13 years ago today, April 24th, a personal skate zine created by yours truly moved online under the same name, Fecal Face. Over the years we've morphed and modified as the nature of the internet changes, and what the future has in store for us is a complete mystery since none of this was planned to begin with. Maybe like poop itself, we just go with the flow until we eventually get sucked down that large dirty hole... moving on to other potential shitty adventures. Bring it on.
Here's to many more years, and we wanna give a very special thanks to everyone who has contributed over the years and who continues today. The site, obviously, is not only extension of the visual stimuli that turns us on but also what gets your ocular stimuli into a panty bunch as well... Thanks.
50 of the world's finest street artists have been given the run of a derelict nightclub in the heart of Paris.
Les Bains-Douches, a stone's throw from the Pompidou Centre, was built in 1885 as a municipal bathhouse. More recently, as Les Bains, it became one of the coolest nightclubs in Paris, in its time a favourite haunt of Mick Jagger, Kate Moss, Johnny Depp and Andy Warhol. But some over-enthusiastic DIY work by the nightclub's director led to the building being declared a safety hazard and in 2010, it was ordered to be closed. ~continue reading
Congrats to our friends and SF based artists Kelly Tunstall & Ferris Plock on the birth of their second little dude named Angus Plock who was born yesterday with all his toes and everything in its right place/ healthy little fella... And speaking of the talented duo, their upcoming two person show at FFDG opens on July 12th this summer.
VIA GOTHEMIST - Famous graffiti artist Kenny Scharf was arrested early Saturday morning in Bushwick for plying his trade. According to an NYPD spokesman, officers found Scharf in front of 209 Morgan Avenue at 1:03 a.m. in possession of "two spraycans which he used to paint a snake on the wall of the establishment." ArtSucks reports that Scharf wrote on his Facebook page that his arresting officers weren't total Philistines: "Cops who arrested me were fans and wanted to talk about exit through the gift shop and even liked the tag." ~continue reading
¡Oye, Mira! Reflective Approaches in Contemporary Latin American Video Art <-- Friday at Walter and McBean Galleries - ¡Oye, Mira!: Reflective Approaches in Contemporary Latin American Video Art brings together a selection of artists from Latin America who use video as a tool of reflection and contemplation, exploring relationships of identity to site, history, and memory.
FREE FUN EVENT Saturday ~~ SFAI will host their Graduate Open Studios this Saturday, April 20th (12-5pm) where some 200 emerging artists in all disciplines (and all in one building) open up their studios to the general public in the Dogpatch neighborhood.
~Complete Details
Up at the dead of night, sweat stained sheets, heart beating a trillion times a minute... sound all too familiar? Well Belly Kids teamed up with 16 illustrators to explore their worst of the dreams.... The Magic Book of Nightmares is a diary of bad nights and terrible sleep. The creepy, the cosmic, the crazy. Preorders are taken here for 6 pounds. ~sample illustrations.
Mike Giant swung through FFDG to show off his new huge book Giant: Eternal out now through Ginkgo Books. We're happy to report that Mike Giant will be returning to FFDG for another solo show Feb 2014. Check photos & video from his last show.
International icon of black ink, artist Michael (GIANT) LeSage incorporates a broad swathe of influences and skills in the creation of a singular, unmistakable aesthetic. Mike's central practice, drawing, is informed by his training in architectural drafting, his illustrious career as a tattooist and worldwide exploits writing on walls. ~$27 at Amazon
VIA reuters.com -- This, for me, is the real reason that tech types don't buy art: they're busy investing in each other's startups instead. Being an early-stage investor is in many ways just like being a contemporary art collector: you're very unlikely to make money at it, even though the potential and anecdotal returns can be enormous; and it's used in large part as a way of supporting your friends and being seen as being important within a very small world. Wealthy technologists are defined by their Crunchbase profiles in much the same way as art collectors are defined by their art collections. ~continue reading
A Texas grand jury has indicted eccentric millionaire artist Stanley Marsh 3 on charges that he sexually assaulted two teenagers, according to documents released Thursday... Marsh, who is probably best known for sponsoring the pop art landmark Cadillac Ranch in the early 1970s, settled civil lawsuits in February involving 10 teenagers who alleged he paid them for sex. ~read on
SF based sculptor Jud Bergeron started a KickStarter campaign to ask for help in completing his ambitious sculpture QUACK-QUACK, a piece comprised of thousands of rubber ducks in the shape of an atomic bomb, cast in duckie yellow resin, emanating from the driver's seat of a vintage children's pedal car that will be cast in bronze, automotive finished and pinstriped. See below
As with most KickStarter campaigns, there are plenty of goodies you can receive. For $35 you can pick up a print - $25 gets you a duck tshirt - or $50 gets you both the shirt and print - $175 gets you an awesome bronze duck sculpture, and on and on... Check the video, and see for yourself.
Both artists are attending The San Francisco Art Institute with Alex Ziv studying for his MFA in painting while Mario Ayala in his last year for a BFA in painting.
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
I didn't know if you came across this video yet, but I ran into my friend Brian Hanson yesterday who helped film and edit it. It's a film short documenting the work and philosophy of Huntington Beach surfboard Shaper Tim Stamps. Super rad and really inspiring! Anyhow take a peek.
Last year, Eric Caruso a teacher at Harry Wirtz Elementary School (Paramount, CA, near LA) had an idea to invite some artists to paint some murals at the school because there wasn't an arts program for the kids. That brilliant idea resulted in some awesome murals by artists Seitaku Aoyama, Yusuke Hanai, Rich Jacobs, Tim Kerr and Albert Reyes.
Ryan De La Hoz' show in the Upper Haight at RVCA runs through this Saturday... And the next time you're in the Mission, be sure to swing through his new shop on 14th St, Cool Try... We need to get over there soon and do a little photo feature for ya.
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.
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