Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
James Kochalka at GRNY, February 17 – March 14 Reception: Saturday, February 17, 6:30 pm – 10:00 pm Giant Robot Gallery 437 East 9th Street Between 1st Ave. & Ave. A, in the East Village New York, New York 10009 (212) 674-GRNY (4769) / grny.net Giant Robot is proud to present Little Paintings by James Kochalka at GRNY. Indie cartoonist James Kochalka is well-known for having a raw, humorous, and powerful style and prolific pace; he draws one diary strip a day for his Web site, and still manages to create an ever-growing catalog of graphic novels. His range extends from the autobiographical (American Elf) to kid-friendly (Peanutbutter & Jeremy) to serious (The Cute Manifesto) to raunchy (SuperF*ckers) to iconic (Monkey vs. Robot). His comix work has won four Ignatz awards and one Harvey award. He is widely regarded as the inventor of the daily-diary comic strip, and has inspired countless younger artists. Kochalka has also released several CDs with his band, James Kochalka Superstar. His song “Britney’s Silver Can” was named one of the 100 best songs of 2006 by Rolling Stone, and his song “Hockey Monkey” is being used as the theme song to new Fox television sitcom, The Loop. For the art show, Kochalka is making 150 acrylic 2″ by 2″ paintings on 3″ by 3″ paper. Subject matter will feature cats, monkeys, monsters, self-portraits of himself as an elf, and creatures “inspired by classic videogame characters like the ghosts in Pac-Man or the aliens in Galaxians or Galaga.” The multitude of pieces will not be framed but are quite suitable for framing. A reception for the artist will be held from 6:30 to 10:00 on Saturday, February 17. For more information about Kochalka, GRNY, or Giant Robot magazine, please contact GRNY.
Continue reading
[nggallery id=40] 8 X 10 – group drawing show! A group art show with a diverse, dazzling array of participants using the rawest of writing instruments (pencils, pens, crayons, markers, etc.) and a stock frame size. Contributors come from indie comics, crafting, street-art, and fine-art backgrounds, and include (but are not limited to): Marc Bell Jill Bliss Kelie Bowman Calef Brown Martin Cendreda Josh Cochran Allison Cole Austin English Matt Furie Gary Garay Susie Ghahremani Katherine Guillen Maya Hayuk Maxwell Loren-Holyoke Hirsch Caroline Hwang Paul Hwang Hellen Jo Keith Jones Kelly Lynn Jones Kozyndan Benjamin Lee Jack Long David Magdaleno Abby Manock Travis Millard Matt Moroz PCP John Pham John Porcellino Albert Reyes Zachary Rossman Manny Silva Jeana Sohn STO Deth P. Sun Kelly Tunstall Tom Vadakan Marci Washington Justin B. Williams Andrew Jeffrey Wright
Continue reading
[nggallery id=85] Free To A Good Home at GR2, February 17 – March 14 Reception: Saturday, February 17 GR2 2062 Sawtelle Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90025 gr2.net (310) 445 – 9276 Giant Robot is proud to present Free To A Good Home, a group show at GR2 that will benefit Kitten Rescue, a Los Angeles-based organization saves kittens and cats from the high-kill shelter system and fosters them until they can find the right homes. Paintings, illustrations, photography, and other pieces will be inspired by—but not limited to—cats. Artists are slated to include: Andrice Arp Robert Bellm Jeffrey Brown Martin Cendreda Austin English Evah Fan Susie Ghahremani Leif Goldberg Katherine Guillen Myleen Hollero Jordin Isip kozyndan Le Merde Justin “Scrappers” Morrison Munkao Saelee Oh Martin Ontiveros John Pham Pryor Praczukowski Aaron Renier Albert Reyes Zach Rossman Brian Rush Jay Ryan Souther Salazar Jeana Sohn Deth P. Sun Daria Tessler Marci Washington Steve Weissman Andrew Jeffrey Wright Ten percent of art sales from the show will go toward Kitten Rescue. An opening reception featuring kittens, cats, and many of the artists will take place from 6:30 – 10:00 on Saturday, February 17.
Continue reading
[nggallery id=48] Bwana Spoons at Giant Robot New York, January 12 – February 13, 2007 Reception: Saturday, January 12, 6:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. Giant Robot Gallery 437 East 9th Street Between 1st Ave. & Ave. A, in the East Village New York, New York 10009 grny.net (212) 674-GRNY Giant Robot is proud to present How to Dig a Hole, an art show by Bwana Spoons. Spoons is a Portland-based artist whose freewheeling style was developed under the influence of underground comics, ’60s rock posters, and Japanese rubber monster movies. Starting out with stapled-and-folded zines like My Friend the Micronaut and Ain’t Nothing Like Fucking Moonshine in the early ’90s, Spoons has become a regular in the Northwest street art and indie music scene. Endangered animals caught in mid-thought, kung-fu wizards with gravity-defying eyebrows, and swirling psychedelic backgrounds are only some of the elements found in the well-composed anarchy of his paintings and sculpture. He is also involved in the Grass Hut art collective and gallery. Although the show is called “How to Dig a Hole”, the new paintings, illustrations, and sculptures by Spoons actually address how to get out of one. “What do I fill it with?” he asks. “Blood, guts, tears, dirt, love, and paint.” Giant Robot has been promoting new art and artists since 1994, first with a magazine and then in galleries. The publication celebrated its 50th issue in 2007 with an art show at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles. Currently it presents art shows on a monthly basis in its L.A., San Francisco, and New York City locations. A reception for Spoons will be held from 6:30 to 10:00 on Saturday, January 12. For more information about the artist, GRNY, or Giant Robot magazine, please contact GRNY.
Continue reading
Jeana Sohn at GRNY, December 2 – January 3 Reception: Saturday, December 2, 6:30 pm – 10:00 pm Giant Robot Gallery 437 East 9th Street Between 1st Ave. & Ave. A, in the East Village New York, New York 10009 (212) 674-GRNY (4769) grny.net Giant Robot is proud to present the art of Jeana Sohn at GRNY. Jeana Sohn was born in Korea, where she completed a program in graphic design at a local university. Jeana moved to the U.S to study character animation at CalArts. Her drawings and paintings combine the straightforwardness of children’s book illustration with the subdued color palette of weathered folk signage and free-flowing composition of street art. In 2005, she was commissioned to design T-shirts and buttons for Death Cab for Cutie. For “Pale and Blue at 14,” Sohn is preparing 35 new pieces. Half of the work is gouache and watercolor on thin veneer. The other half is on wood board and paper. Of her new work, the artist says, “In most of my past shows, I hinted at stories with my pieces. For this show, I’m thinking of the pieces as tone poems or picture poems about characters’ feelings. I’m trying to express relationships between young human beings and nature.” Adolescents are frozen in time among birds, insects, and flowers. Or are they just frozen? A reception for the artist will be held from 6:30 to 10:00 on Saturday, December 2.
Continue reading