and emotional, voice in his work. I really love the memories his pieces stir up. This one is no exception.



Alum Daniel Elson combines the worlds of his signature mice and Luke Chueh's popular Vivisect Playset vinyl bear mask with this awesome sculpture.





Just a few samples of the beautiful show we'll be opening this Friday night from 7 - 10 PM at Gallery1988: LA. Aaaaaand, in addition to the pantings, drawings and toys, we'll be offering a brand new, limited edition t-shirt from Luke Chueh. I always joked with Luke, telling him he's never made an iconic Luke Chueh shirt, leaving that job to the bootleggers. I'm happy to say we'll be releasing what I believe is the iconic Luke shirt I've always wanted.



These will be available once the show opens at 7 PM on Black Friday ONLY. I know you're going to email, and you know I'm going to email you back and tell you we have to wait until Friday. Just putting that out there.

Hope to see you Friday night and we wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.

Jensen
G1988:LA

Ben

Mondo!

Not many pictures were taken on our end during the Mondo "Badass Cinema" event at G1988:LA Friday night (but we did get one of the line running out the door!) because we never stopped selling posters! The Mondo team was in town for Designer Con, but we ruined that plan since we sold out of 90% of the stock they brought for the Con the night before. Pretty incredible! Thanks to everyone who came out, and special thanks to Justin and Mondo, Mitch at OMG, Kevin Tong, Harry Diaz and Skinner, who all did their thing and helped make this incredible night a success.

Remember, this Friday, BLACK FRIDAY, we will open our final Vivisect Playset, curated by Luke Chueh and Gallery1988, with an opening reception from 7-10 PM. More details, and previews, soon!

Jensen
G1988:LA

This is the end

We're celebrating the opposite of life. BLACK FRIDAY.

Jensen

G1988:LA

Beauty Solved

Finally coming down from the opening reception of Greg Simkins' "The Pearl Thief," and we really wanted to thank everyone who came out to support the show. Evolving with Greg since the first time he showed with us 5 years ago has been the most rewarding aspect of owning Gallery1988 for both Katie and I. Makes you wonder if good things really do happen to good people after all. The work from this new exhibit are stunning and you can see them all by CLICKING HERE. I really hope any of you that can make here to the gallery by November 22nd to see the pieces in person do so, because some of these have to be seen to be believed. And that includes...

(all pictures stolen from Arrested Motion, which you should visit to see more pics from last night)

Greg's largest piece ever, "The Pearl Thief," clocking in around the 8 foot mark. This is the most detailed, intense painting I have ever seen in person. I noticed people staring at it for easily over 30 minutes. The new proud, and envied, owner of this beauty, filmmaker Nick Cassavetes stopped by the show to see the final product in person, which was an awesome ending to the process of creating, and displaying, this monster. Here are a few more pictures of pieces in the show...

And onto the puzzle. So we created an art show puzzle last night, that had a few teams of people literally working the entire night in hopes of cracking. The person who solved the puzzle, travelled to a nearby destination then returned with the needed bounty to the gallery - got a free 5 x 5 inch painting from Greg. That is painting was this - 

Listen, the painting wouldn't be cheap...so we weren't making it easy. The puzzle master would also have his/her name added into what we now call "Simkins Folklore," seeing their name pop up as the rescuer of Matt Riddle's dream in future pieces and writings. Which is awesome.

So anyway, we had a lot of people try - but about 4 teams worked the entire night. And one of the teams, puzzle masters from 42 Entertainment, came away victorious. Johnny "KMNDZ" Rodriguez and Mike Borys solved a puzzle that can't be easily explained, but I'll try. A majority of the pieces in the show had a number written below the price tag. Take that number and count the letters in that piece's title - to get the letter you need pull from that title. So if "6" was written under the tag, and the tag said the piece's title was "This Puzzle Is Hard," you'd pull a "U" out. BUT, it wasn't JUST that easy. We didn't give you 2 letters simply. For example, one tag was missing an "L" - it said "The Pear Thief," so it's a good idea to remember a missed "L." So, as I said we weren't making it easy. Once you have all the letters, it's a scramble. It would eventually spell out "Shamrock Social," the world renown Tattoo parlor on Sunset Blvd. When you went there, they handed you a special Pearl setting, and a note from Greg bringing you back to the gallery to claim the painting. Whew.

And it was solved in about 2-3 hours. Truth is having 42 Entertainment even attempt our puzzle is like asking Bono to listen to your demo. So it was an honor to even have them participate. Here's Johnny claiming his prize...

We hope to do this more often, because creating puzzles like this are really a passion for me and involving Greg was awesome. 

So, please stop by before November 22nd and see this show. Cause after that...we're killing Vivisect. BLACK FRIDAY.

Jensen

G1988:LA