From left to right (and top to bottom!): David Stoupakis, Gallery owner Paul Booth, Dark Pop 2.0 artist Esao Andrews and Gallery Director Andrew Michael Ford)

This past Saturday, Paul Booth’s Last Rites Gallery opened it’s newest exhibition entitled Dark Pop 2.0 to a crowd of almost 500 people.  The anticipation was high after the inaugural Dark Pop exhibition last year, which boasted the talents of artists such as Ron English, Gary Taxali, Isabel Samaras, Esao Andrews and street art sensations Gaia and Imminent Disaster, along with many others.  This year’s show saw the return of artists such as Esao Andrews, Yoko d’Holbachie, Gaia, David MacDowell, Sarah Joncas, Leslie Ditto and Nathan Lee Pickett.  Some of the artists joining the show for the first time included Tara McPherson, AIKO (aka Aiko Nakagawa), Stella Im Hultberg, Dan-ah Kim, Amy Crehore, Eric Fortune, Dennis McNett and Tin.  A few of the photos from the opening event can be seen below.  A full flickr set can be found HERE.  Also, you can view all the artwork from the show HERE.

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Farewell Avery - New works by Esao Andrews @ Thinkspace Gallery. Show runs from Oct. 9th-30th.

Recently I went to check out the opening of Esao Andrews “Farewell Avery” at Thinkspace Gallery Friday October 9th. He also had a recent interview in Juxtapoz Online, which you should check out here. Also, in the back room and on the Fresh Faces wall were ‘Mary In Bronxzooland’ by Tony Philippou and “Tempo Momento” from Joshua Mays. Check out the photos from the opening and try and catch one – they always have fun openings.

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The artist, Esao Andrews, hard at work

Esao Andrews has been called a Gothic grotesque painter, dark erotic painter, pop surrealist and so much more.  As much as people love to pigeon-hole artists and stick them in a nicely labeled box, Andrews somehow continues to defy categorization as his work moves from light to dark, playful to serious, sexy to sick…sometimes all within one body of paintings.  He has also shown his love of variety through his toy designs, incredible illustrations for music bands, comic book work and so much work.  It is this dedication to difference that sets his work apart from many of the New Contemporary painters who choose to create the same character and/or scenarios in each painting.  Andrews has also proven himself a survivor who is seriously dedicated to his craft having slowly and steadily established himself over the last 10 years as one of the most consistent and unique painters working today.  On the brink of his upcoming solo exhibition at Thinkspace Gallery, Andrews took a break from his hectic schedule to answer a few questions about yesterday, today and tomorrow…
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His online print store has been quiet for quite some time, but Esao Andrews is now back in action with four new prints added to the shop. “Sprites Revenge” and “Untitled (Girl in Sun hat)” are both 11″ x 16″ signed in editions of 40. “Guadiana” and “Thirty” are both 12″ x 12″ signed in editions of 60.

Esao has a unique, infectious style to his work and all four prints are amazing. “Untitled (Girl in Sun hat)” (shown) is the one that caught me the quickest.

[Source: Esao.net]