Seen: Sanrio’s Three Apples: 35th Hello Kitty Anniversary Exhibition

Sanrio kicked off their  Three Apples exhibit  celebrating the 35th anniversary of Hello Kitty with a roar – Thursday’s VIP opening filled  the 10,000 Sqft. Royal/T art space in Culver City to fire marshal enforced capacity for a good portion of the event.  Featuring a Hello Kitty themed art show curated by Jamie Rivadeneira, a retrospective of Hello Kitty product worldwide, a Hello Kitty apartment and  last but certainly not least, a Hello Kitty pop up store, the opening drew artists, industry folks and quite a few celebrities including Paris Hilton, Dave Navarro, Kimora Lee, and more.

While Pop Culture based art shows tend to draw heavy crowds, Three Apple seemingly exceeded all that have gone before partly due to all the encompassing nature of the show.  The hydraulic Hello Kitty balloon ride installation by Friends With You and the large Mr. Brainwash mural set the tone as waves of people entered Royal/T.

Once visitors managed to make their way through the sea of humanity, past a dizzying collection of Hello Kitty product, both current and retired, they came upon arguably the real draw – the art show featuring 60+ artist interpretations of perhaps the most popular and pervasive character outside of Mickey Mouse.

Colin Christian’s incomparable light-up fiber glass sculpture of a cosmic Hello Kitty  anchored the wide-range of art including paintings and numerous three dimensional works. The show works on numerous levels from the tangible star power with participating artists such as Ron English, Gary Baseman, Amanda Visell, tokidoki, Luke Chueh, Travis Louie, Mark Dean Veca and more to the considerable collective appeal of widely diverging styles and aesthetics all  tied together by the infectious charm of Hello Kitty.

The show continues through November 15th with several special events planned throughout.  If you’re at all curious, go check it out – you likely have not seen anything like it.  Click through for a massive photo gallery from the opening — 100+ pics for your enjoyment.

Royal/T
8910 Washington Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232
310.559.6300