you’d never think that an offer for a solo show would come from a stranger who just happened to find you on the internet.  however, that’s how this show came about, and i’m very happy how it all turned out.

i created 3 new paintings for this show (one of them even sold at the opening).  unfortunately i don’t have any good photos of them yet, but you can see them in the installation shots from the show.  aside from the new ones i included every other available piece i had.  some are very recent pieces, but some i’ve been holding onto for 3 years or more.

click the photo below to go to flickr, where you can see all my shots from the opening as well as a few shot by a friend of the gallery owner.

for larger versions and many more photos from that night, click here to go to my flickr

yes, pomona. i’d never been their either, but it’s quite a nice little city about 30 minutes east of LA. if you live near, or if you’re down to make the trek, this is going to be a good show. i’m going to be showing 3 new never before seen pieces, all spray paint on steel, as well as about 10 others.

what: “Metropolitan Moderne” featuring the work of yours truly
where: OBJCT gallery – 250 west 2nd street, pomona, CA 91766
when: opening reception, saturday august 8th, 7-10pm

will i see you there?

outside:

streaming in:

looking in:

looking out:

and when you’re the only artist out of fifty, who’s pieces were at eye level, to hang your piece 8 feet off the ground, nobody thinks to look up and see it.

even my friends, who all came to the gallery specifically looking for my piece, didn’t notice it their first time around and had to ask me where it was.

c’est la vie. i thought it looked great in the spot i chose, and i wouldn’t have changed it even if i knew know one was going to notice it.

here’s what a few others had to say about the show:

Dylan Ousley

Kevin and Richard from Art As Authority – Review #1 and Review #2

Katherine Sweetman from San Diego Visual Arts

and of course Robert Pincus

if you attended, what did you think?

it’s really going to be quite an odd experience for me to show a piece of my art in the very gallery i work for. but that’s what’s going to happen on friday the 29th. i’m a little worried people might think i’m being shown favoritism. i assure you that’s not the case. i’ve been working there for almost 2 years and this is the first time they’ve shown any interest in showing my work. in fact, i’m a bit baffled by the whole thing. not enough to question it though, i suppose.

i’m also excited to be in the same show with my friend and former co-worker claudia cano. she makes very well crafted woven photographs, and her piece for the show is very cool.

i’m doing a new piece for the show (i try to always do a new piece for every show i’m in), a sculpture made of steel and acrylic. due to life kicking a few clouds of dirt into my face the last couple weeks, i’ve yet to finish it. however, i think i’ll be able to get it done by thursday…the day before the show opens. i hope. if not, i have a backup piece i can hang – but i’m really hoping this new piece gets finished in time, i’m really excited about it.

this show should be huge. i’m estimating at least 500 – 600 people will show up throughout the night. i’d suggest getting their early so you have a chance to actually see the art before too many people start crowding in.

hope to see you there.

in addition to my most recent work on display in my studio, i’ll have 3 new pieces in the show – drawings on mylar on steel.

i hope you can make it!

ps- i didn’t design the invite but i did design those glashaus letters.

ad in the new art ltd.

sneek-a-peek-a-loo at the 2 new pieces for this show:

half finished but lookin good.

see you there.

and oh yeah, me and trista’s piece is badass.

then i photocopied it a couple times, cut it out, and taped it together to make a neat little subway car skyscraper that sits perched on a shelf in between some art books and some ultra flat black.

next, 2 more drawings that will become paintings very soon, and will be unveiled on september 27th at the Device Gallery in la jolla.

“30 story ranch house”

“up”

here she is during one of her many “paparazzi moments”:

eventually she hooked up with some fellow avengers – captain america (that girl was tiny. her and trista entered the marvel costume contest together and got into the finals but didn’t win), and nick fury:

speaking of hand made clothing. here’s trista and i the night of the art show – she’s wearing a skirt that she made just 2 days before.

the art show went relatively well. three pieces sold, although unfortunately mine wasn’t one of them. still, it was fun. plus the show will be up for another month, so who knows, maybe it’ll sell.

i was originally told that this was a comic book themed show, although it turned out to be not so comic book related. nevertheless, i adapted my style to the comic book theme. the piece is a diptych titled “Metrotham” – 48″ X 37″, spray paint and paint marker on 18g steel. The word metrotham is a combination of metropolis (as in the city of superman) and gotham city (where batman fights crime). i used relatively the same drawing for both cities with subtle differences. the idea being that metropolis and gotham city are both based on the same city, NYC. the one on the left is metropolis – red, yellow, and blue are to represent superman. that red streak in the clouds is superman taking off from the daily planet building. the right then is obviously gotham city. it’s black and gray, the colors of batman. the design has changed slightly by omitting the daily planet and adding smoke stacks, a bat signal moon, and a W to the top of wayne tower. in both pieces there are subtle differences in gloss, satin and flat colors that are almost impossible to photograph. for instance the background of metrolpolis has 3 different whites of varying textures and gotham’s background has 3 different blacks. you can only really tell in person….so go see it. it’s up til sept 15th.

i had done 2 pieces prior to this on aluminum but this was my first on steel**. i had a 1″ square steel tube frame welded for the back of the steel sheet so that i could hang them without outside frames. i JB Welded the tube-frames to the sheet and painted the back white:

here’s a shot of the back signed, titled, and dated. “metrotham: metropolis” and “metrotham: gotham city”

**i’ll be working on steel from now on. it just fits better into the whole arrowchitectural decograf concept. graffiti was painted on steel trains, skyscrapers are built of steel, and so on.