Edwin Ushiro teaser on DailyD

The following is from a teaser of Edwin Ushiro's upcoming show at the gallery via DailyduJour:

"Dailydujour recently caught up with Edwin Ushiro as he was prepping one of his larger pieces for his upcoming ‘Softly Encompassing the Womb’ solo which opens September 12th (7-10 PM) @ Lebasse Projects in Culver City. Edwin’s work has an ethereal quality which is accentuated by his intricate process he’s developed on his own through experimentation. We’re not going to try to fully explain all the nuances, but the basics are that he creates several smaller pieces on transfer paper (used for their transparency which lets light flow through the work) which he then aligns into a larger piece by adhering them to a clear sheet of vinyl. That’s what you see in the picture above and the others after the jump.

As you can see, it’s not for the faint of heart. Take a basically complete piece and then apply heavy amounts of varnish (also acts as an adhesive) and sandwich between a layer of vinyl. Then, patiently and meticulously roll and squeegee out bubbles. As you can imagine Edwin’s had some less than stellar results in the early stages of using this process, but he seemed perfectly calm today."

The rest online here:

Interview with Mike Shinoda

Yesterday afternoon I interviewed Mike Shinoda for DailyduJour.com as he put the finishing touches on his show at the Japanese American National Museum that opens tonight, August 28th.

Make sure to visit a great show that Mike has put together and check out the interview on DDtv here.

Eric Fortune video...

Eric Fortune is one of 6 artists LeBasse Projects is taking to New York for a 3-Day exhibition this November. While working on some of the new pieces for the show Eric created a short time lapse video of part of his process. Eric has sold out all three of his last shows and the waiting list for the few pieces in New York is getting long.

Keep an eye out for the new Hi Fructose Magazine for an interview with Eric. More details on Eric and 'Go East,' the NY show soon.

The Fall Season Opens Soon...

LeBasse Projects presents:

'Softly Encompassing the Womb'
New work from Edwin Ushiro

'Idealistically Hypocritical 3'
by Ryuichi Ogino in our project room

Artist reception: Saturday, September 12th, 7 to 10pm
Music and Beverages sponsored by DailyduJour

Los Angeles, CA - LeBasse Projects proudly presents the return of artist Edwin Ushiro to the gallery with a new solo exhibition, Softly Encompassing the Womb. His latest collection of multimedia paintings will be complemented by that of fellow Japanese artist Ryuichi Ogino, whose Idealistically Hypocritical 3 is featured in the gallery's project room.

Whereas his last foray with the gallery, 2008's While Tides Guide You Back Home, was a bittersweet homage to his native Hawaii, Ushiro's new works continue to use childhood memories as a main source of inspiration, this time with a more distanced perspective as he tangles idealized tales of his own adolescence with fantasy and folklore. Concentrating on his years in intermediate school, this series introduces a cast of characters modeled after real fixtures of Ushiro's past. Woven into the dreamlike scenarios he illustrates is imagery from ghost stories the artist encountered and relished in this period of his youth. The result is a collection of work that is decidedly darker and more mature than others in his repertoire.

While both artists take inspiration from Japanese anime, Ryuichi Ogino keeps the focus on Pop Art, creating work that is more conceptual than figurative. Ogino's artwork ranges from whimsical to edgy with a nod to Takashi Murakami's postmodern 'Superflat' style. The latest of his ongoing series, Idealistically Hypocritical 3, combines elements of modernist illustration, text, sculpture and installation.

Visit with Mark Dean Veca

I had the pleasure of dropping by the home and studio of artist Mark Dean Veca this weekend as he prepared to send work off to his upcoming solo exhibition at Jonathan Levine Gallery next month.

Mark was gracious enough to unwrap some of his new work and talk about where the work is going. Mark actually stepped away from his usual style of fully patterned paintings and focuses our attention on individual images…all the while keeping his signature pattern work inside the character boundaries.

After several shows with massive installations, Veca will be taking a break and letting viewers focus on the work alone, which is actually a nice change of pace. Even in his studio, the ability to focus on individual paintings give you the chance to see his outstanding technique and skill with a brush.

Make sure to catch Veca’s show:

Mark Dean Veca
As Cold As They Come
Jonathan Levine Gallery
Sep 12 thru Oct 10, 2009
Opening Reception- Saturday, September 12th, 7-9pm

We also have a few pieces of Mark's to offer through the gallery, so email me if you are interested.

NEW People building opening in SF

The New People building launched this past weekend in SF with what will be an annual festival in Japantown. It was pretty crazy out there with a Lolita fashion show, JPop bands from MTV, a street fair of foods and beverages and a giant line to gain access to the new building.

If I still lived in SF this would be my new go to spot, much like Royal/T has become in LA.

More pics on my DailyduJour blog:

Yoshitake Amano in SF

I had done a bit of consulting for the newly launched SuperFrog Gallery in SF and they were nice enough to invite me to the private opening and reception for Japanese Pop Artist and illustrator Yoshitake Amano this past weekend.

The SuperFrog is part of an unbelievable new building in Japantown that holds a theater, two levels of Japanese boutiques and the gallery on the top floor. The opening was attended by an interesting mix of several prominent city officials, Harajuku Lolitas and a posse of Amano’s direct from Tokyo.

After the opening we were invited to join the General Consul of Japan at the Japanese Embassy for a reception honoring Amano and the launch of the New People building as part of the revitalization of Japantown. If you are in SF make sure to visit the gallery and New People building…

More pictures on DailyduJour.

Interview: Edwin Ushiro

LBP artist Edwin Ushiro is hard at work preparing his next body of work which will be opening our Fall season this September 12th. He did take a few minutes away from painting for a great interview on "A Thousand Stories." Here is an excerpt:

....Tell me a story from your childhood. A vivid one. A startling one. Are you willing to recount all the details?

One afternoon in his studio, Edwin Ushiro did. He brought to life each child that appeared in a large, unfinished piece of work—pointing them out to me, clearly remembering all of them by name. And they each had a story.

Let him tell you a story.

“Storytelling is so much part of society, you know? Like with the drawings in the dark cave. When a young child comes of age, where he becomes a man, they would take him into the cave and look at the drawings and you would kind of realize where your place is,
you know?”

Edwin’s expressions came slowly, deliberately. As if only a few very particular words or phrases were the ones to spur his incredible imagination, and then conversation. Such a vivid mind. Focused. Thoughts deep in folklore and myth....

Read the full interview here: