The World is Watching Reception and Curatorial Notes

 

The World is Watching

I unfortunately had the Saturday shift on the night of the reception which means I'm handling the front counter. Six artists, each with friends, descended upon GR2. I was proud of the crowd that came through in the front, but this exhibition was busy in the back, behind the counter. This means less photos but I actually interacted with more visitors. (Link to photos from reception)

It's fun and challenging working with artists who haven't shown at GR2. Kwanchai Moriya, who I've shown many times was the least of my worries. I know what I'm getting - brush strokes, portraits, and mostly females all on wood boards. He's solid.

Joey Chou who might have the record for most emails not returned over a few year period until recently, brought great pieces displaying his illustration background and technical know-how in execution. He admitted that this show was something different since it didn't limit him to a theme and unlike many exhibitions where he shows just a few pieces, The World is Watching was a bit larger and more involved.

Tiffany Liu has shown in bits and pieces and always creates small and precious works. Diligently painted, these pieces are clean and technically sound. Shadows, details, and the subject matter of marine mammals give her small pieces a fun atmosphere.

Ryuca is a mystery. She's from Tokyo and visited the shop quite recently. Her work is on the postcard image, yet it wasn't part of the exhibition. Confusing? Yes. Yet this is part of the "game". Mix these: artist, overseas, mysterious, and you get: you can't know what's coming. We got cute cat drawings and a painting.

Flat Bonnie. I mentioned that I was proud of them because they aren't in art exhibitions of this magnitude. They're often in themed plush shows where they submit a piece or two, which is often a plush version of whatever the theme might be. This time, they were responsible for a sizable wall and they created Flat Bonnie World. Flat Bonnie Con is something we'll dream about.

Dan Goodsell is well known for his character Mr Toast. I enjoyed how artist, Mari Inukai yelled, "Mr Toast" Seeing him at numerous conventions and having a tiny degree of separation with him through my great friend, Dean Gojobori, I know his work. He did mention, "you stole Dean from me." Since Dean once helped Dan's Comic-Con booth, but we had permission from Dan. His works are many small pieces that'll often enlighten people. I joked that the slogans were from fortune cookies, but no. These are better. 

I hope you enjoy the works. Here's a link to them.