Confessions of an Old Dirty Skateboarder Mike Giant, solo show
July 20 - August 12, 2012
Opening reception: Friday, June 20th, 7–10 pm
@FFDG, 2277 Mission St., SF, CA
preview inquires, email: info(at)ffdg.net
San Francisco, CA -- FFDG is pleased to present San Francisco based artist Mike Giant in his first solo show with the gallery entitled "Confessions of an Old Dirty Skateboarder" featuring a wide assemblage of recent drawings and also a rare opportunity to view Giant's personal collection of skateboards he illustrated the graphics for, including boards from his early career. There will be an opening reception for the show on Friday, July 20th (7-10pm). The artist will be present. Beer and wine will be available.
"I'm a product of my generation. I grew up through the 80s and was drawn to the punk rock and hip-hop cultures simultaneously", Giant said in a recent interview. "I threw myself in headfirst. A lot of those things were about personal expression, and also an anti-establishment attitude like, "We don't need you, we have our own thing." That's the backbone of who I am to this day".
San Francisco based Mike Giant has achieved fame as a graffiti artist, illustrator and tattooist. Black ink is Giant's specialty and whether his medium is concrete, paper or skin, his signature style - inspired by Mexican folk art and Japanese illustration - is unmistakable. Mike Giant has worked in media covering, graffiti, design, fine art, photography and tattooing, making him one of the most celebrated and versatile artists of his generation. He has shown in galleries around the world.
I am a painter out here in California. I create work that is a clash of my graffiti style, a bit of graphics and razor sharp points into these shaped panels. All work is flat, just painted to look 3D. I hand cut these wood panels, and paint them with Oils, sometimes with Spray paint. The usual size is about 24x48 inches. -Victor Malagon
These are great, Victor. Thanks for emailing them over... Different obviously, but kind of reminds us of Graffiti Technica.
Pretty epic room at Au Vieux Panier hotel in Marseille, France by graffiti artist Tilt called "The Panic Room" which was very carefully split in two... Like the Artists' Rooms at Hotel Des Arts here in San Francisco, the Au Vieux Panier hotel features 5 rooms which they invite artists to adjorn yearly.
Photos by designer and photographer Big Addict (aka Roudet Benjamin).
Marc Jacobs vs. The Graffiti Artist, Round 2: When Jacobs Turns Vandalized Store Into $680 Shirt <-- Earlier this week, on the night of the Met Ball, the Marc Jacobs boutique in SoHo was hit by French graffiti artist Kidult, who has famously vandalized Supreme, Hermes, and Louis Vuitton, among others. The hit? Kidult took a fire extinguisher filled with pink paint, and sprayed the word ART over the front of the store (seen below). ~continue reading
A special exhibition at our off-site space 1717 17th Street, San Francisco hours: Thursday - Saturday 11am -5pm April 14th - May 19th , 2012
Reception: April 14th from 3:00 - 6:00 p.m
San Francisco CA Gallery Paule Anglim is pleased to announce a special exhibition by Barry McGee at the gallery's off-site space at 1717 17th Street in San Francisco's Potrero Hill district. Contemporary Arts Centre describes the community acknowledging its present and past: an installation featuring work by McGee and fellow invited artists.
Moving easily across the boundaries of street art, historical High Art, private/anonymous art practices and museum-sanctioned collections, Barry McGee has created and collaborated on artworks appreciated by a broad audience. Acclaimed for his work as a graffiti artist and for his installations in galleries, museums and art festivals around the world, the artist crafts a language that resonates as a shared public experience as well as on a private intimate scale. Addressing social concerns of urban life, yet elaborating a unique personal style, McGee's works focus on a shared humanity, one painstakingly hand-detailed, finely-painted image at a time. McGee's work has been shown widely in the San Francisco community and internationally, including The Venice Biennale (2001) and the Biennale de Lyon (2009-2010,) the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA Los Angeles, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, the UCLA Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, the BALTIC Centre in England and the Watari-um Museum in Tokyo. A retrospective exhibition of his work will be presented at the Berkeley Art Museum opening August 2012.
A reception for McGee & the artists will be held Saturday, April 14th from 3:00 - 6:00 p.m. Please visit the gallery's website at www.gallerypauleanglim.com
The Status Faction [T$F] have been a force of the underground Los Angeles graffiti/street-art scene for the last ten years. And when one of their members moved to Atlanta [GA] they took over that city as well. They are unique in the fact that each one of their paintings usually incorporates some form of performance – like the time they showed up to a party in full swat team gear and then painted a giant wall without anyone's permission. Or, the time they decked out an abandonded house to look like suicide scene and then left the door open for everyone to peek in. For T$F, it's not being the coolest, or the best, it's just about going out every single night, hand pulling every silke-screened poster, pressing spray tips with their fingers, and not being afraid to get grime. T$F is the stand against the computer.
Words & Interview by Daniel Rolnik
Why did you guys start T$F?
During the turn of the millennium, we noticed a lack of Angelenos mixing street art with traditional graffiti. So, we abandoned most of our individual identities as artists to focus on promoting one unified name - The $tatus Faction. The soul of our goal was to form a collective where each member would be a jack-of-all-trades. A crew where everyone could do whatever they wanted, get away with it, be ever changing, and totally unpredictable.
Is that why your work is so diverse?
We strive to make a point of not being pegged as one trick ponies, by constantly reinventing ourselves. We don't want T$F to become a repetitive brand like some of the other crews out there, which are basically t-shirt companies now. So, for us, it's more about putting our hearts into every piece we make and that's why we like it all to have a handmade feel to it. The imperfections and minor differences between each piece are what makes it human.
So none of your work is done digitally?
A big part of our art has to do with the process of physically creating it, which you can't get from pushing a couple buttons on your computer and hitting print. We mean, what would most street artists do if computers were wiped off the Earth? They'd be totally lost.
Hey there, I just got back from a short residency down in a small town two hours north of Mexico City called Tequisquiapan. I was asked to come down there to meet some of the crew of the Clipperton Project, which basically is going to be a crazy boat trip in March with scientists and artists going out to a very remote atoll in the Pacific called Clipperton Island. Anyways, I thought you might like to see some photos of the town and the graffiti that I was surprised to find there.
I found this whole crew of kids working on this wall on the outskirts of Tequisquiapan. I guess this huge wall borders a guys house, he said he invited these guys to come paint it and that he would rather have that then the political paintings that usually get painted on it without his permission.
This was a spot where people used to wash their laundry. Supposedly there is a place in every town in Mexico where people see the ghost of a woman who drowned her own son to revenge her cheating husband. This is where people have seen her in Tequisquiapan
Alan and I also taught some painting workshops at a local school.
When an old political group is ousted, they just put a small X over it.
Whether you like the style or not, these dudes in Sao Paulo are freakin' brave. Not only is the climbing dangerous, but the police and others have been known to kill pixadores when caught.
If you've been, you know how covered Sao Paulo is in this sort of graffiti done by some of the poorest young city dwellers/ motoboys. ~Check our latest visit.
Australian Anthony Lister was in SF recently for the Young and Free show which opened last week at 941 Geary. Below is a lil' video of Anthony being Anthony while here in SF working on the show and murals about town.
This Australian couple, now living in Los Angeles, collaborate on every piece of art they create. Splitting their works between acrylic on canvas and the murals in the streets, they're participating in the Australian street art show Young & Free: Australian Contemporary Street Artists opening up at 941 Geary on September 10th. We emailed them a few questions as they wrap up their work for the show.
So you've been in LA via Melbourne, Australia for 2 years now... How has the transition been?
It’s been great! We really love it in Los Angeles...quite quickly it felt like home here, which was something we didn't expect! But the transition was really smooth for us. After a few months to settle, and just once we wrapped our heads around some of the small differences like allowing 40 minuets to get somewhere - even if its 5 miles away -and learning to use inches and feet over centimeters and meters!
What have been some of the pluses and minuses of being in LA?
There is definitely more pluses than minuses! I think the main pluses are the weather and the people. We have met so many great people here that have become very close friends. And the constant sunshine and blue skies is just ridiculous! I don't think we will ever get sick of that!
Do you consider LA your permanent home now?
At the moment, yes. We can definitely see ourselves being here for many more years...But you never know what the universe has in store.
It seems that your works are divided between murals and paintings. Which came first?
It was different for both of us. I started painting graffiti in the mid 1990's. I had been painting pieces for years before returning to Art School and learned how to paint with acrylics.
Myla on the other hand, had been painting with a brush for most of her life, and it wasn't until we met that she started using spray paint.
Which medium works best to translate your work? Walls with spray paint or brushes while creating paintings?
I'm not sure... We really love painting graffiti and it’s such a big part of our overall influence and style. Painting graffiti letters is so important to us, and we love painting big characters on walls too. The way we go about painting with spray paint is similar to our brush paintings, but also completely different.
The characters are the same, and the content, but outside we paint with heavy lines and strong bold colors. Whereas on our paintings with acrylic, its a lot softer and harmonious approach. With subtle colors and no outlines...and we love working that way too!
NYC graffiti legend SEEN just made our week as he and Mars-1 just stopped by FFDG to check out Shawn Barber's show Youth of Today. The guy practically invented graffiti in the 70s. Yikes.
THAT WAS THEN, THIS IS NOW @111 Minna Gallery --> Collaborative show between LA graffiti writer RISK and illustrator Nathan Ota - In a career spanning 28 years, RISK has impacted the evolution of graffiti as an art form worldwide. Risk is one of the most prolific graffiti artists to date. Los Angeles based, RISK gained major notoriety for his unique style and pushed the limits of graffiti further than any writer in L.A. had before. 111 Minna St @2nd 5pm-late
Illustrator Nathan Ota and LA based graffiti writer RISK
Tahiti Pehrson @Ever Gold --> For his new body of work and first solo exhibition at Ever Gold Gallery, Tahiti Pehrson will be presenting layered monochromatic three-dimensional paper pieces that play off of shadows and light, creating dramatic scenes. Pehrson shows his edge a seasoned veteran in an increasingly popular medium by producing works of staggering detail. 441 O'Farrell St. 6-10pm
Zoltron emailed over some photos and text of how his wheat pasted Ronald took on a life of its own over the course of a couple weeks. His words below.
Somehow I found myself involved in a spontaneous, public art project that organically unfolded over the last couple of weeks in sf.
For the hell of it, I was drawing a famous clown named Ronald (as a junky villain derelict,) but somewhere along the way, I saw a glint of compassion in his eyes. So the drawing ended up showing Ron suddenly caught in an existential crisis of sorts... Like he just realized that he was solely responsible for the death of hundreds of millions of cows. Maybe he suddenly understood that he was fueling massive rainforest destruction and undeniably accountable for child obesity and onset adolescent diabetes.
So I drew him, printed him out, mixed up some pigment and painted on some paper. Then I pasted him up in a foodie district in the mission. The following photographs were taken over the next 2 weeks.
the aging clown experiences an unexpected moment of clarity.
a few days later, someone (equipped with at least 4 colors of aerosol) wasn't amused. "fuck you, hipster scum." Right on point, oh disgruntled youth.
a public forum concluded that it was obviously the work of a certain masked villain. (humburglar was later arrested for defacing public art)
Only hipsters use words like "Hipster."
a few days later, a stencil party ensues.
followed by a confirmed metric fuckton of unadorned radness.
and finally.... according to the local shopkeep, the entire wall is "archived for historical significance." ..
Join us next week, as we discuss vegan soy lattes and their effect on the youth of America. - Zoltron
Last Saturday, June 11th, was Swampy's solo show at Fifty24SF. The show was just a one day art show (a lot of work for one night show), but we were able to get a quick peak today before they started cleaning it up.
A fake wall misleads what you're about to witness. Looks like a tiny gallery space, but there's more than meets the eye.
Lift this painting to be taken to the back room where the magic happens... or should say happened.
Tucker Nichols emailed over this Whole Foods poster (below right) which looks a lot like one of Corey Arnold's photos (bottom left). Coincidence? Where they inspired by Corey's photo? Did Corey actually shoot the photo? Who knows and Corey is fishing for salmon right now (like this), so we can't ask him to find out.
Yeah, bad tattoos are basically a bummer, right? But they're also pretty much a rite of passage for bored and disenfranchised-feeling teenagers the world over. At least it was for about 95% of the people I know. Going to a reputable tattoo shop and getting a wizard or unicorn drilled into your lower back is totally fine, but nothing really takes the place of sitting around with a bunch of friends and some beers, enthusiastically taking turns poking each others' arms full of bad ideas-which actually is fun at any age.
OAKLAND -- First Fridays is hoping Oakland hasn't seen the last of the one of a kind event... The street art party is free to attend, but organizers say with police and other costs the price tag to throw the monthly party is $20,000... The City of Oakland has been footing the bill for months and after kicking in $500,000, it's pulling the plug... Organizers are now asking for donations and developing a vendor fee schedule to try and keep the party alive. ~continue reading
SAN FRANCISCO -- Guerrero Gallery, here in the Mission, opens their summer group show this Saturday, June 15th, featuring works from a steller lineup: Daniel Albrigo, Ryan Travis Christian, Alejandro Diaz-Ayala, Frohawk Two Feathers, Michelle Guintu, Justin Hager, Cody Hudson, Terry Powers, Rye Purvis, Victory Reyes, Jamie Williams, and Yarrow Slaps.
SAN FRANCISCO --- Southern Exposure hosts thier annual Monster Drawing Rally Friday, June 14, 2013 at THE NWBLK, 1999 Bryant Street (at 18th). Tons of great artists auctioning works at a starting price of only $60.
A live drawing and fundraising event with 120 artists working side by side. The event lets spectators to observe artists in the act of creation, providing the opportunity to watch a drawing come to life, and to purchase a work of art minutes after its completion. Drawings are available for purchase immediately for just $60 each.
~complete details
Wonder if our old emails with Banksy are worth a few thousand dollars. It seems everything the dude touches is worth a million dollars these days! Nutty and much deserved.
A disputed Banksy graffiti artwork removed from a gritty London neighbourhood has sold for approximately $1.1 million US at auction. The provocative Slave Labour (Bunting Boy) sold at a private auction held by concierge firm The Sincura Group at the London Film Museum on Sunday, according to Bloomberg news service. The spray-painted, stenciled work depicts a child labourer using an antique sewing machine to create a Union Jack bunting. -Continue reading
Germany's national railway is testing the use of mini-drones to curb damage to its trains from graffiti. Experts call the move pointless and excessive, saying that varnish for trains could solve the problem instead.
~continue reading
Daniel Cronin was hired to shoot photos for the ongoing feature series: the Road Trips USA: Pacific Coast... An interesting idea where the trip was live blogged/ tweeted/ Instagramed with people making suggestions for what to check out, and well, into FFDG they stopped.
Look ma, we made The Guardian U.K.
Come on, guys. Don't call San Francisco "San Fran".
Henrik Haven, who keeps us up to date in all that's Copenhagen, emailed over some photos from the Viborg International Billboard Painting Festival that's running throughout June. In this short installment he introduces us to the work of urban/graffiti artist and illustrator NYCHOS.
Kelly Tunstall, who's showing w/ Ferris Plock at FFDG this August 16th, recently finished some commissions for A16 in Oakland. Here's a little taste, and check out her last year's show at FFDG.
Brendan Monroe, whose show Melting Into the Floor runs through June 15th at LA's Richard Heller, creates these great wooden sculptures and featured a bunch in the show... He's often asked how he goes about making them and gives us at Fecal Face a little 'how to' on the process.
Mexico City based Curiot, whose sold out solo show Age of Omuktlans ran last March at FFDG, just finished this great mural entitled "El Retorno de Akhankutli" in Mexico. He recently completed one in Berlin too which we'll be posting in the coming week. The guy is very very talented in our eyes.
This made our day. Not only do we love pizza but we also love Henry Gunderson... So a board shapped like a hot slice designed by Henry Gunderson for The Good Company, well... this writer needs to go for a slice right now.
Wendell McShine (lives in Mexico City, from Trinidad) opened his newest show, Raccoon's Law, at Fifty24SF on Saturday night. ARYZ was a tough act to follow, but McShine held his own in the space... With a combination of a mural, a video, and both drawings and mixed-media works on paper, the diversity of this solo show was impressive. The Raccoon drawings were especially attractive as the way he executed them looked like they actually had fur coming off the page, and you can only imagine how soft it would be to touch. I was lucky to see his work in person through this show, and I hope to encounter more in the future.
Ingrid Wells just got her MFA from The San Francisco Art Institute and these oil paintings from her Honey Boo Boo's Amurrican Starquest were on display as part of the recent MFA exhibition... Ingrid Wells works and lives in San Francisco.
Henry Gunderson emailed over some photos from his recent group show with Andrew Luck, Jordan Bogash, and Mario Ayala "Out The Window" which ran at the Los Angeles based Prohibition Gallery.
I got there the day after the tornado came through. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. My mind just could not grasp what my eyes were seeing. It was just too much to take in, too much to process. So, I did what comes naturally and took images. It sort of helped me separate from the chaos and helped me focus.
Check out this, what could be, one of the longest murals ever created. Hyuro from Valencia, Spain was recently in Copenhagen for the solo show "In/Between" at ArtRebels.
Rachel Ralph spotted Barcelona-based ARYZ working on his mural in the TL a couple weeks back, and we forgot to share the pics. His show at Fifty24SF opened back in April.
Jeffrey Cheung emailed over some photos from a recent one night show he had at Terra Gallery/ event space. The May 19th show also featured live music by Oakland garage rockers Twin Steps and Coldtergeist.
Great solo show by LA based Alison Blickle (Born 1976) up now at San Francisco's Eleanor Harwood gallery. History of Magic Part 1... The Hermitage runs through June 15th 2013. -- 1295 Alabama St. Hours: Wed thru Sat (11-6pm)
Well, it looks like John Felix Arnold rocked Tokyo with his opening with Koutaro Ooyama at Spes Lab a few weeks back. Even a language barrier couldn't prevent the success of their collaboration. They invited everyone they met on trains, in cars, cafes, bars, restaurants, and people responded by attending, and bringing their families and friends as well.
Last Thursday evening, I was lucky enough to get invited to Nickelodeon's premiere party for their newest cartoon, Sanja & Craig, created by three awesome dudes - Andreas Trolf, Jim Dirschberger, and Jay Howell. Hosted at Tony's Salon with pizza provided by Pizzanistas, the premiere party was filled with libations and celebrations, even a break-dance battle broke out. Congrats to everyone who worked on the show, and especially Trolf, Jim, and Jay who all have been working tirelessly on it. Sanja & Craig premiered Saturday 10:30 am 11 am on Nickelodeon. You can watch Sanjay and Craig Episode 1: Brett Venom on hulu. and read about how the guys came up with it in this interview with The LA Times. Now, here's some photos from the premiere.
Drawing Stories is a new series from our buddy Travis Millard. Grab a cup of hot coco, get your slippers on and enjoy some time with your uncle Millard.
Los Angeles Christofer Chin (Tofer) emailed over some install shots of his current show Ar running in NYC at Lu Magnus through June 29th. Simple/ clean and continuing his op artstyle Tofer Chin features new paintings, photographs, and sculpture continuing his exploration of geologically and architecturally inspired Minimalist forms.
TrustoCorp's all new work for their exhibition at LeBasse Projects in Culver City, Los Angeles is a perfect continuum from past work that embraces the bipolar "have/have not" socioeconomic identity of Los Angeles, which they recently established their new studio in.
I didn't know if you came across this video yet, but I ran into my friend Brian Hanson yesterday who helped film and edit it. It's a film short documenting the work and philosophy of Huntington Beach surfboard Shaper Tim Stamps. Super rad and really inspiring! Anyhow take a peek.
Last year, Eric Caruso a teacher at Harry Wirtz Elementary School (Paramount, CA, near LA) had an idea to invite some artists to paint some murals at the school because there wasn't an arts program for the kids. That brilliant idea resulted in some awesome murals by artists Seitaku Aoyama, Yusuke Hanai, Rich Jacobs, Tim Kerr and Albert Reyes.
Ryan De La Hoz' show in the Upper Haight at RVCA runs through this Saturday... And the next time you're in the Mission, be sure to swing through his new shop on 14th St, Cool Try... We need to get over there soon and do a little photo feature for ya.
The Book and Job Gallery (San Francisco) really stepped it up with the opening of Daniel Chen's loveBlast on May 4th. Complete with a doorman, piano player, old fashioneds, and some really nice paintings, I could hardly believe I was at the Book and Job. The paintings varied in size, and the show was balanced nicely between them, the spray-can work on the walls, and the smaller drawings displayed throughout. The kind notes Chen wrote on the walls are certain to brighten your day, and the rest of the work is definitely worth a look. It was a very classy evening and I hope they continue to intersperse shows like these into their schedule in the future
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