Giant Robot was one of the magazine’s that piqued my interest in art and gave a voice to many artists, designers and creative people. Right now, the magazine like many others needs some support. So go buy an issue, subscribe and donate.

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TONIGHT in Los Angeles, eleven galleries are hosting an event titled: Art for Haiti which is an impromptu art auction to help the Red Cross’ relief efforts. Join them at the Mandrake Bar in the middle of Culver City’s Art District. They will begin the silent-auction at 7pm and continue accepting bids through 9pm. The auction will showcase emerging artists from around the country. We are excited to announce the following participants:

Artists
Justin Lieberman, Sayre Gomez, Brian Bress, Chris Churchill, Maha Saab, Michael Gregg Michaud, Yuval Pudik, Joe Yaeger, Jim Drain, Sage Vaughn, James Welling, David Hendren, Thaddeus Strode, Alika Cooper, Samantha Fields, Gustavo Godoy, Victoria Neel, Cameron Gray, Eric Yahnker, Lester Monzon, Marnie Weber, Jim Shaw, Marlene Carroll, Josh Atlas, Taidgh O’Neill, Stephen Floyd, Michael Dopp, Britton Tolliver, Samantha Magowan, Comora Tolliver, Kathy Rudin, Penelope Gottlieb, William Pope.L, TF Tolhurst, Maurizio DeMarfil, Analia Saban, Drew Heitzler, Justin Beal, Max Maslansky, Steven Hull, Angela Dufresne, and Ellwood T. Risk.

Galleries
Zach Feuer Gallery, Kim Light/LightBox, Honor Fraser Gallery, Patrick Painter Inc, Ooga Booga, Kinkead Contemporary, Franklin Parrasch Gallery, Robert Berman Gallery, Marc Richards Gallery, Kopeikin Gallery, Cherry and Martin Gallery, and Thomas Solomon Gallery.

Bidding will start as low as $100. All funds raised will go directly to Red Cross and are 100% tax-deductible.

The Mandrake
2692 S La Cienega Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90034
Tuesday January 19th, 7-9pm

In the spirit of holiday giving, Merry Karnowsky Gallery is hosting a new show of work from some of her represnted artists including: Victor Castillo, Shepard Fairey, Camille Rose Garcia, Mercedes Helnwein, Todd Schorr, Kathy Staico Schorr, Miss Van, Edward Walton Wilcox, Kent Williams, and more.

The gallery is asking attendees to bring cans of food to gain entry, with supplies being donated to the LA Food Bank. If you are going to go to the show the Food Bank really needs supplies like canned meats, canned vegetables, canned fruits and peanut butter. Free show posters will be available to those that donate and if you cannot make it you can donate via a virtual food bank here.

Merry Karnowsky Gallery
Thursday December 17th, 7-10pm
170 S. La Brea Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90036

Discover affordable art, and a talented group of artists at the Space 1026 Art Auction Preview, a week of free events in Philadelphia. A first look at the auction, comedy and movie night, plus a print party and band night, the collective will have you interacting all the way to the official December 11th auction,  hosted by Todd B. Kimmell known as ‘Philadelphia’s perennial gentelman of the arts.’

Expect donations from artists:
Matt Leines, AJ Fosik, Alex DaCorte, Steve Powers, Brian Chippendale, Annette Monnier, Taylor McKimens, Eddie Martinez, Suzannah Sinclair, Andrew Schoultz, Joseph Hart, Jeanette Mundt, Hilary Pecis, Matthew Palladino, Steven Harrington, Billy Dufala, Tim Gough, Caleb Neelon, Adam Wallacavage and many, many more.

And from all of your favorite Space 1026-ers like Andrew Jeffrey Wright, Thom Lessner, Bill McRight, Chris Kline, Greg Pizzoli, Bonnie Brenda Scott and the rest of the collective.

For more information and a full line up of events, visit
www.space1026.com/auction

Today, Yosi Sergant, the Director of Communications for the NEA, was demoted from his position after a smear campaign by Glenn Beck.

Sergant was the impetus for Shepherd Fairey’s HOPE campaign, Ron English’s Abraham Obama, the Manifest HOPE Gallery in Denver, MoveOn’s artist competition, and just about ever cool collaboration between the Obama campaign and artists.

Sergant’s the reason there’s a street artist in the Smithsonian.

Sergant’s campaigns were the first time that I felt the art that me and my friends made could have the least relevance to power.  Regardless of what you think of Fairey, Sergant’s work with him did a huge deal to legitimize a genre of art generally scorned by the high-art establishment.  We owe him a debt.  Street artists, pop-surrealists, kids with sketchbooks and comics obsessions.  We finally have someone in the NEA who GOT us.

So, if you’re not writing to the NEA to tell them it’s jack-shit ridiculousness for Glenn Beck to set their policy, write to them because Yosi Sergant is one of our supporters, and we should return the favor.

You can write to the NEA at webmgr@arts.endow.gov

Artist Sandow Birk has recreated the Islamic Qur’an in English and created a visual representation for his newest show opening next week.

Koplin Del Rio in Culver City will debut a new series of work by Birk, titled American Qur’an. The exhibition is the first installment of an ongoing project and is comprised of thirty gouache and ink on paper paintings, as well as mixed media sculpture.

The shows contents has already received tremendous press from the NY Times, LA Times and many many more, as the gallery is unsure whether or not to expect protesters. Go see for yourself:

Sandow Birk: American Qur’an
Koplin Del Rio
Exhibition Dates: September 8 – October 30, 2009
Reception for the Artist: Saturday, September 12, 2009, 6:00 – 8:00 pm

More info after the jump:

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We reported earlier when Yoshitomo Nara was arrested for “vandalizing” the NY subway prior to his show, now…

“Yoshitomo Nara, a multimillionaire pop artist, was arrested in February when cops spotted him drawing a smiley face on the wall of the First Avenue L-train stop with a marker in the wee hours of the morning. The art sensation, whose works of doe-eyed cartoonish children have sold for as much as $1.5 million, was given an adjournment in contemplation after being charged with making graffiti and criminal mischief and spending the night in jail.

That meant if he kept his nose clean for six months, the charges would be dropped—which they were yesterday. “This case in now officially over,” said his lawyer, Guy Oksenhendler.

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Mia

So if you aren’t battling the crowds and San Diego traffic this weekend to experience the magic of Comic-Con, there’s still plenty to see! Here are a few of the openings and events going on in LA.

Dave Burke “Heavy Petting”
Mia “Riddles In The Dark”
With Guest Artist Sarah Folkman “Keep It Down”
Opening Reception Saturday, July 25, 2009 from 7-10pm

Corey Helford Gallery will proudly present major exhibitions of new  works by Dave Burke and  Mia with guest artist  Sarah Folkman in the loft. These three incredibly talented and diverse artistic voices from Los Angeles New Fine Art Movement intersect for a summer showcase of stunning new paintings and drawings, as well as some new prints available here.

Corey Helford Gallery

VICE Magazine @ Scion Space LA
Vice, the international arts and culture magazine distributed and published in more than 22 countries, comes to Scion’s Installation L.A. Gallery on July 25 for the ninth annual Vice Photo Show.

The opening reception takes place on July 25, 7 p.m. – 10 p.m. at the Scion Installation L.A. Space. The reception is free with complimentary valet parking and an open bar for those that are 21 and up. All artists will be in attendance and Vice Photo Issues will be available at the event. The exhibit will run until August 8, 2009.

Scion Installation L.A.
3521 Helms Ave

Viva! Kickoff Event

Join Viva! and Philanthro Productions for a night of art, drinks & music to help raise funds for Children’s Law Center Los  Angeles (CLC), helping foster children in LA enrich their lives. They will be hosting a silent art auction & gallery party featuring 25+ pieces by renowned artists and music by celebrity DJ Casey Connor.

Saturday, July 25
Wokcano Summer Lounge
1413 5th Street
Santa Monica
8 PM – 12 AM
Auction closes 11 PM

Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin played witness to an enormous crowd of Art Fans, Media, Special Guests and Artists, all in support of STAGES and LIVESTRONG.

While Lance rides the Tour de France (holding steady in 2nd place) the contemporary art world rises to support some of his causes. Participating artists include heavyweights: Richard Prince, Yoshitomo Nara, Ed Ruscha, Tom Sachs, Cai Guo-Qiang and Kenny Scharf as well as emerging stars like: Rosson Crow, Shepard Fairey, KAWS, Jose Parla and Eric White.

Guests were invited not only to view the amazing artwork created by some of today’s foremost art talent, but also to join in showing their solidarity for Lance Armstrong and Mark Parker’s vision to push art to the forefront in the fight against cancer.

While STAGES, as an exhibition and collection of artwork was created in order to raise funds for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, with the exhibition traveling to NYC on October 2nd, the sheer magnitude of the event here in Paris and the turnout shows a much broader level of support.

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Shepard Fairey and Jennifer Gross in conjuncture with ABRAMS publishers will release a new book titled Art for Obama. ” ART FOR OBAMA is comprised of collages, paintings, photo composites, prints, and computer-generated pieces, showcasing the well-known images of the campaign as well as less famous, but equally creative pieces from around the globe and will be available October of this year.”

In conjunction with the themes of hope and change, all of the authors’ profits from this book will be donated to Americans for the Arts charity.

Two of the rising stars in last years Fresh Faces show are now in the Top 10 studios on Society 6. Both Yuta Onoda and Nimit Malavia are highly rated by the community, as is gallery artist Tessar Lo (also in Top 10) and LBP fave Blaine Fontana.

Make sure to join the community at society 6, a must follow for artists and curators. The network is designed to create grants for artists and so far is one of our favorite sites this year. You can visit us there at: www.lebasseprojects.society6.com

Here is a little preview of the Damien Hirst Trek Madone art bike Lance Armstrong will be riding in the Tour de France. The Bike design is in conjuncture with the Livestrong art benefit, Stages, opening  July 17 at Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin.

Like the infamous paintings in which Hirst used thousands of butterfly wings suspended in paint, the design for the bike reflects the same imagery. Be sure to catch Lance riding in the tour for the full view, interesting to see what it will look like in motion.

Kaws Design for Armstrong Bike

The world of art, sports and philanthropy will collide this Month in Paris at the Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin for the opening of Stages, a global art exhibition benefiting the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LIVESTRONG) to raise funds and awareness for the fight against Cancer. The art show and sale is co-sponsored by Nike and features work by an impressive array of stellar artists. Damien Hirst, KAWS and Marc Newson have also all designed bikes that Lance Armstrong will ride in this years Tour de France to coincide with the event.

Contributing Artists:

Cai Guo-Qiang, Rosson Crow, Jules de Balincourt, Dzine, Shepard Fairey, Andreas Gursky, KAWS, Geoff McFetridge, Yoshitomo Nara, Catherine Opie, Jose Parla, Raymond Petibon, Lari Pittman, Richard Prince, Ed Ruscha, Tom Sachs, Kenny Scharf, Eric White, Christopher Wool, and Aaron Young.

Stages (Destination 1)
July 17 – August 8
Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin
76 rue de Turenne, 75003 Paris

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