Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
J. Otto Seibold at GR2 June 13 – July 8, 2009 Reception: Saturday, June 13, 6:30 -10:00 GR2 2062 Sawtelle Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90025 gr2.net (310) 445-9276 Giant Robot is proud to host Jottobots, an art show featuring new work by J. Otto Seibold. Showcased in children’s books such as Mr. Lunch, Penguin Dreams, and A Trip to the Getty, the pop-art illustration work of J. Otto Seibold is instantly identifiable and immensely influential. The San Francisco-based artist was among the first wave of modern computer artists to make names for themselves by using vector illustration to craft a hugely popular retro folk style. Considering himself a “digital outsider artist,” Seibold also makes personal work that combines stencils, spray paints, and paint pens to create an organic take on his hyper colored, multi layered, and surreal style. For the opening, a special game featuring Seibold’s artwork is being developed by Kyle Pulver of the Attract Mode indie videogame collective. In the 5-minute experience, the player controls a small robot (Jottobot) with the ability to shoot, jump, and fly with the aid of a jetpack. There will be a combo-scoring system and a high-score list, so art show attendees can find out who is the best at the end of the night.
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[nggallery id=72] Giant Robot is proud to present Dirty Paper Machines 3 by Rob Sato at GR2. Paintings and illustrations by Rob Sato have been known to mix animals and humans in strange yet appealing ways. In addition to participating in numerous group and solo art shows since 2001, he received the prestigious Xeric Grant awarded to up-and-coming comic-book artists in 2004, allowing him to publish Burying Sandwiches. “When I heard this show was actually going to happen, I made plans to drop all projects and cut my hours at my day job,” says Sato. “This situation has produced work which digs deeper into themes I usually try to stuff into pictures. It’s a rich mix of humor, mayhem, sadness, horror, adventure, heavy metal, science fiction, history, pastoral beauty, questionable behavior, and true love . Of course, some of it is just silly.” For Dirty Paper Machines, Sato is preparing about 60 pieces. Sizes range from tiny one-inch paintings to 30″ x 44″. In addition, he will have one new mini-comic, some small screenprints, and a large Ultrachrome Giclee print.
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[nggallery id=82] Vote for Survival at GR2 October 18 – November 12 Reception: Saturday, October 18, 6:30 -10:00 GR2 2062 Sawtelle Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90025 gr2.net (310) 445-9276 Giant Robot is proud to present Vote for Survival, an art show featuring new work by Nikki McClure. First making a name for herself as a solo musician in the early ’90s, McClure has redefined herself as a visual artist by creating stunning works of art out of single sheets of paper with a common X-Acto knife. Instilling the somewhat Asian art form of paper cutting with the populist themes of punk rock, Riot Grrl, and motherhood, the Olympia-based artist has created distinctive pieces for album covers, book covers, a successful series of self-published calendars and postcards, handmade publications, and gallery shows. Vote For Survival is an art tour traveling by train, making stops on the West Coast: Olympia, San Francisco, Los Angeles. The show features a series of limited-edition signs, silk-screened on wood signboards and is a call to action-a reminder of what is really important as this election nears. Original paper cuts will also be exhibited, including artwork from the 2009 “Wake Up” calendar, book covers, and new work inspired by the summer of berries and boats. A reception for McClure will take place from 6:30 – 10:00 on Saturday, October 18. For more information about the artist, GR2, Giant Robot magazine, or the contest, please contact: Eric Nakamura Giant Robot Owner/Publisher eric@giantrobot.com (310) 479-7311
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[nggallery id=81] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Masakatsu Sashie Show Opening Under Fluorescent Light at GR2 September 20 – October 15 Reception: Saturday, September 20, 6:30 – 10:00 GR2 2062 Sawtelle Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90025 gr2.net (310) 445-9276 Giant Robot is proud to present Under Fluorescent Light, an art show featuring new work by Masakatsu Sashie. Masakatsu Sashie’s works are often called “orb paintings” since he paints details from his youth as very detailed, compact spheres. Hailing from Kanazawa, Japan, his art captures the scope of his youthful activities and the orbs often represent memories that fade away from the world. His previous works were full of dark imagery, but his more recent pieces include vibrant, often colorful details such as vending machines, fast food signage, and videogames. He cites Mobile Suit Gundam as an influence, and enjoys art by Yukio Oscar Oiwa and Antonio Lopez Garcia. Currently, he teaches at his alma mater, Kanazawa College of Art. Sashie got his start at Takashi Murakami’s GEISAI shows in Japan. In America, he has shown at GEISAI USA at GR2 and the Giant Robot Biennale at the Japanese American National Museum. Under Fluorescent Light will be his first solo show in the United States, and will feature 2 gigantic paintings accompanied by 10 smaller pieces.
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Giant Robot is proud to host Incidental Nature, a group art show featuring kozyndan, Heisuke Kitazawa, and Robert Bellm at GR2. Since making their debut in Giant Robot magazine, kozyndan (aka Kazue and Dan Kitchens) and their mix of precision European illustration in the style of Moebius and anime-influenced Superflat art from Japan, filtered through Southern California sunshine, has amassed a loyal following of fans and collectors. This show will be the last of kozyndan’s wooden bunnyfish installations, which have appeared in Toronto, Melbourne, Sydney, and Auckland. Heisuke Kitazawa is a Japan-based illustrator and designer whose work graces video games, CD covers, and limited-edition self-published books. Robots and monsters, technology and biology, and blobs and angles collide, as his futuristic themes, modernist curves, and warm color palette create a glimpse into a world that combines hyper detailed science fiction with the cheerful whimsy of children’s books. His 12 digital and acrylic pieces will feature “ghosts, ducks, and emptiness.” Robert Bellm is a Seattle-based artist who paints vibrant images from nature, such as flowers and birds, along with the occasional electrical tower. He calls the mix of natural shapes with manmade forms “organic technology.†The Art Center graduate’s bold and matter-of-factly executed combination is startling yet natural to most eyes–thought provoking yet pleasing. For this show, he is preparing 20 acrylic paintings on wood panels. A reception for kozyndan, Kitazawa, and Bellm will take place from 6:30 – 10:00 on Saturday, January 19th.
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