GRSF : Tree Show III

Oooh there is a lovely new show coming to Giant Robot SF! I am definitely planning on seeing it before it gets taken down. Here are the details:

Tree Show III at GRSF, July 14 - August 8
Reception: Saturday, July 14, 6:30 pm - 10:00 pm

Giant Robot is proud to present Tree Show III. In the tradition of its predecessors, this group exhibition will feature arbor-inspired pieces by painters, illustrators, and other creators from street art, indie comics, printmaking, design, and crafty art backgrounds.

Some of my favorite artists will be participating! Including: Apak!, Bigfoot, Calef Brown, Richard Colman, Matthew Feyld, Fawn Gehweiler, Susie Ghahremani, Kathleen Lolley, Beci Orpin, PCP, Ferris Plock, and Kelly Tunstall.


This year's Tree Show will also be a fundraising effort for San Francisco's Friends of the Urban Forest, a non-profit organization that plants over 1,500 trees a year to keep San Francisco communities green. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of artwork will go towards their efforts. For more info: www.fuf.net.

Mr. solo show in NY!

Oh man, I am so bummed about missing this Mr. show at Lehman Maupin Gallery in NY! Mr. is one of the members of my favorite artist collective, KaiKai Kiki. This was Mr.'s first solo show, and the gallery was filled with huge paintings and sculptures. Judging from these photos, it looks like it was amazing!

Merry Karnowsky 10 Year Anniversary

This Saturday is the Merry Karnowsky Gallery 10th Anniversary exhibit, entitled "Decade". The show will feature artists such as Richard Colman, Dalek, Shepard Fairey, Friends With You, Camille Rose Garcia, Junko Mizuno, Miss Van, and others. I am unclear if this show will be new works by these artists, or pieces that have already been shown at MK Gallery in previous shows. I also don't know if these artists will be in attendance at the party this Saturday. Thought I would share the info anyway though, because this list includes some amazing people, and if it is new works, and the artists will be there, then that is pretty rad!


'Decade' runs June 30- July 28
Image above by the wonderful Miss Van.

KozynDan : Tales of the BunnyFish

KozynDan "Tales of the Bunnyfish"
Opening Reception:
THURSDAY JUNE 28th
7-10pm
Kozyndan will be in attendance for the opening reception.


Location:
Magic Pony Gallery
694 Queen St West , Toronto ON Canada


Exhibition runs June 28 - July 29 2007


From the Magic Pony press release:

Magic Pony is pleased to present a new exhibition with Kozyndan. Tales of the Bunnyfish captures the chimerical adventures of the darling and mischievous bunnyfish.

Through painting, drawing, photography and sculpture, Kozyndan transcribe the infamous bunnyfish exploits for the first time. A fun-loving familiar, the promiscuous Bunnyfish travels the world with Kozyndan, posing for photographs in a variety of compromising situations. An expression of endearment, the fate and fortunes of Bunnyfish hint at the whimsical philosophies of Kozyndan.

Jeremy Pettis

Thanks to the ever-awesome Not Cot, I came upon Jeremy Pettis' zoological MIAD Senior Exhibition: Twenty Six Types of Animals. The fonts Jeremy created reflect the different animals! I really like manatee, emu, and dolphin!

Kirsten Ulve Prints

Kirsten Ulve has some lovely prints available through Junie Moon Gallery. All of the pieces are really affordable at $250, and they are also available in a large canvas print format. You can see more of Kirsten's super cool illustration on her site!

TokiDoki tonight @ MunkyKing

Simone Legno will be signing his new vinyl toy duo, Adios & Ciao Ciao tonight at Munky King on Melrose.
Simone is super nice, and whenever he has signed toys for me in the past, he has always added a cute little drawing too.

I can't believe the huge success TokiDoki has achieved as a brand over the past year! Simone's art is everywhere- on Fornarina shoes, Smashbox Cosmetics, LeSportsac bags... it's on so many different products! I think a lot of times when artists start putting their images on a lot of different products, they start to get lazy and forget to interpret the art for the particular item it is going to appear on. Simone is one of the few artists who seems to really consider the usability of an item, and design it accordingly.
Simone is definitely the "it" designer this year, and I am very happy for him and his success!
Also, check out the brand new TokiDoki website, it just got updated, and the TokiDoki blog, too!

Please Vote!!

Hi! The Fred Flare voting booth for 'Next Big Thing' 2007 is officially open! Please take a moment and vote for me!


Vote here for Bored Inc.
<3

Souther Salazar : Space Cadets

I am so excited for Souther Salazar's upcoming solo show. If you are in NY, please go support this super-talented artist.
Here's the press release!

Jonathan Levine Gallery (NY) Presents:
Souther Salazar
Space Cadets
Project Room: Solo Exhibit

June 23rd - July 21st
Opening Reception:
Saturday, June 23rd, 5pm - 9pm



Jonathan LeVine Gallery is proud to announce Space Cadets, a solo exhibit of new works by Souther Salazar. This exhibition will be the artist’s first solo show at Jonathan LeVine Gallery and his largest exhibition to date. For Space Cadets, Souther Salazar presents an alternate universe, where nothing is realistic and yet everything is familiar. His exhibition includes large-scale mixed media works on panel, ink renderings on paper, and sculptures created using a variety of materials and found objects.

In his latest body of work, Souther Salazar explores the relationship between reality and the imagination, merging the two realms to create an adventurous new world. Tapping into his interior monologue, Salazar blends daydreaming with stream-of-consciousness techniques to create his characters and environments. For Salazar, what one perceives as a lack of focus, or being “spacey”, is conversely an acute sense of the time and space in which one exists.

In his artistic process, Salazar switches from working in modes of extreme control to inviting chance and flux. He juxtaposes rich details of recognizable things, such as weeds, antennas, and chimneys over tactile layers of collage, acrylic, and ink, celebrating spontaneity and the process of exploration with medium and subject matter. To further draw the viewer into his creations, Souther develops his stories beyond the two-dimensional plane into sculptural form. An installation of paintings in boxes and shelves with figures made of papier-mâché and fire-baked clay invites the viewer to use their imagination to discover hidden stories whose narratives multiply upon closer inspection.

Fred Flare : Next Big Thing 2007

Sorry for all this Bored Inc. promotion. I promise this is it for a bit... but YAY! I won the Fred Flare Next Big Thing contest! Fred Flare sells my Nesting Doll Coin Purses, and now my Candy Wall Decals, too! I am super-excited!

Post #100!!

YAY! I have made it to 100 posts. To celebrate, I would like to announce the opening of my long-awaited webstore! It has taken me years to finally put everything together, but it is all up-and-running and there are lots of cute little items for you to enjoy. I'll have lots of new products coming soon, so check my Flickr page for updates, and go visit my Bored Inc. webstore!

Knocked Up & Bored Inc.

Now, for some shameless self promotion! Did you see 'Knocked Up'? My shirt made it into the final cut! There is a long scene (involving an earthquake) where Seth Rogen wears a 'Bored Inc.' logo tee! YAY! (Too bad I can't find a production still of it anywhere)

Hotel Tomo

I am itchin' to go to San Francisco and stay in the newly renovated Hotel Tomo (formerly the Best Western Miyako Inn). The gaming suites have a Wii and PS3, and there are anime-inspired murals in every room done by one of my favorite Japanese artists, PCP. The restaurant has a PCP mural too! Looks like we are gonna have to fill up the Prius and take a little trip!


PCP
PCP

inVentsville

Oooh I really like the new vinyl toy series from Damon Soule. Here's a description taken from the Magic Pony site: "As almost all of Damon Soule`s work, Life inVentsville is a dynamic half organic universe. It is a fully vented and mechanically enhanced world where machines are born (not built) and the natives are a blend of industry, nature, and a touching humanity. Where imagination is king and no boundaries exist, what will you find inVentsville?"

inVentsville is a 16 pc. blind box set.

Geoff McFetridge

One of my favorite bands, The Whitest Boy Alive, has an incredible video for their song 'Golden Cage' drawn by Geoff McFetridge.

Embroidery & Stitching in Art

I (attempt) to sew, so when artists mix textiles, embroidery, and quilting into their work, I'm always drawn to it. I love the way it evokes nostalgia, yet it can still be something that looks quite new and modern. Caroline Hwang is, of course, one of my favorites, and so is Saelee Oh. (Saelee has a new print available in her online shop, Lemonade Maid.) I just discovered Katie Henry, (image above) on the Free People Blog, and her work is incredible as well. Megan Whitmarsh does amazing embroidery work, I love her Yetis!


Saelee Oh

Megan Whitmarsh

Megan Whitmarsh

Caroline Hwang

Electric Gardern @ Compound

Tonight in Portland is the opening of 'Electric Garden' at Compound Gallery. This show features the works of Apak (♥), Peter Hamlin, and Betsy Walton. The show theme is electricity, and aside from individual works by all three artists, there is also a large wall collaboration.


“Electric Garden”

Compound Gallery in Portland

Reception: June 7th 2007 at 7:00



Apak

Peter Hamlin

Betsy Walton

Tado

Tado, the awesome design duo of Mike & Katie from the UK, has finally opened their online shop! You can 'consume, consume, consume' with tees, prints, toys, bags, sticker packs, and more!

Tado's most recent show, 'Immature Miniatures', in Paris, featured collaborations with Jon Burgerman. They also designed an amazing Mushroom Hoodie for Kid Robot, and their newest vinyl wonder-fullness, Ryoko & The Sissyfists, will be released soon. I am thrilled to see the much-deserved success of these hard working, super nice people. YAY for TADO!

Buff Monster Insanity

So, I went to "Happy Squirter" with pretty high expectations. The solo Buff Monster show had been hyped by everyone and anyone, and it was packed (even though I got there right before security stopped letting people in.) It was totally amazing! The body of work was huge, and versatile, and had a lot more range and depth than I was expecting. The color palette remained congruent in all the pieces, which brought a nice continuity to everything. Check out all the pics here, and I am also posting a sneak peek at the Buff Monster toys coming out later this month- I want them all!

Friends With You

Oh man, spending time on the Friends With You site today put me into a cute-magic-in the universe-wonderland-super stooper. I made wishes with Buddy Chub, I let my mind float away looking at the Skywalk parade, I colored in my new 'Rainbow Valley' coloring book... the site is fantastic, go spend too much time making wishes and having fun! Oh, and make sure to watch FWY Reel 07 in the Gallery, it is super amazing!


3 New Art-Life Goals Inspired by Friends With You:

1.) Never miss a Skywalk again

2.) Push little kids outta the way and visit the Aventura MAll Indoor Playground designed by FWY

3.) Make a wish for the world at Moca's FWY Power Pond.