Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Art show opening Yukinori Dehara at GR2 June 5 – July 7, 2010 Reception: Saturday, June 5, 6:30 – 10:00 GR2 2062 Sawtelle Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90025 gr2.net (310) 445-9276 Giant Robot is proud to host The Jizo, an art show featuring new work by Yukinori Dehara. Dehara’s hand-painted clay depictions of debauched salarymen, brutalized gangsters, happy monsters, and other unique figures stand about 5-inches tall. Although the pieces are detailed and glossy, the subtle and intentional flaws of the Japanese artist’s self-described “crummy” style project more humanity than horror, and are oddly sympathetic. His sculpture, photography, and paintings have garnered a cult of collectors around the world, and are celebrated in books, figurines, and other merchandise, as well as by more daring art galleries around the world. For this show, Dehara’s inspiration will be Jizo, the Buddhist divinity who protects the departed souls of deceased children, babies, and unborn fetuses, whose likeness can be found in cemeteries and on roadsides in Japan. In Dehara’s words, these statues are “Japanese stone angels.” Giant Robot was born as a Los Angeles-based magazine about Asian, Asian-American, and new hybrid culture in 1994, but has evolved into a full-service pop culture provider with shops and galleries in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City, as well as an online equivalent. An opening reception featuring a rare U.S. appearance by the Japanese artist will take place from 6:30 – 10:00 on Saturday, June 5. For more information about Dehara, GR2, or Giant Robot magazine, please contact: Eric Nakamura Giant Robot Owner/Publisher eric@giantrobot.com (310) 479-7311
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[nggallery id=84] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Free to a Good Home 2 art show opening Group show at GR2 May 9 – June 10, 2009 Reception: Saturday, May 9, 6:30 -10:00 GR2 2062 Sawtelle Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90025 gr2.net (310) 445-9276 Giant Robot is proud to host Free to a Good Home 2. The canine-themed art show will include contributions from the following artists: Apak! Andrice Arp Robert Bellm Aaron Brown Jeffrey Brown Shawn Cheng Catia Chien Cupco Eleanor Davis Evah Fan Susie Ghahremani Katherine Guillen Clement Hanami Nao Harada David Horvath Kerry Horvath Jay Howell Michael Hsiung Kaori Kasai Sian Keegan David King Jenny Kwok Diana Kwok Little Friends of Printmaking David Magdaleno James McShane Justin “Scrappers” Morrison Kiyoshi Nakazawa Tom Neely Tru Nguyen Saejean Oh Martin Ontiveros John Pham Silvio Porretta Pryor Praczukowski Rohitash Rao Aaron Renier Albert Reyes Martha Rich Brian Rush Emilio Santoyo Rob Sato Ryan J. Smith Jeana Sohn Ryohei Tanaka Daria Tessler Edwin Ushiro Steven Weissman Andrew J. Wright In the spirit of the artwork, the Los Angeles Animal Services (LAAS) West L.A. Shelter will be bringing dogs available for adoption to the opening with the hopes of matching them up with new owners! LAAS will also be accepting donations of supplies and food for the shelter. (Suggested donations: blankets, towels, unopened pet food, pet beds, pet coats, Timothy Hay, kongs.) Those making donations through the duration of the show will receive a coupon for 25 percent off their next purchase at GR2. A reception featuring many of the artists will take place from 6:30 – 10:00 on Saturday, May 9.
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[nggallery id=46] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Art show opening Marc Johns and Steven Weissman at GR2 May 8 – June 2, 2010 Reception: Saturday, May 8, 6:30 -10:00 GR2 2062 Sawtelle Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90025 gr2.net (310) 445-9276 Giant Robot is proud to host Butter and Blood, an art show featuring new work by Marc Johns and Steven Weissman. Marc Johns draws almost daily, and has been for as long as he can remember. Once posted online, his humorous, witty, and thought-provoking drawings were quickly embraced, and earned him a fast-growing community of fans around the world as well as published works in Wired and the New York Times Sunday Magazine. Whether it’s a man with branches growing out of his head that need pruning, or a pipe that’s trying to quit smoking, his characters are simply, sparsely drawn, yet speak volumes. For the show, the Victoria, Canada-based is preparing 30 ink-and-watercolor pieces that examine the public’s conspicuous consumption of trend items and branded goods, and how we blindly participate in what is a bit of a charade. Steven Weissman has written and drawn comics for Fantagraphics Books, Nickelodeon Magazine, Last Gasp, Marvel Entertainment (for whom he created the “Mini-Marvels” series), and numerous other publishers/publications. He won the Harvey Kurtzman Award for “Best New Talent” in 1998 with his acclaimed, ongoing indie-comic series, Yikes, which channels nonironic darkness of Chas Addams with the raw, youthful honesty of Charles Schulz and has been collected into several volumes. For the show, the Los Angeles artist is preparing a series of medium-sized pen, ink, and screen-tone pieces with themes such as baseball, proverbs, ghosts, and Barack Obama. Giant Robot was born as a Los Angeles-based magazine about Asian, Asian-American, and new hybrid culture in 1994, but has evolved into a full-service pop culture provider with shops and galleries in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City, as well as an online equivalent. An opening reception attended by Weissman will take place from 6:30 – 10:00 on Saturday, May 8. ###
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[nggallery id=45] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Group Art Show Matt Furie, Le Merde, and Johnny Ryan at GRSF, April 17, 2010 – May 12, 2010 Reception: Saturday, April 17, 6:30 pm – 10:00 pm GRSF 618 Shrader Street San Francisco, CA 94117 gr-sf.com 415-876-4773 Giant Robot is proud to present The Boys Are Back in Town, a group art show featuring new works by Matt Furie, Le Merde, and Johnny Ryan. Matt Furie creates richly detailed and hyper colored illustrations and paintings that reflect the creative cross breeding of The Neverending Story and the unrestrained imagination of The Muppet Show. For this show, he is leaning less on the eye-straining detail of Bernie Wrightson and more on the simplicity and tweaked humor of the ALF Saturday morning cartoon series. For this show, he is contributing 50 pieces (including minis, floating heads, and POGs) related to his self-published Boy’s Club comic, as well as “riffs on the characters of Johnny and Le Merde.” Le Merde has gained a rabid following in the limited-edition figure scene with his molten and oozing but cute style. Often lost in the shadows of his sculptural work are the Portland artist’s equally colorful paintings, which also reference a loving appreciation of underground comix, Japanese horror manga, and rock ‘n’ roll. He is preparing 50 pieces of cel and ink on watercolor paper, focusing on the “three Gs”: ghosts, ghouls, and gods. Johnny Ryan is best known for his self-published title Angry Youth Comix, which was picked up by Fantagraphics Books in 2000. His crude yet totally polished and undeniably funny illustrations reveal both a ruthless-but-loving knowledge of the topics that he slays (superhero comics, science fiction, Ernie Bushmiller, the Holocaust) and a seemingly effortless mastery of linework and energy. He promises 50 pieces of “awesome shit.” Giant Robot was born as a Los Angeles-based magazine about Asian, Asian-American, and new hybrid culture in 1994, but has evolved into a full-service pop culture provider with shops and galleries in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City, as well as an online equivalent. A reception featuring many of the artists will be held from 6:30 – 10:00 on Saturday, April 17. For more information about the artists, GRSF, or Giant Robot magazine, please contact: Eric Nakamura Giant Robot Owner/Publisher eric@giantrobot.com (310) 479-7311
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[nggallery id=88] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Group Art Show Game Over III at GRSF, March 12, 2010 – April 14, 2010 Reception: Friday, March 12, 6:30 pm – 10:00 pm GRSF 618 Shrader Street San Francisco, CA 94117 gr-sf.com 415-876-4773 Giant Robot is proud to present Game Over III, a group show that pays homage to the continuous evolution of videogames and their massive influence on popular culture. The impact and inspiration of videogames will be represented through a wide assortment of styles and genres provided by top artists in the fields of illustration, painting, sewing, indie comics, and videogames. Contributors are scheduled to include the following: Sasha Barr Brandon Bird Blinky Sean Boyles Eric Butler Kris Chau Shawn Cheng Ryan De La Hoz Elayne Dixon E. Dubois Theo Ellsworth Everybody Get Up Matt Furie Mark Giglio Jake Gillespie Girafa Tim Gough Andrew Holder Paul Hornschemeier David Horvath Jay Howell Martin Hsu Mari Inukai Marc Johns James Kochalka Le Merde Phil Lumbang Aaron Martinez Andrew Perry Mike Perry Ferris Plock Silvio Porretta Carlos Ramos Albert Reyes Grant Reynolds Alexander Shen Snaggs Kaz Strzepek Team Macho Daria Tessler Jeremy Tinder Joe To Kelly Tunstall Aiyana Udesen Amy Vazquez Connie Wong Anthony Wu Lawrence Yang Derek Yu Giant Robot was born as a Los Angeles-based magazine about Asian, Asian-American, and new hybrid culture in 1994, but has evolved into a full-service pop culture provider with shops and galleries in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City, as well as an online equivalent. A reception featuring many of the artists will be held from 6:30 – 10:00 on Friday, March 12. For more information about the show, GRSF, or Giant Robot magazine, please contact: Eric Nakamura Giant Robot Owner/Publisher eric@giantrobot.com (310) 479-7311
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