Manifest Equality gallery, opening its doors on March 3rd through the 7th in Los Angeles,  harnesses  the power, vision and voices of 100+ artists in an effort to seek full and equal rights for Gay (LGBT) individuals and all Americans.  This large, high-profile group show features work from a diverse array of artists including Ron English, Robbie Conal, Harvey Pekar, Shepard Fairey,  Swoon, Amanda Visell, Tristan Eaton, Tim Biskup, Gary Baseman, Jude Buffum, Joe Ledbetter, Buff Monster, Barry McGee and many, many more. The timely and heartfelt show is meant to inspire viewers to participate in the grassroots movement seeking political reform that ensures equal rights regardless of sexual orientation.

Here’s a quick preview of some of the work that will be on display at the gallery.  Be sure to catch the opening night party this coming Wednesday, March 3rd (8 PM – 1 AM). The full schedule is available after the jump.

Manifest Equality
1341 Vine Street
Los Angeles, CA 90028-8141

More Images + Info »

Update: Additional Opening Night pics added.

“A Cry For Help” opened at Thinkspace Gallery Friday night and the crowds were out to check out the works of over 100 artists, including exclusive from Amy Sol, Liz McGrath and Buff Monster, live painting by John Park, and the delicious food available outside by the Little Spoons Dessert Truck.   We snapped a few photos before we headed down to another show.  As usual, Thinkspace threw a great opening and it was packed all night.

“A Cry For Help”
presented by Born Free USA
Show Runs: Jan. 8th, 2010 through Feb. 5th, 2010
Opening Reception: Friday, Jan. 8th, 2010 7- 11pm
Thinkspace Gallery

More Images + Info »

Sanrio’s Three Apples Hello Kitty show continues to pack-in crowds a full two weeks after the initial opening.  Special events during the weekends have amplified the magnetic draw of the iconic cute character.  Last Saturday’s (11.7) ‘Meet the Artists’ event drew a large number of artists from the Three Apples group show curated by Jamie Rivadeneira.  The evening featured live painting from multiple artists including Camilla d’Errico (above), Angry Woebots, and Peekaboo Monster.   The completed pieces were offered via silent auction.

In addition to the live painting, live Tee screening by Hit+Run proved to be popular with the crowd drawing a steady line for most of the evening.  For $20, fans could create a custom shirt featuring  three of six silkscreen designs by group show artists including Buff Monster and Mark Dean Veca.  Hit the jump for plenty of pics of the celebration.  Three Apples runs through next weekend – November 15th 2009.

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

More Images + Info »

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

More Images + Info »

Three Apples, celebrating the 35th Anniversary of Sanrio’s Hello Kitty icon and brand  officially opens this Friday, October 23rd @ Royal/T in Culver City, CA.  While the exhibition features everything you could every Hello Kitty item you could ever want to see or buy, it’s also home to a large group art show featuring 60+ artists curated by Jamie Rivadeneira.  We’ve shown you a few previews of paintings from the show and now we’re back with a first look at the official show catalog.  Available for purchase at the venue, the nicely produced catalog features full color images of nearly each art piece along will nice 2 page spreads with pull quotes from selected artists.  Enjoy this first look.

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

More Images + Info »

In addition to his  large painting for Sanrio’s upcoming Three Apples show celebrating the 35th Anniversary  of Hello Kitty, Buff Monster also created 35 square panel paintings which seamlessly blend his style with the iconic kitten. Enjoy this quick preview. Be sure to check out the  Three Apples art show ,curated by Jamie Rivadeneira, which opens on Friday, October 23rd @ Royal/T in Culver City, CA and runs through November 15th, 2009.

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

Ron English

To celebrate the 35th anniversary of their iconic Hello Kitty character loved the world over, Sanrio has put together the Three Apples exhibition which runs from October 23rd through November 15th 2009 @ Royal/T in Culver City.  Named after Hello Kitty’s official weight, the multi-faceted exhibition will offer several displays within the 10,000 sqft. venue  including the Three Apples art show featuring original interpretations of Hello Kitty from over  80 artists.  Curated by Jamie Rivadeneira, owner of  the Japan LA boutique, the show will feature work from well-known artists including Ron English, Amanda Visell,  Buff Monster, Natalia Fabia, Colin Christian, Luke Chueh,  and many more.  The artwork will be available for sale with a portion of the proceeds benefiting LA Works. Enjoy this first look at some of the artwork created for the show.

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

More Images + Info »

LA artist Buff Monster unveiled his newest collection of work for the opening of Heavy Metal Ice Cream Smile @ Corey Helford Gallery on Saturday (9.5).  Fans and collectors familiar with Buff Monster’s work will notice that the twenty-one new pieces represent a stylistic evolution featuring an emphasis on geometric patterns, trippy landscapes, and a revised, more colorful palette.  The title itself also clues us into the new show which merges the happy, cheerful world featured in the majority of his past work with the darker, demon-filled word of his last few shows.

For the opening, Buff Monster and Corey Helford unveiled a wild installation piece – a towering custom ice cream balloon with a cherry on top, of course.  By the large crowd that filtered into the gallery to enjoy the new art and the free ice cream from the yellow truck, one would have never guessed this was in fact a long holiday weekend.

As you check out the photos of  the work, note the visual narrative of light and darkness featuring Buff Monster’s ‘Skull Camo’ ooze that flows out of his satanic creatures and literally clouds the skies of  candy-colored euphoric landscapes.  Also notable, is the increased use of lettering and slogans – both in the Kanji seen in recent exhibitions as well as English.

Heavy Metal Ice Cream Smile marks a definite progression for Buff Monster and is his best show to date.

Corey Helford Gallery
8522 Washington Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232
310.287.2340

More Images + Info »

Last Friday Dailydujour presented a live video interview on DDTV with Buff Monster and host Eileen Lei.   We’re happy to bring you the full in-depth interview which focuses on Buff Monster’s new show, Heavy Metal Ice Cream Smile, which opened last night @ Corey Helford Gallery.  Process, themes, stylistic goals – it’s in there. 

Corey Helford Gallery
8522 Washington Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232
310.287.2340

The next episode of Dailydujour TV (ddtv) will feature a LIVE interview with Buff Monster this Friday, September 4th @ 1:30 PM PDT on location from Corey Helford Gallery.  We’ll be talking to him about his art in general and his Heavy Metal Ice Cream Smile solo which opens this Saturday.  As is our tradition, we’ll also take questions directly from the chat room.  If you’d like you can also post questions as comments on this post. And on Friday @ 1:30 be sure to watch over at DDTV.

Corey Helford Gallery
8522 Washington Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232
310.287.2340

We recently had the pleasure of visiting Buff Monster’s studio as he prepared for his Heavy Metal Ice Cream Smile solo which opens on Saturday, September 5th (7-10 PM) @ Corey Helford Gallery.  During our visit we watched Buff working on one of his paintings for the show (20 in all) and also learned more about his meticulous process.  Whether he’s painting one of his signature Buff Monster characters, a skull or a Ripper, Buff is obsessed with clean, flat, sharp execution leaving nothing to stand between the viewer and image. This often entails time-consuming detail work such as painting the chain worn by a character in one of his pieces.

Most of his paintings begin either on the computer in Illustrator which is then output to paper which he cuts out.  Alternatively, he sketches on a paper outline.  This intermediate step helps in visualization and the initial layout of the painting on board.  Shots of these paper outlines, a look at the initial stage of applying a background texture, and a new painting reveal can be found after the jump.

In addition to the paintings, the  show will also a feature an installation currently shrouded in mystery.  To bring you greater insight into his latest solo we’ll be presenting a live video interview with Buff Monster prior to the opening. More details shortly.

Corey Helford Gallery
8522 Washington Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232
310.287.2340

More Images + Info »

After the sun goes down, comic-con turns from a packed exhibition hall and line upon line waiting for sought-after collectibles to parties and plenty of them. This past Thursday,   Munky King continued its annual and much welcomed SDCC party at Bar Basic  along with co-presenter Hi-Fructose.

Looking to add a pulse-quickening jolt to the live art portion of the party, both Jim Mahfood and Buff Monster painted on female models with strategically placed tape x’s.  In the main painting area, Carlos Ramos, Attaboy and Chris Ryniak created original paintings on the fly – strong and diverse results.

A wave of artists and industry folks filtered in through the evening including Simone Legno, Angry Woebots, Yoskay Yamamoto, kaNO, Diego Marchioni, Jim Crawford, Emi Uchiki, Jesse Hernandez, Marka27 to mention a few.

More Images + Info »

Giant Robot 2 in Los Angeles opened their Year of the Ox group show, celebrating this year’s Chinese zodiac animal.  Overall the large and well-curated show  offered strong and varied pieces – paintings, drawings and a few sculptures.  The show roster  includes Bigfoot, Deth P. Sun, Amanda Visell, Luke Chueh, Michelle Valigura, David Horvath, Edwin Ushiro, Buff Monster, Joel Nakamura, Le Merde and many more. While  Paul Bunyan themed pieces proved somewhat popular,  artists’ interpretations of the theme were quite diverse overall.  Year of the Ox offers many affordable pieces with a wide appeal. Check it out and plan to spend quite awhile to take in all the art. The show closes on April 15th.

Giant Robot 2
2062 Sawtelle Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025
310.445.9276

More Images + Info »