Above emailed some pics from his recent show Jet Set which ran during the first couple weeks of July at Melbourne's Metro gallery featuring Above's internationally themed show... Street artist Above travels the world adjourning walls like this and also tosses high his arrowed wood works... The stewardesses handed out "Above Airlines" boarding passes to arriving guests. Check out Above's recent book featuring work from his travels.

Los Angeles based Joshua Petker recently closed the show "Adrift" at Lebasse Projects a few weeks back. After switching up his style and direction to inlcude these simplier/ nautical/ ship themed works, we had the chance to ask him a few questions about this new body of work.

I've always been interested in juxtaposing beauty and melancholia in my work and it was important to me I continue in that vein whilst expanding my visual vocabulary. This new series of work is built on an interest in conceptual painting rather than on the aesthetic approach I've taken in years past. I was very inspired by thoughts of vastness. I uncovered a quote by Anna Freud that said, "We are imprisoned in the realm of life, like a sailor on his tiny boat, on an infinite ocean" and though I found this quote well after I began painting, it is the same illustrative metaphor that I had in my mind informing the direction of my work.

I became a full-time artist a few years ago which has been really important to the evolution of my work. I've been able to read and research more than I was able to while balancing a day job with time in the studio. Having the freedom to focus fully on my interests has allowed me to see more art, learn more about art, and generally focus all of my attention on art and philosophy and this has been very important to my work.

I welcomed a baby girl into the world a little more than a year ago and that has been a bigger joy in my life than I honestly expected it would be. I spend a lot of time with her.

Los Angeles has become an even more interesting place to be an artist in the last few years. Lots of galleries and artists here making the place interesting.

A little taste of Mr. Mike Giant. His solo show Confessions of an Old Dirty Skateboarder opens Friday, July 20th @FFDG in San Francisco (7-10pm).

Inside Silent Music, an exhibition straight from the storage boxes of "accidental rock ephemera collector" Lee Reymore

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Silent Music opens tomorrow, July 14th, and runs until August 14th. Opening reception at 8pm, live music by The Fresh & Onlys - at Vacation - 651 Larkin Street in the Tenderloin - ON FACEBOOK
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Lee Reymore was once called San Francisco's doppelganger of Jarvis Cocker, and he's got a tantamount of wit, edge and thick-rimmed glasses to match. Omnipresent in a lineage of R&R since the late 70‘s, Lee has traversed through multiple city scenes, from witnessing only one of two Throbbing Gristle North American shows before their break up in 1982, drug interactions in the green room with Bobby Gilespie on the 1991 Screamadelica tour, to living in Edinburgh and modeling colonial outfits with Shirley Manson way before Garbage, and catching plenty of live debuts from buzzed San Francisco garage rock in the late 2000's.

Silent Music, curated by Reymore and installed by partner Randy Walker, is a manifestation of the musical ephemera Reymore has accumulated through his time spent backstage, in the pit, and in the record store. Some are scored secondhand through his connections as a rare book dealer, or just by having an innate eye for scouting his taste.

"I was a thirteen year old stamp collector nerd as a kid. I had this sort of collector mentality early on. I started collecting Samuel Beckett first editions when I began working in the book industry. But I didn't set out to collect art or music ephemera. I just ended up accumulating all of this stuff and not getting rid of anything."

Reymore remembers his first acquired gem of ephemera, caught at 1979 Clash show in his hometown of San Diego on the bands first American tour. It was ripped directly off the back of Joe Strummer himself, in the heat of an intense pit moment. Twenty years later Lee saw Strummer during an in-store at Amoeba, and gave him a handmade sign to pose with that reads "I want my patch back!" Both the original patch as well as the photograph of Strummer with the sign are placed side by side in the show.

The show, on view at Tenderloin vintage boutique and gallery Vacation, is focused on multiple trajectories in Rock N' Roll throughout the years: an eclectic mix of Late 70‘s UK industrial, 60‘s San Francisco psychedelic, mid 80‘s SoCal punk, New York new wave, and present day San Francisco garage rock.There is a variety of mediums in the show: LPs, cassette tapes, handbills, posters, paintings and prints. And through running his own rare and arcane book business Modlit Books he has included in the exhibit selected music biographies and poetry anthologies from the likes of Patti Smith, Nick Cave, and Jim Morrison.

Each item of ephemera in the show comes with a unique backstory behind how he got it. "I had all these great original punk rock fliers from San Diego and Los Angeles from my period living there, and using, like many people do, their parents garage as storage space. My mother threw it all away. I was really pissed. So I have sought out original [1980‘s] San Francisco punk fliers and posters from the people that distribute them back then, for that fact that all my original ones are gone."

Some of the work is made by the musicians themselves, such as paintings or writings that necessarily the focus of their career. Did you know Ian Curtis may or may not have cut the sandpaper used to write the liner notes for a Durutti Column album? Or that Frank Sinatra could sketch a drawing inside of a book he signed?

Silent Music is dedicated to the late renowned San Francisco ephemera collector, writer and curator Steven Leiber. Reymore was invited to visit Leiber's garage, a Mecca of ephemera from artists familiar and obscure. Leiber would keep files on every artist from whom he collected, their paintings, prints, even gallery invitations. "He was interested in the full depth of the artist," says Reymore. In collecting related work beyond just the physical LPs or cassettes, Reymore shares this interest in depth and variety as well.

Their visits exploring this basement-sized treasure chest of art continued until Leiber passed away earlier this year. "We would just talk for hours and hours and I would learn so much about this artist or that artist, some I had never heard of. He had worlds of knowledge, and a genuine passion for what he did."

Leiber's collection generally was not music minded, and most of the music related pieces he did carry were purchased by Reymore, such as the original punk fliers. But for Reymore, Silent Music emulates the experience he had of viewing and learning about Leiber's collection of ephemera, yet curated with his own aesthetic and tailored to his own taste.

"None of us have the same taste, but having said that I don't think I could ever move in with someone and not be controlling the artwork on the walls. That would have to be me."

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Silent Music opens tomorrow, July 14th, and runs until August 14th. Opening reception at 8pm, live music by The Fresh & Onlys - at Vacation - 651 Larkin Street in the Tenderloin - ON FACEBOOK
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Vacation, opened this past June, is a vintage boutique curated by Kristin Klein, who previously manned a former Vacation storefront in Atlanta. Klein, a tour manager in the indie and garage circuit for several years, chose to intersect her passions for art and music in Vacation. The space will host an ongoing series of gallery shows and carry releases by local bands in addition to fashion.

During SXSW last spring, I holed up at the FADER Fort shooting all the performances for the first three days. At some point during the War on Drugs, the shutter in one of my cameras died. I plugged it into the computer and found out that I'd taken 550,000 photos in the three years I've owned it. That's a lot of photos, but I'm happy to have a handful of good ones. -Bryan Derballa

Confessions of an Old Dirty Skateboarder
Mike Giant, solo show
July 20 - August 12, 2012
Opening reception: Friday, June 20th, 7–10 pm
@FFDG, 2277 Mission St., SF, CA

preview inquires, email: info(at)ffdg.net

San Francisco, CA -- FFDG is pleased to present San Francisco based artist Mike Giant in his first solo show with the gallery entitled "Confessions of an Old Dirty Skateboarder" featuring a wide assemblage of recent drawings and also a rare opportunity to view Giant's personal collection of skateboards he illustrated the graphics for, including boards from his early career. There will be an opening reception for the show on Friday, July 20th (7-10pm). The artist will be present. Beer and wine will be available.

"I'm a product of my generation. I grew up through the 80s and was drawn to the punk rock and hip-hop cultures simultaneously", Giant said in a recent interview. "I threw myself in headfirst. A lot of those things were about personal expression, and also an anti-establishment attitude like, "We don't need you, we have our own thing." That's the backbone of who I am to this day".

San Francisco based Mike Giant has achieved fame as a graffiti artist, illustrator and tattooist. Black ink is Giant's specialty and whether his medium is concrete, paper or skin, his signature style - inspired by Mexican folk art and Japanese illustration - is unmistakable. Mike Giant has worked in media covering, graffiti, design, fine art, photography and tattooing, making him one of the most celebrated and versatile artists of his generation. He has shown in galleries around the world.

Last week hundreds of people came down to Backwoods Gallery to see off one of Melbourne's most prolific street artists, James Reka. Before moving to Europe next month, he put on a pop up show that tied together all of the loose ends of his decade long career. Featuring a final fresh body of exhibited work alongside selected works from 2004 to 2006, fans came down in hordes to pay their final respects to one of Melbourne's finest.

In addition to this new body of work, Reka pulled a large collection of old works out of the vault from some of his original shows in the early to mid 2000s. Many of these canvases haven't been seen for six or seven years and produced a huge, esteeming response from the crowd. Displaying works that have been painted over a decade apart, the audience could see Reka's transformation from being known as having the strongest graffiti inspired line-work in Australia to his now renowned free-form canvases. Whether it is one of his iconic characters from the early 2000s or an incredibly intricate new work, Reka's style is revered within the community and has continues to influence younger artists. There is no doubt it is commendable to already have such a strong retrospective of work and such a huge turn out of admirers in what is guaranteed to be a long and illustrious career.

Australia is losing one of their best to the bright lights and bigger walls of Europe, but there is no doubt that Reka's legacy will continue both on the laneway and gallery walls for years to come. Gone, but not forgotten.

Skimming the Internet looking for new artists and inspirations, I'm always looking for something that can not only catch my eye, but sustain my attention. I stumbled onto New York based artist Matt Mignanelli's website a few months ago and got stuck on it; his black, matte and monochromatic paintings having some sort of transmittable information for aesthetic and structural reasons. In researching his earlier work I saw an interesting transition and wondered how it happened. I sent him some questions and this is the result.

Outside of the studio I'm usually going to openings, looking at painting, and going to the bar. My second passion is cooking. It relates to painting for me, I love the hands-on creation, the control, the quick gratification it brings. I use it as my way to decompress; it really relaxes me. I come from a strong Italian-American background where food means family and great friends; I love that aspect of food bringing people together. My brother and brother-in-law both live in and around the East Village, and my wife and I try whenever possible to keep up the tradition of a Sunday dinner. I wouldn't say that my painting takes up more time than I want it to, but it does consume me. I have a very hard time shutting it off. I like to maintain a rigorous studio practice, it feels right to me.

These current works developed out of a gradual process of working through and reexamining my earlier painting. At first I was creating small areas of monochrome, which then slowly developed into monochromatic backgrounds, and finally entire paintings. While I was working on larger scale works, I would always be making smaller works where I felt freer to take risks. These were always much more minimal, and almost magnifications of elements in my larger works. In a lot of ways those smaller works felt more satisfactory to me, which then led to me chasing that simplification. The grid paintings started as I began to concentrate on these smaller areas within the works and use the grid to create a confined space. The works that focus more on figure/ground relationships I arrived at by stripping away distraction from the paintings, I want these to be minimal environments that are still somewhat relatable to the viewer.

I've always made bold paintings, and the black on black is bold yet there is so much subtlety, there is a balance. The black paintings are just as much if not more about the gloss/matte relationship as they are the blackness. As you move around these works they change with the light as it's reflected and absorbed into the surface, this level of engagement has really driven my continuation with this body of work.

Last Friday was the opening of Shinkansen Conspiracy at 111 Minna, a group show curated by Last Gasp, the largest and oldest publishers and purveyors of underground books and comics in the world. Works by Shawn Barber, Clayton Bros, Kevin Taylor, David Choong Lee, Henry Lewis, Jay Howell, and many others.

We were there early and left early before, what we imagine, was a good time later on. High fives to Last Gasp for not only being in business for over 40 years, but doing a damn great job.

For over 40 years Lasp Gasp has been publishing the art, writing and photography of the underground. Over the years they have published, and in some cases brought to light, some of the most respected and talented artists working today, including R. Crumb, Justin Green, Bill Griffith, Mark Ryden, Aline Kominsky-Crumb, Frank Kozik, Todd Schorr, Winston Smith, Spain Rodriguez, Robert Williams, and countless others.

Kevin Taylor

The mood lighting of Minna.

Always a fan of LA based Clayton Brothers. We visited their studio back in 2009.

And speaking of Tucker Nichols, check his current show running through August 4th at Gallery 16... We love the work.

Last night we swung through Ffity24SF in the Lower Haight for a preview of Jeremy Fish's show "Where Hearts Get Left" which opens this Saturday, July 14th (5-9pm) here in San Francisco, Ca.

The show is Fish's ode to all that that makes San Francisco... San Francisco. He illustrates his favorite lores and legends like how the Native Americans believed that the Earth and subsquently San Francisco was created by a silver-fox and coyote as they danced in the Bay Area's constant dense fog... or how a pair of giant grumpy battling turtles under the Earth's crust cause our earthquakes.

Approx 50 14" x 17" drawings take you on a tour of the special San Francisco-centric things that make the city so special to Fish. From the Mission's best burrito spots to SF's first notable quirky self proclaimed Imperial Majesty Emperor Norton I, Fish illustrates not the obvious tourist highlights, but those little things that take a decade of discovery to find and appreciate.

My favorites include the collage of the best under the radar, not your fancy burger jams including my all time favorite, Hamburger Haven on Clement. Let's not forget the group of Native American activists who occupied Alcatraz for 19 months in the late 60s... or that like the city itself is always in a constant state of change (sometimes for the worse), but that, like the Vapor Room R.I.P. (for now), even good things come to an end and out of the ashes, the phoenix will rise.

Jeremy Fish in his own heart.

Imperial Majesty Emperor Norton I sculpted from south east Asia wood.

This handmade limited to 100 copies book featuring the drawings in the show will soon be on sale complete with a cover made out of wood.

Check the full preview complete with some video interviews with Fish.

In September of last year I had the honor to go with Yong-Ki Chang, Jef Hartsel and Bob Lake down to LA to document their skating and participate in the installation of the Solitary Arts portion of the Product of Design show curated by GlueKit.

These photos were taken over a five day period in which we skated the streets of Venice, rolled on the round wall of the legendary Gonzales pool, sessioned with Jay Adams at Arto Saari's backyard pool, hung art, met extraordinarily talented people, and slept where the munchkins rested their heads. In my short life it was one of the most truly epic adventures I participated in. Thank you Yong-Ki, Jef and Bob.

Jay Adams

Jef Hartsel

Geoff McFetridge