Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
[nggallery id=86] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Group Art Show Opening Future Fictions, July 21, 2007 – August 15, 2007 Reception: Saturday, July 21, 6:30 pm – 10:00 pm Giant Robot Gallery 437 East 9th Street Between 1st Ave. & Ave. A, in the East Village New York, New York 10009 (212) 674-GRNY (4769) / grny.net Giant Robot is proud to present Future Fictions, a group show featuring original art by Melinda Beck, Katherine Guillen, Ethan Hayes-Chute, James Kirkpatrick, and Kathleen Lolley at GRNY. Melinda Beck is a Brooklyn-based illustrator and graphic designer whose playful, blocky paintings hint at mod and sculptural influences. Her work has been commissioned by Nike, The New York Times, and ID Magazine. Katherine Guillen’s translucent-but-dark hues depict subjects such as manual labor and bullies, as well as floods and other forms of nature in an unflinching, subtly humorous manner. Ethan Hayes-Chute paints colorful, spacious, otherwordly landscapes, makes 3D pieces, and self-publishes art and comic books. In 2005, he relocated from New England to Berlin. James “Thesis” Kirkpatrick transfers the spirit of his trainyard-based character-driven art onto gallery walls by scratching into and carving up built-up layers of paper and acrylic paint. Kathleen Lolley is a Kentucky-based artist, animator, and comic-book maker whose two-dimensional characters painted on old parchment paper suggest a fanciful but complex narrative. A reception for the artists will be held from 6:30 to 10:00 on Saturday, July 21. For more information about the show, the artists, GRNY, or Giant Robot magazine, please contact GRNY at 212-674-4769 or grny@giantrobot.com.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Group Art Show Opening Free Ice Cream Day, June 23, 2007 – July 18, 2007 Reception: Saturday, June 23, 6:30 pm – 10:00 pm Giant Robot Gallery 437 East 9th Street Between 1st Ave. & Ave. A, in the East Village New York, New York 10009 (212) 674-GRNY (4769) / grny.net Giant Robot is proud to present a group show featuring original art by indie-comics notables Jeffrey Brown, Allison Cole, R. Kikuo Johnson, Anders Nilsen, and Daria Tessler at GRNY. The rough and honest storytelling of Jeffrey Brown is akin to do-it-yourself zines and indie rock. The Chicago artist’s autobiographical tales brilliantly convey the awkwardness, hope, and bittersweet details of doomed romance. Allison Cole is a Providence-based illustrator, designer, and indie- and mini-comics artist who has contributed to anthologies such as Kramer’s Ergot and Blood Orange. Her storytelling is elegant and stylized yet raw and revealing. Born on Maui and schooled in Rhode Island, R. Kikuo Johnson has quickly gained a following with his rough, expressive brushwork depictions of the darker side of life on the Islands and beyond. The simple and stark yet complete illustration style of Anders Nilson perfectly depicts space and loneliness in works such as Big Questions and Dogs & Water. Recently, the Chicago artist mixed drawings with Polaroids in MOME. Daria Tessler is a Brooklyn-based illustrator and printmaker who beautifully conveys the geometry of nature and crafts with seemingly effortless linework. Among her canvases are T-shirts and stationery as well as shoes and CD covers. A reception for the artists will be held from 6:30 to 10:00 on Saturday, June 23. For more information about the show, GRNY, or Giant Robot magazine, please contact GRNY.
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James Kochalka at GRNY, February 17 – March 14 Reception: Saturday, February 17, 6:30 pm – 10:00 pm Giant Robot Gallery 437 East 9th Street Between 1st Ave. & Ave. A, in the East Village New York, New York 10009 (212) 674-GRNY (4769) / grny.net Giant Robot is proud to present Little Paintings by James Kochalka at GRNY. Indie cartoonist James Kochalka is well-known for having a raw, humorous, and powerful style and prolific pace; he draws one diary strip a day for his Web site, and still manages to create an ever-growing catalog of graphic novels. His range extends from the autobiographical (American Elf) to kid-friendly (Peanutbutter & Jeremy) to serious (The Cute Manifesto) to raunchy (SuperF*ckers) to iconic (Monkey vs. Robot). His comix work has won four Ignatz awards and one Harvey award. He is widely regarded as the inventor of the daily-diary comic strip, and has inspired countless younger artists. Kochalka has also released several CDs with his band, James Kochalka Superstar. His song “Britney’s Silver Can” was named one of the 100 best songs of 2006 by Rolling Stone, and his song “Hockey Monkey” is being used as the theme song to new Fox television sitcom, The Loop. For the art show, Kochalka is making 150 acrylic 2″ by 2″ paintings on 3″ by 3″ paper. Subject matter will feature cats, monkeys, monsters, self-portraits of himself as an elf, and creatures “inspired by classic videogame characters like the ghosts in Pac-Man or the aliens in Galaxians or Galaga.” The multitude of pieces will not be framed but are quite suitable for framing. A reception for the artist will be held from 6:30 to 10:00 on Saturday, February 17. For more information about Kochalka, GRNY, or Giant Robot magazine, please contact GRNY.
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[nggallery id=48] Bwana Spoons at Giant Robot New York, January 12 – February 13, 2007 Reception: Saturday, January 12, 6:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. Giant Robot Gallery 437 East 9th Street Between 1st Ave. & Ave. A, in the East Village New York, New York 10009 grny.net (212) 674-GRNY Giant Robot is proud to present How to Dig a Hole, an art show by Bwana Spoons. Spoons is a Portland-based artist whose freewheeling style was developed under the influence of underground comics, ’60s rock posters, and Japanese rubber monster movies. Starting out with stapled-and-folded zines like My Friend the Micronaut and Ain’t Nothing Like Fucking Moonshine in the early ’90s, Spoons has become a regular in the Northwest street art and indie music scene. Endangered animals caught in mid-thought, kung-fu wizards with gravity-defying eyebrows, and swirling psychedelic backgrounds are only some of the elements found in the well-composed anarchy of his paintings and sculpture. He is also involved in the Grass Hut art collective and gallery. Although the show is called “How to Dig a Hole”, the new paintings, illustrations, and sculptures by Spoons actually address how to get out of one. “What do I fill it with?” he asks. “Blood, guts, tears, dirt, love, and paint.” Giant Robot has been promoting new art and artists since 1994, first with a magazine and then in galleries. The publication celebrated its 50th issue in 2007 with an art show at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles. Currently it presents art shows on a monthly basis in its L.A., San Francisco, and New York City locations. A reception for Spoons will be held from 6:30 to 10:00 on Saturday, January 12. For more information about the artist, GRNY, or Giant Robot magazine, please contact GRNY.
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Jeana Sohn at GRNY, December 2 – January 3 Reception: Saturday, December 2, 6:30 pm – 10:00 pm Giant Robot Gallery 437 East 9th Street Between 1st Ave. & Ave. A, in the East Village New York, New York 10009 (212) 674-GRNY (4769) grny.net Giant Robot is proud to present the art of Jeana Sohn at GRNY. Jeana Sohn was born in Korea, where she completed a program in graphic design at a local university. Jeana moved to the U.S to study character animation at CalArts. Her drawings and paintings combine the straightforwardness of children’s book illustration with the subdued color palette of weathered folk signage and free-flowing composition of street art. In 2005, she was commissioned to design T-shirts and buttons for Death Cab for Cutie. For “Pale and Blue at 14,” Sohn is preparing 35 new pieces. Half of the work is gouache and watercolor on thin veneer. The other half is on wood board and paper. Of her new work, the artist says, “In most of my past shows, I hinted at stories with my pieces. For this show, I’m thinking of the pieces as tone poems or picture poems about characters’ feelings. I’m trying to express relationships between young human beings and nature.” Adolescents are frozen in time among birds, insects, and flowers. Or are they just frozen? A reception for the artist will be held from 6:30 to 10:00 on Saturday, December 2.
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