Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
[nggallery id=60] Giant Robot SF Presents: The Jingi : Japanese Yakuza Spirit Figure Exhibition by Yukinora Dehara 622 Shrader Street, San Francisco, CA 94117 February 25th – March 22nd, 2006 Opening Reception: Saturday February 25th, 6:30 – 10pm Giant Robot is pleased to announce Yukinora Dehara’s first exhibition in San Francisco, and second show with Giant Robot. From farmers, salary men, ghosts, gangsters and even killer vegetables, Dehara transforms these often absurd archetypes, into observations of Japanese and American society and pop culture. His clay sculptures are raw but detailed, painted with a precise and glossy aesthetic. They impart the subject’s state of being, whether it’s a subservient rice cooker, or a tortured Yakuza boss. For each exhibition Dehara sculpts a unique cast of characters. Previous series have included killer produce in “Oyasi: Vegetable Wars”, villagers and farmers for the “Jibasan” collection, and Japanese ghosts for “Pop Yokai: Japanese Old Ghost”. In “The Jingi” Dehara will depict the Japanese gangster icon. Dehara has created 100 original sculptures that will expose every possible incarnation of the Jingi. Giant Robot San Francisco will have Dehara’s hard to find products in stock, including books, toys and other selected merchandise that catalog Dehara’s prolific body of work. Yukinori Dehara will be in attendance for the opening of the show.
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Giant Robot New York announces The Nearest Faraway Place, a solo show by Jack Long opening on Saturday, January 21st from 6:30 – 10PM. Jack will be showcasing original paintings based on his most recent work. Hailing from West Chester, Pennsylvania, Jack Long began his formal art training at the Rhode Island School of Design studying illustration. Moving in a different direction from the Providence art scene, recognized for its use of bright colors, silkscreens, pop-culture reference, and humor, Jack nurtured his craft in oil painting with a more subtle, serious, and darker content. He cites the Northern Renaissance painters Pieter Bruegel and Hieronymus Bosch as some of his greater influences. Jack also takes cues from the mood and intensity of films by Igmar Bergman and Frederico Fellini, compacted with the ever-developing, imaginative style of storytelling that evolved from his illustration background. As a result, Jack Long’s work unfolds a mystical, poetic, and suspenseful tale that captivates the viewer evoking the wonder of where this world stems. “At first it was a subconscious thing that came out of nowhere. Now its become a more refined idea with purpose,” says Jack about the direction and alternate realm present in his paintings. The re-occurring figures used in his art – birds, boats, houses, trees, and wisps, are used to personify life experiences. “Each of my individual pieces work together to tell a bigger story,” a story that many can translate and identify with. Giant Robot New York is pleased to be the platform for the story of Jack Long”s The Nearest Faraway Place, showing January 21st through February 22nd, 2006. http://www.jacklong.com For more information about Jack Long, Giant Robot New York, or Giant Robot magazine, contact: Eric Nakamura Giant Robot Owner/Publisher eric@giantrobot.com
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[nggallery id=50] ART IS A SMILE THAT GIVES YOU A HUG with Andrew Jeffrey Wright Showing Nov 19 – Dec 21, 2005 at Giant Robot New York Opening reception Saturday, November 19 from 6:30 – 10PM Giant Robot New York announces Art is a Smile That Gives You a Hug – an exhibition by Andrew Jeffrey Wright opening on Saturday, November 19th from 6:30 -10PM. Andrew Jeffrey Wright will be showcasing original paintings, drawings, screen prints, photos and collages of his most recent work. As the founding member of Space1026, a creative community / gallery in Philadelphia, Andrew Jeffrey Wright is a front-runner for the Pennsylvania’s burgeoning, underground art scene. Wright’s artwork exemplifies a range of concepts using a kaleidoscope of colors, pop-culture references, and absurd humor. The multi-faceted artist procures his adventurous style working in mediums ranging from animation, video and photography to painting, print making, and sculpture. In keeping with his fortitude for zine production, Wright is creating a limited edition run of hand-made books especially for his GRNY opening. To add to his notoriety, Andrew Jeffrey Wright has worked with an impressive list of artists. Collaborating with Clare Rojas on an animated short called “The Manipulators,” the duo earned awards at the New York Underground Film Festival and New York Comedy Film Festival. Along with Rojas, AJW teamed up with Leif Goldberg and Barry McGee to produce the Outerspace Hillbilly group show in San Francisco. Showing with other high-caliber names such as Marcel Dzama, Jim Houser, Paper Rad, and Ed Templeton, Wright’s artwork is appreciated coast to coast and overseas. Giant Robot New York is grateful to host the mastermind work of Andrew Jeffrey Wright’s Art is a Smile That Gives You a Hug.
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