We met a young skater named Charles Martin, an interesting guy studying at SFAI, through our friend Henry Gunderson. Charles would stop in the gallery from time to time, and the last time he came through he told us he was off to NYC to study at Cooper Union where his brother also studys. Getting into Cooper Union is no small feat. They're one of the most selective schools in the U.S. Well known for their art and science programs, C.U. admits students based on merit alone and provides each with a full-tuition scholarship. A FREE top rate highly demanding education.
Charles Martin is now showing in the group show 11.11.11 running through Dec 17th at San Francisco's FFDG.
Age? Location? Website?
Twenty, New York City, I do not have a website.
Describe your work a little bit.
The things I make are a reflection of my ideas, coupled with a strong desire to make them tangible.
Our world is on my brain a lot; I like to think that if I'm conscious of what's going on that it will naturally filter into my work.
Most of my art is an investigation, sometimes about very specific content, and other work may strictly be about the medium.
I make work that references the past, and at the same time I like to read my imagery as futuristic. When I look at my paintings the first thing that comes to mind is making them, so in this way each becomes a mirror of the time in which they are created.
In a lot of my pictures I draw outer space, I feel that there is a strong connection between the universe and the mind. Both infinite in possibility and mass, I enjoy drawing from outside of the atmosphere because it allows me to explore.
Limitations exist with drawing from land, more recently I've been trying to make stuff that combines unbounded space with our flat world. Picture compositions that display an earth embodying characteristics of space, and then imagine the opposite.
Music heavy on your playlist these days?
A lot of hip hop, Jazz, Instrumentals, Nas Illmatic!
Stopped through Rebel 8 clothing HQ last week to see what their up to. We've known Joshy D. 10 plus years back when he was doing the SF graffiti site, HiFiArt.com in the early days of the internet when Fecal Face was just getting its start. Nice to see Mike Giant, whose designs adjorn many of Rebel 8's clothing, and Josh doing so well.
Joshy D., founder of Rebel 8
Original artwork from Mike Giant work on the walls.
Nathan is curently showing in the group show 11.11.11 up now @FFDG here in San Francisco through Dec 17th. We've been interviewing the 10 artists participating in the show over the last couple weeks. Say hello to this talented Canada native.
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Age? Location? Website? And who do you think you are?
Romulus and Remus": Rice paper overlay, ink and acrylic, on paper, 4ft x 4ft, 2011.
Describe your work a little bit.
My work depicts scenes from a dripping, glowing, shifting world were a cast of delinquent characters struggle to unearth a greater understanding of my personal mythology. Springing from past, present and future the narratives of my work are entangled and multilayered, destruction and creation often become indistinguishable as the characters constantly chase their goals in circles: their quest for personal clarity constantly unfulfilled.
Music heavy on your playlist these days?
70’s punk, 80’s hardcore, weird rock n’ roll, random originals.
Fireside Installation (aka: "Smoke-Spirit") : Paint, weat-paste, and digital print, 2011.
"Hands-Off Houdini!": Rice paper overlay, ink and acrylic, on paper, 22in x 22in, 2011.
Favorite mediums to work within?
Paper: painted, inked, printed, cut, glued, sewn, you can make anything with that stuff!
Dream job other than artist?
Photojournalist, Cultural Documentarian? Something that would offer the opportunity for travel too, and immersion in, a multitude of places & cultures.
Arthur Pollock @ SF Camerawork
Book Release party and 3 day exhibition
In coordination with the release of their newest title, Unpiano Books threw one of their quick 3-day exhibitions (remember the Sandy Kim release?) using the great space that SF Camerawork has to offer. The show was a quick collection of original prints from the 60's and 70's, as well as reprints that had been blown up in honor of the release. We managed to get some photos before things got too crowded to see any of the work and captions, which were not included in the show, have been added here for the first time.
You can also refresh your memory on what the book looked like by checking out our preview here.
Winnie is curently showing in the group show 11.11.11 up now @FFDG here in San Francisco. We've been interviewing the 10 artists over the last couple weeks.
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Age? Location? Website? And who do you think you are?
WALLS & FRAMES: FINE ART FROM THE STREETS Edited by Maximilliano Ruiz
Published by Gestalten, Germany.
24 x 26 cm
272 pages
Hard cover
The FedEX man just sung through FFDG with this treat for us to share with you. A thick ass book featuring some of the best "street artists" out there today. We add quotes next to street art, because it's debatable whether all of these artists are street artists or not, although, it could be said that many came from a street art/ graffiti background- or aethestic. Whatever the situation, it's a great book and thanks to Gestalten for sending us a beautiful copy for us to enjoy. You can get your own copy for only $37 at Amazon. It's well worth the price.
Walls & Frames launch parties will be hosted at Gestalten Space Berlin on December 1st and at Pictures on Walls London on December 8th. For the occasion each launch party will showcase a limited edition of original hand-finished book sleeves made by Walls & Frames featured artists.
Swung through SF's 941 Geary last night to preview French stencil/ street artist Blek Le Rat's (our recent interview) solo show whose show 60/30 opens this Saturday, Nov 19th (6-9pm).
Blek has been doing street art/ stenciling throughout Europe since the 80s. This January marks his 60th birthday, and Blek has been creating art over the last 30 years. Dancing, graffiti, figures and a horse here and there.
I recently got a copy and shot some preview images of The Art of Todd Bratrud: Seen Unknown, the second installment in Mark Batty Publisher'sSeen Unknown series, edited by Winston Tseng. The Seen Unknown artists series covers artists and designers whose work in various fields --from sneaker and apparel design to product packaging, posters, high-profile ad campaigns, and fine art galleries --are often recognizable, though their creators' names remain unknown--until now. (Back in March, I went to check out Marc McKee's show at HVW8 Gallery, whose book The Art of Marc McKee, was just released as the first part of the Seen Unknownseries.)
The Art of Todd Bratrud: Seen Unknown
Winston Tseng and Todd Bratrud
Publication Date: November 2011
Page Count: 96 pages
Size: 6.5 x 8.5 inches
Paperback $19.95
A nice package from Winston and the folks at Mark Patty Publishers. Thanks for the book and catalog!
This fine book is filled with 96 pages from Todd's wild imagination, featuring his bold lines and eye-popping colors. It covers all of Todd's many art and design tentacles from work with his own companies, The High 5 and Teenage Runaway, to the best in the business, including The Skateboard Mag, Consolidated Skateboards, Flip Skateboards, Enjoi, Familia Skateshop, Burlesque Design, Volcom, Nike SB, Burton Snowboards, and Creature Skateboards. Oh yeah, did I mention that the book is only $19.95? A fine affordable price I might add.
--------- El Tonayense taco truck will be there providing FREE tacos as a gift from some friends of FFDG. Tasty tacos and other Mexican fair will be served from the truck 6-9pm. Get there early.
Mario's show "Everything Under the Sun" opens up at FFDG Friday, Nov 11th (6-9pm) at our temporary gallery space at 248 Clement St @4th Ave in the Inner Richmond. FREE Tacos from El Tonayense - * Music from BLKTOP Project featuring Tommy Guerrero, Ray Barbee, Chuck Treece and Matt Rodriguez - * Vodka from Blue Angel.
We're going to featuring some mini interviews with artists participating in the group show 11.11.11 opening up at FFDG's temporary gallery space at 248 Clement St @4th Ave in the Inner Richmond on Friday, Nov 11th (6-9pm).
Also opening that same night at FFDG is the solo show, Everything Under the Sun, with San Francisco based Mario Martinez (Mars-1).
Age? Location? Website? And who do you think you are?
Modern folk art inspired by life, love, death, friendship, nature, our struggles and mistakes and the mesmerizing glow of the campfire.
Music heavy on your playlist these days?
Rolling Stones, Starfucker, Timber Timbre, Connan Mockasin, Boards of Canada, Camera Obscura, Club 8, Kool Keith, Blue Cheer, etc. It changes all the time.
Favorite mediums to work within?
Acrylic, ink, reclaimed house paint, old stained paper, found wood chunks, pinecones, papier-mâché.
Dream job other than artist?
Teacher or chef/owner of a restaurant.
When not creating work, you can be found doing...
Hanging out with the wifey, reading, teaching, camping, BBQing, running, walking and playing records in my garage.
How would you describe your work to a stranger who's never seen it?
I make paintings, drawings, sculptures, prints and installations. Sometimes I paint figures and sometimes I create these clusters of faces or heads using textures, patterns and line work. The work can be illustrative and sometimes it's completely abstract. They usually nod their head and say, “Oh, ok.” But they usually have no idea what I'm talking about until I show them the work.
Upcoming projects/ shows?
11.11.11 @ Fecal Face & a few other group exhibitions throughout the rest of the year. Super secret magic plans for 2012.
What gives you the right?
Um, I dunno. I just make sure no ones looking and then I just go for it. I'll worry about the consequences later.
Last words?
Trust your gut.
* FREE Tacos from El Tonayense
* Music from BLKTOP Project featuring Tommy Guerrero, Ray Barbee, Chuck Treece and Matt Rodriguez
* Vodka from Blue Angel
Australian born, New York based artist KID ZOOM (Ian Strange). Returned home to Australia to build a massive full-scale replica of his childhood home from memory at Cockatoo Island's prestigious Turbine Hall in Sydney.
KID ZOOM : HOME is Strange's first exhibition in his homeland of Australia in 3 years and represents a multi-layered home-coming for the artist. Coming home to reflect on his origins as an isolated teen in the Australian suburbs the installation also involves a film work of Strange blowing up and then smashing 3 iconic Australian cars.
As you enter the house it becomes a gallery inside which is showing the film of the cars being destroyed.
I would drive around with friends in similar model cars with friends when I was younger, painting, getting in trouble and occasionally crashing them. The Holden Commodore is also a staple of the Australian suburbs, you'll see one parked in the driveway of nearly every outer suburbs home in Australia. For me it is a symbol of suburban culture and under-ambition. The rejection of the suburbs and the desire to simultaneously destroy and create your own environment at the same time as enjoying its safety is the contradiction I'm reacting to. I think suburban angst led me to being an angry graffiti writer when i was 16, but with this installation I've been able to return home to create a more refined work using that same emotional catalyst and perspective from having somewhat escaped. -Kid Zoom
We're very to announce 3 very exciting developments in regards to Mario Martinez (Mars-1) show opening up @FFDG's temporary gallery space (248 Clement St. @4th Ave) Friday, Nov 11th (6-9pm).
Firstly, the El Tonayense taco truck will be there providing FREE tacos as a gift from some friends of FFDG. Tasty tacos and other Mexican fair will be served from the truck 6-9pm. Get there early.
Curator of Double Punch, Ryan De La Hoz, emailed over a lil' taste of their upcoming show All In All opening Saturday, Nov 5th (7-11pm) featuring works from Timothy Karpinski, Ryan Bubnis, Scuba, William Emmert, Bwana Spoons, and Amy Ruppel.
Ryan Bubnis
Scuba
Timothy Karpinski
William Emmert
Double Punch Gallery
1821 Powell St. @ Filbert
"All In All"
Nov 5th - Dec 4th 2011
Opening Reception Saturday Nov 5th 7 pm till 11pm
Works from: Timothy Karpinski, Ryan Bubnis, Scuba, William Emmert, Bwana Spoons, Amy Ruppel
We're going to featuring some mini interviews with artists participating in the group show 11.11.11 opening up at FFDG's temporary gallery space at 248 Clement St @4th Ave in the Inner Richmond on Friday, Nov 11th (6-9pm).
Also opening that same night at FFDG is the solo show, Everything Under the Sun, with San Francisco based Mario Martinez (Mars-1).
Age? Location? Website? And who do you think you are?
I am inspired by what can happen to someone who breaks free from any form of oppression, physical or mental. I think that I make my best work when I am recollecting on a time where I may have felt lost or lonely and have since recovered. I play off feelings of former isolation.
Music heavy on your playlist these days?
Real Estate, Women, cLOUDDEAD
Favorite mediums to work within?
Cut paper and ink
Dream job other than artist?
Professional skateboarder
Now I'm Lost no. 2, 10 x 10, ink on paper, 2011
When not creating work, you can be found.
Walking around with an Ipad at the Oakland Museum of CA
How would you describe your work to a stranger who's never seen it?
I am terrible at this. I have only recently become comfortable referring to myself as an artist. Workin' on it!
Now I'm Lost, 10 x 10, ink on paper, 2011
Upcoming projects/ shows?
I am working with The Hundreds, Museums Press, StumbleUpon, Terroreyes.tv, and Little Paper Planes on different projects.
What gives you the right?
The benevolent creator of us all or the Big Bang take your pick
This day may have been inevitable, but now it's finally here. In its attempt to take over the world - or at least everything that can be bought and sold in the world, Amazon is launching an art gallery.
This summer Amazon is planning to launch a Fine Art Gallery where customers will be able to purchase original artwork offered by a select group of invited galleries via Amazon.com. ~continue reading
A new HBO documentary looks at the work of street artist JR, whose giant portraits force people in troubled areas to confront the humanity that's all around them... On the day JR found out he'd won the $100,000 TED Prize, the French pasteup artist found himself in China being questioned by police for doing his thing on the streets of Shanghai. ~continue reading
Street artist JR HBO documentary premiered yesterday, May 20th
Art lovers, collectors and gallerists will gather on Thursday for Hong Kong's inaugural edition of Art Basel, sealing the city's status as an international art hub and Asia's leading art destination... Hong Kong has surged to third place in the global art auction market behind New York and London and Western galleries are falling over each other to open franchises in the former British colony. ~continue reading
Our buddy Ferris Plock opens a small show of drawings at Benny Gold on 3169 16th St this Friday, May 24th (7-10pm) featuring 31 drawings priced at 75-140 bucks.
Ferris also released the video Fingered! he produced with animator Jim Dirschberger. View it
Wowzas, there's a lot of art happenings this weekend, and while you're making the rounds, be sure to stop at SFAI's MFA show Currency opening Friday, May 17th at the beautiful old SF Mint Building (88 5th Street).
SFAI's 2013 MFA graduates—working in painting, photography, printmaking, film, sculpture, installation, digital media, performance, and across media—will present work that embraces the Institute's signature spirit of experimentation and conceptual risk-taking.
Opening reception: Friday, May 17, 7–9 pm & running through Sunday 11-6pm daily. -- complete details
London based Pedro Matos opens the solo show Building Castles Made of Sand this Friday in Los Angeles at the Martha Otero Gallery featuring a new series of oil paintings on canvas and azulejo panels - a traditional Portuguese medium of hand-painted, tin-glazed, ceramic tile work.
San Francisco -- CCA opens their 2013 MFA Thesis Exhibition this Thursday, May 16th at their SF campus. Every year another graduating class produces steller work. One of the best SF art events worth getting to, but be sure to get there early as there's always a long line. ~details
The Book and Job Gallery (San Francisco) really stepped it up with the opening of Daniel Chen's loveBlast on May 4th. Complete with a doorman, piano player, old fashioneds, and some really nice paintings, I could hardly believe I was at the Book and Job. The paintings varied in size, and the show was balanced nicely between them, the spray-can work on the walls, and the smaller drawings displayed throughout. The kind notes Chen wrote on the walls are certain to brighten your day, and the rest of the work is definitely worth a look. It was a very classy evening and I hope they continue to intersperse shows like these into their schedule in the future
FFDG opened up the group show featuring original works by the artists of the world famous Skull & Sword tattoo last Friday here in San Francisco. Thanks to the huge crowd who turned out to support these four incredibly talented artists. Here is a taste of the show, and be sure to swing in to view in person. The show runs through June 8th.
Gary Baseman's retrospective "The Door is Always Open" at the Skirball in LA opened recently to massive crowds in a huge celebratory opening party. The exhibition is so complex and personal, delving into Baseman's background, family history, and all the layers of prolific work that he has done over the years. After the opening festivities winded down, I caught up with Baseman for an interview. We discussed the underlying meaning to some of the components of the show and how it felt for him, coming from such an honest personal perspective in putting this massive show together.
Fertile Menace, a new show of Mark Mulroney's (NY) work opened at Ever Gold on May 4th and it's not one to be missed. It is intelligently hilarious, with jokes riffing off sex, Foucault, and the body, and while it makes you laugh it's also going to make you think.
Our buddies Jay Howell, Andreas Trolf, and Jim Dirschberger are hyped as their show, which they've been working on for like 2 years, premieres on Nickelodeon Saturday. From the trailers we've seen so far and from what Jay has told us about, the show is going to be pretty epic. Congrats to those radical fellas.
Here's a little taste of work by the artists of the world famous The Skull and Sword tattoo shop who open their show at San Francisco's FFDG on Friday, May 17th (7-10pm).
Following his solo exhibition "The Collected" at Gallery Wendi Norris, painter Amir H. Fallah is in the throes of developing more new works for upcoming international exhibits. We spent some time in his studio in Highland Park, Los Angeles recently, discussing his process and inspiration.
We were first introduced to the photography of Spanish born NYC based Bubi Canal when he emailed us his great video Trust in Me a couple years ago. His solo show Special Moment recently ran at NYC's Munch Gallery in February, and he recently released his newest video Chrystelle below.
Although I missed the opening of Northern-California photographer Michael Garlington's newest show, Constructed Realities, I was fortunate enough to see the work still up during the Metaphysical fundraiser a couple weeks back at 111 Minna. Metaphysical fundraiser, an auction to benefit Wayne Ernzer. --- The ghoulish photographs in their heavy, hand-made frames are reminiscent of photos from the old west, and the glass crucifixes, complete with fetuses and guns, emphasize the accumulated time within the works themselves. Whether you're looking at the frames, the photos, or both, this show deserves a visit, and a walk through the golden archway Garlington constructed around the front door.
Fecal Face contributor Rachel Ralph (rachel(at)fecalface.com) has been profiling this Oakland based painter as he travels about Japan. In this segment, we feature some photos as he prepared for this show and residency at Spes-LaB in Tokyo which opened last weekend. Arnold will be featured in SFMoMA's Minna Street windows on June 8th.
Last Saturday, here in SF's Mission district, Guerrero Gallery opened two new shows with Philly based Alex Lukas and SF based Richard Colman respectively. Colman's work occupied the project space while Lukas' work and foliage was presented in the main space. Worth getting to if you haven't already.
Just got back to SF after a little trip south to Sayulita, Mexico. After 10 years without a vacation, me and the Mrs. headed south for some mental time off sitting in the sun, swimming and enjoying the watery Mexican beer. Here are some photos as we get back into the swing of things again.
Athens, Greece based designer, architect and artist Dimitris Polychroniadis emailed over more of his work which consists of mixed media, pop-humorous diorama sculptures that make a comment on the harsh realities my country and much of the world is facing at the moment.
FFDG will open a group show with the artists from the famed Skull & Sword Tattoo on Friday, May 17th (6-9pm). Artists: Grime, Henry Lewis, Yutaro, and Lango. Below are a series of videos on Grime for Vice's Tattoo Age produced in 2011. Fascinating look at one of the greatest tattoo artists alive today.
ARYZ (Spain) opened his newest gallery show at Fifty24SF last Friday and, if you live in the Bay Area, you need to go. This dude can obviously paint, and he doesn't need an entire building to show his impecable skill. The show has lots of small works on paper which contrast his highly-defined line work to his hard-edged painted objects. The contrast between the hard and soft was the most striking thing to me about his work, since I had never seen it in person before, and the washes blend with the thick paint seamlessly. The show also contains a larger work on canvas, a huge head suspended in the back of the room, and a big wood sculpture of a wolf figure. This diversity in such a small space was impressive, and those of us that went to the opening even got to meet the man in person. If you didn't make it out this weekend, check it out before May 31st when it closes and these works will be off to some very happy new homes.
Water McBeer is please to announce its latest exhibition "Precious" a solo exhibition by David Bayus (April 6 - May 4, 2013) -- David Bayus born 1982 holds his BFA from the Savannah College of Art and his MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute. David lives and works in San Francisco and is a founding member of the basement collective. This will be his first exhibition with the world renown Water McBeer Gallery highlighting his most recent achievements with paint and digital media. David Bayus will be exhibiting 5 relatively large-scale mixed media works along with a collaborative object featuring Hungarian sculptor H.R KOONS.
The Shooting Gallery handed over the reins to the Red Truck Gallery (a New Orleans based gallery) which curated their new show, Hard Time Mini Mall and opened the it on Saturday night. This is my favorite show (so far) in the Shooting Gallery's new space and was packed full of art, a mini bar, and cowhide rugs. The Red Truck Gallery chose works with clear craftsmanship and it was easy to see in Ian Berry's denim assemblages and Chris Roberts-Antieau's awesome quilts. The space was completely packed, making it hard to see each piece individually, but this show deserves a second trip anyway. I look forward to spending more time with the chandeliers, automatons, and paintings before the show comes down on May 4th.
Toronto based photographer Nathan Cyprys emailed to let us know about his newest series "Neighbour State", and we were about to post it when we spotted this series on his site entitled "Ayre (of Distances)" and had to post this one instead. After you view this one, view "Neighbour State" on his site. Both are visually enjoyable.
Working from found photographs, Lyle's paintings are created through a reductive painting process where each piece is rendered using only black paint and turpentine. Lyle begins this process by priming a panel with white gesso. He then paints a thin, rich, oily black veneer over the primed panel, slowly and systematically developing his images by removing some of the black paint with a cloth. In doing so, Lyle renders layer upon layer of various values of black paint resulting in his signature-style of luminescent works.
London based David Shillinglaw who's blogged it up for Fecal Face in the past recently completed this mural in London as he prepares for his solo show at Stolen Space opening on April 26th.
Our buddy Henrik Haven, who brings us some goodies from his native Copenhagen, has been shooting some of his city's graffiti and street art. Last week we brought you part one of his camera's explorations.
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This day may have been inevitable, but now it's finally here. In its attempt to take over the world - or at least everything that can be bought and sold in the world, Amazon is launching an art gallery.
