The Urban Superstar 2010 Festival conceived by Italian artist  showcases  new contemporary art  within the walls of Naples’ MADRE museum for four separate shows through the end of the year.  The Festival starts with the Back from Black group show opening on May 1st with some of the brightest talents working in the pop surrealism, low brow, and underground art genres.  Looks to be an excellent show with many standout pieces.  Hit the jump for a preview.

Back in Black Artist Roster:

Amy Sol, Anthony Ausgang, Alberto Corradi, AlePOP, Alessandro Rak, Prof. Bad Trip, (Gianluca Lerici), Basil Wolverton, Bigfoot, Blu, Boris Hoppek, Brendan Danielsson, Buff Monster, Camilla D’Errico, Camilla Falsini, Catalina Estrada, Cesko, Charles Burns, Ciou, Daniel Clowes, Dave Cooper, Dave McKean, DEM, Diavù (David Vecchiato), Fidia, Francesca Ghermandi, Gary Baseman, Gary Taxali, Gianluca Costantini, Gilbert Shelton, Gio Pistone, Glenn Barr, Hitnes, Ian Stevenson, Jamie Hewlett, Jeremy Fish, Jim Avignon, Joe Ledbetter, Jon Burgerman, Laurina Paperina, Licia Viero, Lina Hoven, Lisa Petrucci, Marco About, Massimo Giacon, Matti Hagelberg, Michael Sieben, Mike Davis, Mr. Wany, Paper Resistance, Paul Chatem, Ray Caesar, Robert Crumb, Scarful, Sergio Mora, Shag, Squaz, Tara McPherson, Tokidoki (Simone Legno), Victor Castillo, Zelda Bomba, Zoe Lacchei.

Back from Black
Opening: Saturday May 1st, 2010
MADRE
Via Settembrini 79
80139 Napoli Italy
+39.081.193.13.016

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Copro presented the Hi-Fructose 5th Anniversary group show to a packed house on Saturday evening (3.13).   Given Hi-Fructose’s position as one of the leading pop surrealism magazines, it’s not surprising that their anniversary shows are always eagerly anticipated and have over the years delivered.  Maybe it’s because the show is fresh in our minds, but this latest installment feels like one of the strongest yet.

Headlined by a bumper crop of excellent paintings from some of the scene’s top painters including Ron English, Craola, Audrey Kawasaki, Amy Sol, Martin Wittfooth as well as in-your-face sculptures by Colin Christian, Scott Musgrove, Harma Heikens, and Kris Kuksi,  standout pieces seemed to be the norm.  We’re also happy to report that the show seems to have sold quite well.

Speaking of sculptures, Scott Musgrove’s large  5-foot Prairie Boxer bronze sculpture is a highlight piece  made all that more impressive by the fact that it was sculpted by Scott himself.  The large/short pair of creatures have an undeniable life and presence.  So it’s a shame that very few show goers were able to appreciate the piece due to the poor viewing conditions.  There was no direct light on the piece and as a result it languished in relative darkness (the pictures after the jump were shot with  high iso or flash).  Disappointing.

Make no mistake though, Hi-Fructose’s 5th Anniversary exhibition is an excellent group show with very strong work.  If you missed it, definitely set some time aside to drop by Copro to check it out before it closes on April 3rd.  For artwork availability, please check the official show preview.

Copro Gallery
Bergamot Station
7525 Michigan Ave T5
Santa Monica, CA 90404
310.829.2156

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While LA was breaking out some amazing shows last Friday, The David B Smith Gallery in Denver, Co exhibited an incredible group show from long standing artists, (Kris Lewis, Shag, Jason Thielke, etc) as well as some unexpected ones (MARS-1, Amy Sol, Jud Bergeron, etc).  Pics after the jump.

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Amy Sol’s gentle and delicate new pieces are on display at CoproGallery in Bergamot Station. “The Wilderness Buffet” continues through Nov. 28. You can visit the artist and gallery websites for high-quality images of her first-rate work.

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Amy Sol offered a delectable  menu of new original paintings with Wilderness Buffet which opened this past Saturday (11.7) @ Copro Gallery in Santa Monica. This new body of work (four medium sized pieces and three smaller pieces) features Sol’s beautiful and surrealistic imagery blending earth tones with numerous aquatic references. While the new pieces retain her signature serenity with a dash of whimsy, they feel slightly more upbeat and cheerful.

In addition to the original work, the gallery is offering three exquisitely done prints of her new work (nearly 1:1 size wise).  The Sea Ice Caravel print in particular is quite stunning – done on paper, the wood texture is reproduced with strong results.   For complete information on painting and print availability, see the official show page.

Copro Nason
Bergamot Station
7525 Michigan Ave T5
Santa Monica, CA 90404
310.829.2156

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This weekend opened the “Kokeshi” show curated by designer Christina Conway at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, which has been showing some great emerging work as of late.

Kokeshi featured nearly 100 custom traditional Japanese Kokeshi dolls from some of the most talented artists in the emerging contemporary scene including Amy Sol, Travis Louie, Yoskay Yamamoto, Tara McPherson, Kozyndan and more.

What was even better was that the museum had an entire exhibit of traditional Kokeshi and a timeline of Kokeshi dolls through history to give you a real sense of the importance of the doll in Japanese culture. An excellent display and a worthwhile excuse to visit JANM.

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R to L: Amy Sol, Kelly Vivanco, Stella Im Hultberg

Presented by LATDA, Kokeshi from Folk Art to Art Toy opening on July 11th, 2009 @ the Japanese American National Museum, offers a broad survey of a multitude of  Kokeshi – Japanese wood dolls that were traditionally  collected as souvenirs by hot springs visitors.  The large show will feature three sections – the first features over 300 examples of traditional kokeshi from the collection of Itske and Anthony Stern, the second features contemporary original takes on the koekshi from eleven artists working in diverse media, and  the third section entitled Custom Kokeshi 2009 curated by Christina Conway features over 100 international artists interpretations of an identical blank kokeshi  wood form.

Dailydujour had the pleasure of visiting the museum a few weeks ago to get an early look at the varied pieces in the show with the assistance of Maria Kwong (LATDA) and Christina Conway.  Though we were primarily focused on the work done for Custom Kokeshi 2009, the follow-up to Christina’s successful 07 Kokeshi show, what we saw of the other show sections was quite impressive.

Conway selected a varied and talented group of artists (full list on the flier after the jump) based on their ability to bring an interesting interpretation of the blank kokeshi form.  While it goes without saying that Conway invited some of the best and brightest artists in the low-brow and pop surrealist genres, she also invited perhaps lesser-know artists who she had become familiar with over the years.  The result is a very strong collection of work which in our opinion surpasses that of the first show – by no means a trivial task.

Enjoy this preview which features pieces from Amy Sol, Caia Koopman, Kelly Vivanco, Meredith Dittmar,  Mike Rivamonte, N.C. Winters,  Stella Im Hultberg, and Tara McPherson.  Look for more shortly. Finally, be sure to mark July 11th on your carder to catch the opening of this excellent show.

Japanese American National Museum
369 East First Street
Los Angeles California 90012
213.625.0414

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The Drawing Room group show curated by LA painter Audrey Kawasaki featuring drawings from 24 artists opens this Friday, November 7th @ Thinkspace Gallery [7-11 PM].  dailyduJour had the pleasure of an advanced look at the show.  Here’s a little sneak peek at what’s in store for you at the opening.

If you’ve ever wished you could tour Audrey Kawasaki’s work space – her front room installation is probably the next best thing featuring many personal items and furniture from her studio + many drawings on the desk and throughout the room.

While we can’t show you very many pieces, click through for a preview featuring work by Audrey Kawasaki, Amy Sol and  newcomer Joao Paulo Ruas. Don’t miss the opening – it’s a very strong show.

Thinkspace Art Gallery
4210 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90029
323.913.3375

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