Jul 31, 2008

deth eats ny

Gallery favorite mister Deth P. Sun takes on the big apple next month. He also just busted out a print with Tiny Showcase, but I doubt there are any left.



Dont get too excited though, save your pennies for Deth's monster show with project:gallery in October...

nate in the news

Mr. Nate Frizzell has been a man about town, and just put up a new sketch on Sketch Theater, that was done for the new Aesop Rock video.

He's also got a nice little interview on Xymara...



Nate's in working on his first solo show this November, so now is a good time to get to know him - so that you can tell people you "knew him from back in the day."

Jul 30, 2008

ken tanaka, james jean and yoskay yamamoto

Our friend Ken Tanaka was at sdcc too! Here's his day 1 recap with James Jean, Yoskay Yamamoto and part time intern, part time Canadian - Martha Chan.

brainwashed

I did not share this with everyone, but our photog friend Bil was doing a little private shoot at the Mr. Brainwash exhibit last week, and he let Edwin Ushiro and I tag along.

This show got all kinds of crazy hype, and certainly had some mixed reviews - but I had skipped it so far, and was happy to go visit without anyone else around.



We spent a few minutes chatting with Mr. B himself, as he rolled around on his tricycle...



Bil shooting the quite large exhibit. I will say that the show was impressive in scale, though i really doubt how much Mr.B actually did himself. I am sure there are better critique's online, but it seemed to me Mr.B took the best of other street artists (Banksy, Blek le Rat, Fairey, Walker...) and appropriated their style in not as good a fashion. I am sure this was probably part of the joke on us though...



That being said - it was a very extensive setup. I just didn't get the same feeling of awe I got from Banksy's 2006 show in LA. Maybe because nothing seemed original?



Edwin and I got some quality reading time in while we waited for Bil though...





Representing the Westside and Vincent van G.

Wired

So amid all the madness of SDCC, and all the toys to buy our main man Yoskay Yamamoto's "koibito" was listed as one of the top 10 things to buy at the show:

Wired

We could not agree more...

Jul 29, 2008

sdcc day 2

Yes, I realize SDCC is over, but I only have time for one post a day...

We just restarted the hidden art project, by hitting up the wall in our room at the W Hotel. Penthouse suite on the 19th floor if you ever visit.

They have these great blackboards, and we left some great work hidden behind it.







It was beautiful in SD over the weekend, and we spent some time outside the convention center drinking margarita's with our friend Method Man. Meth certainly agrees that project:gallery is number 1, although he was very disappointed we did not save a koibito for him.



Friday evening we went to visit subtext for a show Nate, Yoskay and Tessar were included in. The guys customized a set of Yoka vinyl toys. More on the show here:



Tessar and Erika (the mastermind behind the earlier wall drawings...) at subtext.

Jul 28, 2008

sdcc day 1

Drama getting to San Diego...apparently Thursday morning a tanker semi rolled and blocked the entire 5 freeway. We ended up driving north and going around, managing to get Yoskay to SDCC just in time for his signing with Munky King for the release of his new vinyl toy.



After nearly having a heart attack on the way down - Yoskay finally cheered up when he saw the crowds waiting for him. Yoskay had several prints available aswell, but word is they are all sold out. Contact Munky King to try and grab anything that might have not been picked up.



After nearly two hours sketching and signing, Yamamoto passed the torch to 3 other project:gallery artists - Scott Belcastro, Nate Frizzell and Tessar Lo. Each had prints available for a bit...if there are any left they can be picked up at: a paper tiger.



Not sure who these two handsome gentleman are...



The crowd surging to see who managed to win the opportunity to pick up a koibito...



More coming...

Jul 23, 2008

sdcc is nearly here

Heading down to the Con tomorrow morning. Rolling like Avon Barksdale with two carloads of soldiers, and trunk full of goodies.

HiFructose will be showing off prints from a great lineup of artists including Travis Louie, KMNDZ, and gallery artists Edwin Ushiro and Yoskay Yamamoto.

Speaking of Yoskay, he will be everywhere this weekend. He is bringing a full on gypsy bazaar to the Munky King booth - with his vinyl "koibito" release, as well as several versions of his "kizuna" print.



PLUS a series of gocco prints with hand painted backgrounds...i got mine already...so no need for the inevitable line...



Don't miss Scott Belcatro, Nate Frizzell and Tessar Lo signing new prints too...

Jul 19, 2008

the koibito is coming

Here is a sneak peek at the first "koibito" colorway from Yoskay Yamamoto. This amazing piece of vinyl, that was actually sculpted by Yoskay, is releasing at SDCC this week.



There will be several colorways, but this and the soon to be released "project:" colorway will be the most limited. Come find us in San Diego...

tonights the night

We had our opening last weekend, so the team and I get to go visit a few other shows tonight. Going to meet at project: around 7 if anyone wants to come meet us...

First going to head to Billy Shire to see Shawn Barber's new show. Probably hit Karnowski and Helford galleries after that.



Barber does some great work, and I know he is a favorite of some of my artists as well. Looking forward to seeing his large new portraits...

Jul 18, 2008

nesting nature

I was so absent getting married for a couple weeks, I never mentioned the killer print Nate Frizzell put out with Paper Tiger...

We had the original piece in our "insider trading" show, but the prints look almost as nice - just not as big.



Go get one before they are gone...

Jul 17, 2008

the will

Where there's a will there's a way...new work from Yoskay Yamamoto titled "The Will"...



This piece is off to Vegas for the Crimes on Canvas show discussed a few posts ago. I can't even begin to describe Yoskay's growth as an artist over the last year. Just about everything coming off his easel right now is stronger than the last - and buyers are certainly responding. So is press - check out Yoskay's recent feature in the new Hi Fructose issue.

I think this is the first time we literally have no inventory for him...and I find myself upset at not picking these pieces up myself.

SDCC update

I don't suppose everyone is going to Comic con next week, but it seems like every other person is there. So if you ARE attending, we want to let you know that some of the project: team will be out getting famous.

Yoskay Yamamoto will have daily signing sessions at the Munky King booth, but he is not the only one.

Tessar Lo, Nate Frizzell and Scott Belcastro will be releasing new prints and signing Thursday afternoon at the Munky King booth as well. Tessar's print below is from the Beasts 2 book (thanks spencer) :



Don't miss the Munky King party thursday night either! Yoskay and Scott will be live painting with some other artists.

Yoskay and Edwin Ushiro also will be signing at the Hi Fructose Magazine booth as well. Check local listings for times...more info coming...

Jul 16, 2008

Crimes on Canvas

If you have the slightest inclination to go to Vegas this weekend, here is an added bonus. Several of our favorite artists are in a show titled "Crimes on Canvas" at the Hard Rock Hotel.

Here is Scott Belcastro's piece for the show:



Tessar Lo, Yoskay Yamamoto, Nate Frizzell, Lisa Alisa...all in the show. Plus some other names of fancy artists...

Details:
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas
July 18th & 19th.
The event is part of the 3-day extravaganza celebrating 944 Magazine that includes a poolside concert by De La Soul.

Jul 15, 2008

farewell...

Last week our two summer interns finally went home to Canada. Nimit Malavia and Yuta Onoda were a huge help this summer, and we sent them off with a little bbq.

Here they are telling their families how much we abused them all summer...





We were joined by some of the Munky King crew, as well as the boys' replacement interns. Fortunately for us we will be seeing them both again in a few short months when they headline a sort of "fresh faces" show.

In addition to being great free labor, both the guys are very talented artists in their own right and we expect big things from both of them this fall.



Above: Yuta Onoda
Below: Nimit Malavia



If you want to see more from either let us know, as we have some preview work for their upcoming show...

Jul 14, 2008

while tides guide you back home...

Opened Edwin Ushiro's solo show Saturday night to a very large crowd. The gallery got filled quickly and early...generally people do not go out in LA until after dark, but for Edwin I guess this was different.



We have two new interns Dom and Martha, seen here flanking new project:gallery artist Mari Inukai.



Mr. Ushiro and Mr. project:



Edwin's window display and an eager tourist/intern.



We ended up staying pretty late into the night for us, as the Green Truck was serving food out front, and our resident DJ kept it a lively affair. There are still a few choice pieces available, so go check them out online: projectgalleryLA.com

...or come visit us this month!

Jul 11, 2008

teaser trailer

Thanks to our friends at Modus Films we have a little video teaser for this weekend's show.



Better really look at the few remaining pieces from the show, Edwin has just been confirmed for the Scion Installation Tour and is being commissioned by a huge band for their tour posters. Big things are coming...

Jul 9, 2008

saturday night special

It looks to be a bit of a party in Culver City this weekend...which is kind of why we moved there and gave up a huge space for a small gallery...

We obviously have Mr. Edwin Ushiro's opening , but their are openings at the Lab 101 and the Cerasoli gallery on our block, as well as openings at Royal/T, Scion, Kinsey/DesForges and Kinkead Contemporary.

Just to enhance the evening we have invited the Green Truck to come down and serve up some food for us. I love these guys, they are a totally sustainable operation. The Truck even runs on their own fry oil.

Jul 8, 2008

mr. ushiro is coming...

So I am a bit behind in the blogging, but I have a good excuse. Not giving one here, but its good.

We are getting ready this week for the solo exhibition of mr. edwin ushiro titled "while tides guide you back home"



This show is going to be amazing, as Edwin's work is both beautiful, haunting and very unique in its delivery. We have all the work getting framed right now, but an online preview is up on the website.

Edwin also has a few prints available at the Royal Elastics store in Santa Monica. Grab one before they are gone...