monica choy : curator

abandon blog!

2010-04-11T22:07:00.000-07:00

i've moved to LA and to here: the disappearing treehouse

goodbye.

heart,
monica

take me to the river...

2009-08-03T19:30:00.000-07:00

went to the washougal river yesterday to beat the heat with sam and mike, two former classmates from 12. we also brought along a cardboard cut-out of simone i had laying around since she's at w+k london now.

it's super gorgeous out there and it was only a scenic, 40-minute drive from portland.

sam is leaving for tokyo on wednesday to see his family and then off to who-knows-where. maybe nyc, maybe not. it seems like everyone in 12 is starting to float off on their various journeys and it's interesting to see all the different places this thing is bringing us and also realize how important these people are to me.

the friendships we built during the program are going to follow me for a while, i know it. it's not every day that you can find people that you respect, can have meaningful relationships with, and can work with professionally as well. i wish more of us worked together now.

i feel like i'm coming up to a point in my life now where i really need to take another look at what i value in life and go after those things. there is so much crap in this world, it's very easy to get caught up in the mess of it and confuse what other people think i should do for what i want to do.

i know that i'm young and that i should make as many mistakes as i can now, but i want to make sure that i am making those mistakes doing what i love and chasing what i am after.

an update!

2009-07-08T20:16:00.000-07:00

really? rery!

i am a lucky girl. truly. after a few weeks of lingering at w+k, post-graduation (finishing up the w+k=make art show) i scored a freelance gig doing interactive production there. (^_^)

i guess that means i'm a working girl now - which is exciting and will help me to pay back my loans, but i'm going to be looking for something stable as well.

this time after 12 has been very confusing and a bit tumultuous, but i'm glad that i've been able to reconnect with my friends and have been taking some time to take in the beautiful place that portland becomes in the summertime. there has been some truly gorgeous weather and i spent the 4th under the morrison bridge (not all day!) watching the fireworks and watching so much america's best dance crew it was spilling out my ears.

i hope you're all enjoying your summer - it's so nice to not have to carry a jacket around. and corn! and watermelons! and the 5 freckles i may or may not get!

here are some lovely things i've come across lately that i wanted to share:

SOUR / 日々の音色 (Hibi no Neiro) MV from Magico Nakamura on Vimeo.

"let's hang" zipper pulls from aaron meshon & kidrobot!
ohmygosh these are the cutest things ever. i have an ice cream cone and a toothpaste hanging off my phone i'm so asian! (0__o)

bye for now. hearts.

12 is over...

2009-06-11T11:20:00.000-07:00

...and i'm still trying to figure out what to do next.

what i've done so far:
1. take down an art show
2. go to vegas
3. see the grand canyon for the first time
4. spend time with family
5. be still and think about what's important
6. get nostalgic and make a ton of 12-related stuff
7. work on my book
8. move apartments
9. re-connect with friends
10. enjoy having free time

but not enough free time to make this:

w+k=make

2009-05-14T19:16:00.000-07:00

two thursdays ago, the biggest art show i've curated so far, W+K=MAKE opened at the portland headquarters of wieden+kennedy. it's w+k's first global art show and i had artwork from all of the seven offices in the show: portland, new york, london, amsterdam, delhi, shanghai, & tokyo from people of all different job titles -- the mail room to creative directors. over 100 artists participated and all the sales proceeds went to room to read, a nonprofit that builds schools and libraries and provides girls' education in developing countries.

500 people came through opening night and our brand new website that we built for the show had thousands of hits the first weekend. (all purchases are made through the website www.wkmake.com)

i've been working on this show for a few months and it was so wonderful to see all the submissions come in from all over the world. we did it to really celebrate the creativity throughout the entire w+k network.

in addition to artwork, i had screenings of film & animation shorts, two live djs (from the portland office), and wk radio played music exclusively by employees the night of the event. house spirits' matt and his wife were there pouring great drinks and i couldn't be happier with the whole thing. <3

see more artwork here.

haven't blogged in a few months because...

2009-05-05T19:27:00.001-07:00

2009-03-14T18:43:00.000-07:00

jealous

2009-03-04T15:49:00.000-08:00

of him:

BOOMBOX from Ely Kim on Vimeo.

this should've been me.

12 does vday

2009-02-22T19:20:00.000-08:00

sorry for waiting until now to post them, but in the spirit of love, hearts, and all things romantic, 12 made these valentines (in the style of the elementary school ones you cut out) and passed them around the agency.

most of these are inside jokes and unfortunately, they probably won't make sense to people who don't know us, but i thought i'd share them anyways.

long weekend: stella, andrew, & seattle <3

2009-02-17T22:53:00.000-08:00

*warning: this is a photo dump*
i was a lucky lady and got to go up to seattle this past weekend to see stella im hultberg and andrew hem's new solo shows at roq la rue.

it was lovely to see stella and matthew again (it's almost been a year!) and stella's pieces were beautiful as always. super moody this round and she's working with different angles/perspectives. awesome.

this was the first time i've seen large pieces from andrew and they were gorgeous! he usually works small because he's used to doing gouache, but he did almost all oil for this show.

andrew hem's infamous matchboxes

stella bella

jason limon's work was next door at suite 100's show 10x10.

best way to end a night - albacore & tuna toro!

scariest ice cream truck ever - why do they have pickles?

photos at seattle art museum that i wasn't supposed to take (>__<)

seattle sculpture garden

(^_____^)

i had the bestest weekend ever up there. the company was lovely and i ate the best food: my favorite bbq sandwich at honey hole, tapas at quinn's, and sushi from wasabi bistro! <3

this weekend...

2009-02-07T02:50:00.000-08:00

go see coraline. you won't be sorry.

a lot of sweat, blood, and tears went into this project and i feel like it's one of the most visually stunning movies i've seen in a long time. see it in 3D if you can. it's the first 3D stereoscopic stop motion feature ever! and handmade in little ol' portland too. (^__^)

the promotion/advertising of the movie also focused on the handmade (done by w+k). just in case you haven't seen it, here are some pieces:

coraline boxes
coraline dunks & shoeboxes
the nitty gritty (strategy & recap of everything produced)

yay yay!

remember

2009-02-02T19:41:00.000-08:00

the night i danced my heart out.

2009-01-14T19:13:00.000-08:00

friday night was B'Dang D'Bang at Someday Lounge. Connie Wohn's annual bash for her birthday. it's a big party that ends with a 5-round dance competition. about 17 people signed up for the contest to win the coveted first prize, a 6 foot trophy. i signed up.

he did too. (^__^)

i was lucky no breakdancers signed up. i would've been finished straightaway.
it was my first dance contest. the five rounds were as follows:
1. hip hop
2. hip hop with two different beats laid over
3. funk
4. weird trancey/dancy
5. one on one dance-off

i was stoked. we shoved the thing in tiva's car; i think it's going to make a fine hat rack.

wieden + kennedy 12

2009-01-03T01:49:00.001-08:00

WK12 seeks Year 6 from wktwelve on Vimeo.

happy holidays from 12!

2008-12-17T13:38:00.000-08:00

we were going to do this at sears, but we got snowed out of taking the MAX train to the mall. so we got some fake brick and did it ourselves. sooper cheesy. sooper awesome.

art in december

2008-12-11T19:27:00.000-08:00

this month marked my return to the gallery circuit. i guess i really only missed last month's shows, but it seemed like forever since i was surrounded by art and my old art buddies. it's been really all work for me lately, but i was glad to go on a little art binge.

together gallery's december show was called "family quilt". all the artwork was squares and there were lots of colorful, gorgeous pieces in the show. they hung it salon style to look like a great big quilt. there were tons of people there hanging out, both inside and out. super glad to see them doing well - such great guys who run it.

this was one of my favorites. i couldn't get over all the mixing she must've done!

loved this tiny sculpture piece with the teeny little birds

together gallery's pinski, evan b. harris, and ayumi from APAK

at grass hut gallery they had a show with the gallery's founding artists: bwana spoons, scrappers, APAK, martin ontiveros, and le merde. i've always loved the fun work that they have over at grass hut and it was great to see all the grass huttians showing their artwork together.

papa scrappers with baby camper

gimongous "killer" vinyl!!!

love this bwana/APAK collab piece.

more vinyl!

scrappers made this crazy hamster wheel of wonder. i jumped into it and it quickly became the hamster wheel of terror.

it doesn't look like it, but i'm running and trying not to fall on my face.

my friend sohaila adela was having a show the same night down the street at rock n' rose. unfortunately, i didn't get many pictures. sohaila is originally from seattle and i've shown her work quite a bit. she moved to portland this past summer and we're lucky to have her.

huzzah! <3

pie off

2008-12-10T19:23:00.000-08:00

we had the annual pie competition at w+k right before thanksgiving. finally got the chance to upload the photos. simone and i were a pie baking team and we submitted two pies into the pumpkin + nut category. there were 8 categories: apple, specialty apple, cream, chocolate, berry + fruit, cheesecake, sweet potato, and pumpkin + nut. there were a total of 84 pies in the competition! our category was the largest with 21 pies.

.our candied ginger pecan pie.

.just plain pecan pie.

.the competition.

.judging - i think we had 7 judges.

we ended up placing 3rd with the candied ginger pecan pie (though the judge announcing the results said that we should've gotten 2nd! ^_^)

patrick from 12 won 1st in the specialty apple category with his apple cranberry strudel with cream cheese crust. woohoo!

...mew mew mew...

2008-12-03T02:08:00.000-08:00

i keep on waiting until i have some good pictures on my camera to blog. (-_-) we've been busy in 12 with some new projects and a bunch of little ones that keep popping up. but excuses aside, this is what i did for part of last month:

met some lady elephants...

and an elephant bibi.

made a drawing and plush of my friend brian's robot friend as seen in this video:

had a scavenger hunt with our class and all the 12s before us.

made an outfit out of 1 yard of material in 10 minutes and had a cheeseball photoshoot. other scavenger hunt challenges included: getting a positive pregnancy test, a cup of hair, and running naked through the neighborhood. unfortunately, i was unable to get any of those things... though i was in a good group and my group-mates did. :)

in addition to the silly fun stuff, we also finished wordstock and now i'm working on the case study for it. we also have portland jazz festival coming up and a few other things it's too soon to talk about. work work work. but i'm super excited that it's december now! i'll be home in two weeks! (^_^)

choe, flores, pardee, & fish

2008-11-25T00:00:00.000-08:00

photo from eyesuckink.blogspot.com

sorry i've been so busy (and lazy) that i need to hijack someone else's blog, but it looks like i missed some awesome, awesome times in SF this past weekend. david choe, sam flores, alex pardee, & jeremy fish did some live painting together in conjunction with the YouTube LIVE concert. the foursome painted a huge wish cube. you can read more about it here on alex pardee's blog.

<3

wordstock TV

2008-11-07T12:05:00.000-08:00

in 12, i've been working on a campaign for Wordstock - the Pacific Northwest's largest book festival happening this weekend. we've been designing and producing everything for them from print ads, store takeovers, and TV to posters, schedules, buttons, website, viral videos, and special events. here is the TV spot we made and also the longer viral video. these were for a not-for-profit, so it was super low budget, but i'm really proud of what we did with it!

drawn to vote

2008-10-31T17:51:00.000-07:00

i'm probably doing this too late, but i wanted to mention something 12 and i are working on for the election. we're having people draw their reasons for voting on their ballot envelopes (if you're voting in oregon or absentee) and send us a photo or scan of it.

election night we'll have an art show of the envelopes and a viewing party to watch the votes come in at Backspace Gallery & Cafe in portland's chinatown. the current election has been so much about the "who" people are voting for, we wanted to take a step back to focus on why. what do people care about, love, or fight for?

if you'd like to participate, go over to www.drawntovote.com for more info and to submit your image. if you've already voted, we have templates that you can print out and draw on for the show - just shoot me an email!

huzzah!

hmmm...

2008-10-21T11:36:00.000-07:00

been a little behind on updating or writing about art things in general. i'm sure most of you have already seen this, but here it is again, banksy's village pet store and charcoal grill installation:

laika art

2008-10-13T12:28:00.000-07:00

this weekend i went to the opening of "after hours", an art show featuring the artwork of the creatives over at laika animation house. 12 went to laika to do an animation camp about a month ago and we've also been doing a little work for their new movie Coraline.

the show was really lovely and the variety of work was really refreshing. there were paintings, drawings, sculpture, installation, textile, film, and of course also some animation. they even had some live performances and it was a very well attended opening.

unfortunately i forgot my camera, so no eye candy (-__-)
- but the show is open until october 19, so go by the space in the goldsmith building (where portland art center used to be) and take a gander.

chester

2008-10-10T18:33:00.000-07:00

today we had a real live cheetah visit us at the office. the cheetah conservation fund founder dr. laurie marker came and did a little talk about the danger that cheetahs are currently in in africa and about the programs they've been doing with african farmers to prevent the needless killing of the few cheetahs left (only about 10,000).

you can read more about the cheetah conservation fund here.

it was awesome to see the world's fastest animal (70mph) right in our atrium. he was purring into the mic and eating meat snacks and modeling for us on the table.

!!!

make something

2008-10-08T17:35:00.001-07:00

recently 12 imparted on our first big group art project. we made an art installation of the phrase "make something" in taxidermy, marbles, and a few other mediums. each letter was unique and we all worked on each letter together.

even attila helped.

the giantest plush i've made so far (g). his name is gary.

when you squeeze him, he says "i'm not a baby"

after a 19-hour day of work, we decided we would call it quits at 5am and finish it the next day.

(m)tools on pegboard, (a)neon, (k)enamel pins, (e)dart board, (s)fox, (o)wheel of fortune-esque spinner, (m)piece of wall with working outlet, (e)leather glove fingers, (t)cashmoney, (h)polaroids of us working on installation, (i)marbles, (n)hole, (g)plush monster

yay!

cute overload

2008-09-24T23:17:00.000-07:00

working tonight and took a detour to cuteoverload.com for a little bit. couldn't stop saying "ooooo!" and "ah! hee hee"

here's a video of a cat playing red light green light with the camera:

adventures

2008-09-23T21:02:00.001-07:00

here are some recent capers with 12:
[american veterans' bingo hall in NE portland]

[hiking trip in the columbia gorge with 12]

[watching thousands of swifts at wallace park]

new 12er

2008-09-23T20:22:00.000-07:00

attila joined us last week. he's patrick's tortoise and dan wieden agreed to let him live on the roof as the 12 mascot. we'll be building him a little grassy knoll up there soon, but in the meantime he's been sleeping in some hay in our space.

DIY!

2008-09-16T19:19:00.000-07:00

this weekend i discovered the button maker and sewing machine at work. i've been spoiling to create something completely unrelated to any client work lately, so this past weekend was the perfect opportunity for me to use the studio to make, make, make.

i started by collecting photos online of things that i thought were interesting or cool or tickled my fancy. i took all of those and sewed them into a little zine thing.

it looked pretty plain with just its white cover, so i decided to throw in a bit of electric pink for fun. i also went a little crazy with the button maker and made one-of-a-kind buttons for each zine: one from the images in the zine and one hand-drawn one.

i decided to call it "pretty okay" because it's just a silly little thing. i'm going to try to do a different one every few weeks. as small as it was, it was nice to take some time and just make something that i liked.

oh, i also drew this up for a t-shirt design last week:

and today i decided to print out some digustingly cute pictures of baby animals and make a cutesy set of buttons:

i only made 16 of this first batch of zines, but i'm sure i'll be making more next time. i miss sending people mail, so email me your address and i'll send you a little something special next time i make something! --> monicahwchoy@gmail.com

<3

turkey trout

2008-09-16T10:15:00.000-07:00

in february 2006, researchers successfully spliced the genes of the brown trout with that of the north american wild turkey.
the brown trout and the sea trout, despite their different environments, are of the same species and brown trout are thought to be native to Asia or Europe, though there are also north american varieties.

brown trout have very low male populations because most die after spawning. their spawning habits are very similar to that of the atlantic salmon, though they typically have a harder time producing fertile offspring. a previous hybrid was that of the tiger trout, a hybrid with the brook trout. the outcome was satisfactory, but still offspring appeared to be infertile.

the north american wild turkey (meleagris gallopavo) is one of the largest galliforms. known for their hardy constitution, the wild turkey was once one of the runner-ups for title of US national bird (nominated by benjamin franklin).

in an attempt to create a stronger breed (though rumor says it was a drunken bet), researchers toyed with brown trout and wild turkey genes. treated as a joke at first, researchers were shocked when the experiment was successful and so began their 2 year obsession with creating the turkey trout. originally meant to be more fishlike in appearance, the stronger turkey genes created a trout-headed turkey-bodied creature instead. the consistency of the meat is flaky and tender and there are claims that the turkey trout may be the next great american food craze.

the turkey trout was recently released into a nature reserve in Oregon to test for survivability. here is a recent photograph of a flock:

notice the presence of the gills. though relatively useless because the turkey trout does have lungs, the gills have proven to be vital in the mating process.

this abrupt advancement in genetics hasn't gone unnoticed and many animal activists and religious groups have attempted to suppress information about the turkey trout, calling it an abomination in nature.

"i'm proud of our work and i think the turkey trout is a truly beautiful creature. true, it will take some getting used to, but it's potential contribution to the american people is unmatched by any of these 'fashion' hybrids like the leopon or any of the zebroid varieties." - anonymous researcher

man on wire

2008-09-07T22:01:00.000-07:00

um...wow.
i just finished watching 'man on wire' and it has to be one of the funniest, uplifting, interesting, and fascinating documentaries i have ever seen. it recounts the story of philippe petit and his dream to tightrope walk between the world trade center's twin towers (1974).

the story is told through petit, his friends, and accomplices in the challenge. most were only in their 20s and all were inspired by the fire and intensity of petit's desire. even petit sometimes thought it impossible, but with a little courage and a lot of planning, preparation, and the right connections, petit & friends were able to get through the world trade center's security and climb the 110 floors to the roofs of the then tallest buildings in the world.

the storytelling is amazing in the movie and surprisingly, there was an abundance of real footage of petit unicycling around paris doing circus tricks, practicing on his tightrope in his back garden, and discussions of them planning out the walk...and him constantly being arrested for his antics.

really, really phenomenal movie.

black, white, & silver

2008-09-07T18:41:00.000-07:00

another first thursday and subsequent awesome weekend with music fest nw and pica's TBA festival happenings all over portland.

this first thursday turned out to be pretty filled with black and white imagery. first stop was at Tyson Space in the everett station artist lofts and galleries for jimm lasser's Obama Force One show.

jimm was in the third class of wk12 and this exhibition focused around his all-white air force one with obama carved into the sole. he's now a copywriter and art director here at wieden + kennedy.

the shoe on the right reads "a black man runs and a nation is behind him"

w+k field trip!

next up was compound gallery for the DIGMEOUT show. this is compound's ... fourth? or fifth? partnership with Osaka's art collective, DIGMEOUT.

DIGMEOUT is sponsored by Osaka radio station FM802 and each year they hold an 'audition' for up-and-coming Japanese artists. thousands apply and they choose 12-15 artists to be represented by DIGMEOUT for a year.

artist ryugi ohtani has been represented by DIGMEOUT for several years in a row.

the artists do ad, illustration, and design work for companies that partner up with DIGMEOUT. kinda like a Japanese 12.

my favorite piece in the show by artist Mongrel.

unfortunately, the artists and artistic director didn't get to come out for the show this year. i look forward to seeing them every year - the new artists are always very excited to visit portland and i enjoy spending time with them despite the language barrier.

now for some nerdy shoe news: the nike aerofit is finally out and on the shelves. i was leaving compound when i saw them gleaming through the window.

the aerofit is comparable to the reebok freestyle which i love wearing for their bright colors and hightop-ness (i have weak ankles, but that's another story), but i can't wear them because wieden + kennedy and nike are pretty much synonymous.

i was a sad panda. but then...in comes the aerofit, ushering in a new era of hightop action. hurrah!

i no longer need to save my 80s hightop lovin' for the weekend. plus they're a soooper shiny silver! i feel like i can roast corn on them. huzzah!

amanda visell dunny show

2008-09-05T09:43:00.000-07:00

so i haven't updated in a while, but i had to note that tonight is the opening of amanda visell's custom dunny show in the KidRobot room at Circa in toronto.

amanda has a very distinct style that really makes me smile and is a really versatile artist. she always tackles each new show or theme with pieces that are true to her style and aesthetic, no matter the medium. i especially love her toys through Strangeco or when she paints on platform vinyl.
i love that elephant & hunters dunny!

<3

class photo

2008-08-19T10:13:00.001-07:00

things have been busy busy busy over here in 12. deadlines are coming up quickly and one of the projects that i'm working on will be going into production and out in the real world soon. scary and also very exciting.

the weather's been thunderstormy lately, but 12 is still full of free food, a lot of work, and even some strawberry milk. yey!

3-day weekend

2008-08-13T14:42:00.000-07:00

this was a busy weekend. first thursday openings, art & music in the park, and the beach.

evan b. harris just opened another wonderful solo show at compound gallery. all the work was nautical themed this time and i love the nesting dolls he did!

fifty24pdx gallery featured the work of cody hudson this month. i originally saw his work in person two years ago when upper playground opened their portland location and it's changed so much since then - a lot more installation and exploration.

upper playground is going to be opening up a new location in seattle sometime this upcoming month. that makes locations in SF, portland, london, LA, sacramento, berkeley, and now seattle...all (except SF of course) opening in just the last two years!

upper playground had a party in the park on saturday and had live painting, live djs, and lots of lazing about in the beautiful weather.

king hercules

the beach was...gorgeous.

12 and friends went to ecola beach on sunday. the weather was overcast but mild and i spent the day sticking my hands in tide pools and cracks in rocks trying to pet the starfish and tiny baby hermit crabs.

richard the crab

CANDY!!!

ABC 3D

2008-08-12T13:18:00.000-07:00

this fantastic book is coming out this october. first of all, i love pop-up books and secondly, i love the 'hidden' letters. already have mine preordered. <3

fasciinatiion

2008-08-04T01:16:00.000-07:00

mike from 12 broke out all his fenagling skills and scored some VIP tickets to the faint concert tonight. they're on tour to promote their forthcoming album 'fasciinatiion'. the faint hails from his hometown (omaha), so we had to go and represent 12... plus the faint is awesome.

it was a really rad concert and we were so close, you could feel their sweat.

the show was at the crystal ballroom, famous for its 'floating' mechanical dance floor. the floor is constructed so that it bounces and has give to it as people move across it - supposedly a lot better for dancer knees and ankles and a lot of fun for concerts.

the place was packed and people were throwing everything from bras to pants onstage. pants? kids nowadays.

so loud you had to text to talk to each other:
OMG! we <3 u faint! (^_~) lol!

space 1026

2008-07-31T12:40:00.000-07:00

lately i've been feeling a little burnt out and dry of inspiration. i miss making things and despite the creative nature of 12, all the running around and answering emails and different projects have been keeping me from doing creative things outside of the office. it seems when i'm not working i only feel like sleeping or reading or watching food network because i'm so tired. (>_<)

in an attempt to try to understand working as a collective and balancing things better, i decided to read up a little about this group in Philadelphia that i had heard about a while back. i recall reading a feature about them and their 'ewok village' installation a few years ago.

space 1026 is a group of artist studios and people who create individually but also very communally as well. they all have their own artistic styles and voice but they've also been doing a lot of group installations that incorporate the whole group working as one, not just a bunch of people putting their individual work on a wall together.

it's so intriguing to see how a group of people can successfully put their egos and individual agendas aside for a moment and work for the benefit of the group. i mean, that's what we're supposed to do with 12, but we're still learning.

Space 1026 interview

oh, p.s. adam wallacavage is part of this group. great photographer and sculptor.

sony rolly

2008-07-18T14:56:00.000-07:00

today i saw the first Sony Rolly to er... roll into the US. w+k global executive creative director john jay brought this little guy in to show us this morning. they are currently only available in japan, but he brought one back. i couldn't stop smiling while watching it dance.

the idea is to take the traditional mp3 player and make it more than just a static object sitting on your desk - make it fun and make it interactive. <3

beautiful losers

2008-07-16T09:10:00.000-07:00

last week, the director and producers of the new Beautiful Losers movie came to do a screening at w+k. it's so amazing to see how this small crop of artists that were brought together by NY's alleged gallery became such huge influencers and pioneers for the current low brow scene.

aaron rose started alleged gallery in a shady NY storefront in 1992 and for ten years, ran the gallery and fostered a whole generation of post-punk, skateboarding creators and helped forge their DIY attitude.

the movie features such influential artists as barry mcgee, margaret kilgallen, ed templeton, thomas campbell, and many others. the original filming included doing interviews with over 70 different artists, and these select few were chosen to be in the movie because of their great stories and their role in the current art world.

this movie has been 5 years in the making and it opens in select theaters across the US around august, though they've been doing screenings in the past few months in film festivals.

beautiful losers trailer

movie synopsis:

Beautiful Losers celebrates the spirit behind one of the most influential cultural movements of a generation. In the early 1990's a loose-knit group of likeminded outsiders found common ground at a little NYC storefront gallery. Rooted in the DIY (do-it-yourself) subcultures of skateboarding, surf, punk, hip hop & graffiti, they made art that reflected the lifestyles they led. Developing their craft with almost no influence from the "establishment" art world, this group, and the subcultures they sprang from, have now become a movement that has been transforming pop culture. Starring a selection of artists who are considered leaders within this culture, Beautiful Losers focuses on the telling of personal stories...speaking to themes of what happens when the outside becomes "in" as it explores the creative ethos connecting these artists and today's youth.

pressure printing

2008-07-15T14:25:00.000-07:00

hi-fructose magazine is coming out with a hand-printed travis louie etching, just in time for San Diego Comic Con. the print is being made through denver-based pressure printing.

each piece is hand-printed and tea stained and signed by the artist. the prints are then framed in a beautiful antiqued resin frame with bubble glass in the classic Louie style.

pressure printing has done a number of beautiful prints with pop-surrealist artists like audrey kawasaki, glenn barr, mark ryden, and many others. they document the tedious process on their blog.

not only are their prints beautiful, but pressure printing does their own framing and in their recent print with audrey kawasaki, made all the frames for her pieces from scratch!

everyone is jumping on the print wagon lately because of the impending recess, but pressure printing does really high quality prints with special attention to precision and detail and should definitely be a place to check out if you can't snag an original.

<3

edwin ushiro artwork

2008-07-08T13:47:00.000-07:00

remnant of light exiting a pupil .edwin ushiro.

this saturday is the opening of edwin ushiro's solo show at project: gallery. i just took a peek of the pieces on the gallery's website and i'm super sad i won't be able to see it all in person. i've posted a few of the pieces, but you can check out the rest of the artwork here: "While Tides Guide You Back Home"

a space absorbing memories already long forgotten by others .edwin ushiro.

after all the tears have rusted .edwin ushiro.

reaching for things which fell down unnoticed .edwin ushiro.

bees, books, n' booze

2008-07-02T14:06:00.001-07:00

when WK was attacked by swarms of bees yesterday morning, we thought the apocalypse was coming.

apparently the bees lost their queen and followed her scent to the shrubbery on our rooftop and then smashed themselves against her queenly odour.
a beekeeper was called and came and took most of the bunch away and is going to enslave them to make honey for himself and his beekeeper wife. they say that the bees should produce honey for them in a year.

(for those of you who don't know, there is currently a crazy honey bee shortage, i'm sure he was stoked!)

after weeks of work, 12 finished our first real deck for Wordstock. hurrah! (is this the first time i've posted work on here?)

yes.

at 4 o'clock, we all ran up to the roof for michael illick's art show Scott Phillips: A Life. scott is an account dood here and i guess mike's been drawing him for quite a while and eventually made enough sketches to warrant a kickass hoopla of an art show.

introducing will: our shining englishman. we finally got our 13th this past sunday. at long last, 12 is complete.

rob's BFF from high school. they also went to school with this guy.

drinks were had...

and scott tattoos were generously doled out.

<3

edwin ushiro solo

2008-06-24T11:49:00.000-07:00

edwin ushiro is having a solo show soon at project: gallery. the show is titled While Tides Guide You Back Home. i've been a fan of edwin's work for a few years now and i've been lucky enough to show his work a few times too. i'm really excited to see what he'll do with this show. project is such a great space for 1 to 2 person shows.

the show opens july 12 at project: gallery in culver city and he'll be attending the opening, so go and say hi to him for me!

black cab for cutie

2008-06-23T10:16:00.000-07:00

i don't follow music much. not to say that it doesn't move me, but i've always been one of those "oh, i listen to everything" type of people. i never know what to say when people ask me what my favorite kind of music is, or even who my favorite bands are...except for one.

i've been a fan of death cab for cutie since i was a sophomore in college, which is not to say that i'm one of their die-hard fans, but it was before Narrow Stairs, Plans, or even Transatlanticism. death cab fueled me through my period of post-high school teen angst and subsequent emoness. i love them.

but i remember when it all started to get really popular. when kids who went to concerts could only sing along to songs on their newest album. when they appeared and played on the OC. when their only concerts in town were in the biggest venues in town. is this what it feels like when your favorite band "sells out"?

it's weird to follow a band long enough to see them grow and change and finally get into the mainstream. their songs are being played constantly on the radio and MTV gives them clever commercials to advertise their new CD. that's what they've been putting in all the hard work for, right? they're finally getting what they deserve; recognition, tons of fans, record sales...but i am a little sad that i'll never see them at a small venue again.

nevertheless, death cab is still rockin' it and i have not lost hope. my friend jimmy sent me this video they did in london with Black Cab Sessions. all the videos are shot in the backseat of a black taxicab in one take with a band playing one song acoustically. pretty keen.

i still love you death cab. <3

undoboy

2008-06-20T17:49:00.000-07:00

Chean-Wei Law is a WK designer who goes by Undoboy for his personal projects. he just launched his website of toys and other design goodies. i like his style and his block toys are rad.
i'm thinking about getting some of the wall decals for my room!

press

2008-06-19T21:33:00.000-07:00

Seattle Weekly

lions and toygers and bears...

2008-06-19T12:36:00.000-07:00

i recently read an article about 'Toygers', a new breed of cat that is currently in the works. the breeder, genetic specialist, judy sugden has been working on this tiger-housecat since the 80s. her mother created the Bengal breed (housecat & wild asian leopard) to try to save actual leopards, hoping people would be deterred from buying pelts that looked like their housecats.

a housecat can't be bred with a tiger, so sugden is "faking it" and instead breeding breeds that carry either the striped or deep amber traits reminiscent of their muse. apparently cat's don't fancy artificial insemination, so the process has been lengthened due to cat-courting time. she estimates that the perfect toyger (carrying full face/body tiger traits) will be ready by 2010.

the result is a muscular, reddish/orange-hued, exotic-looking cat with dog-like traits (they like to swim!) that is really very beautiful but also very ethically controversial.

read the full article here: Life.com

honda "jump"

2008-06-17T09:17:00.000-07:00

i know this has been out for a while, but since i don't have a tv, i haven't seen it until now. this is an ad wieden worked on for honda accord. it took many test trials & rehearsals and utilized around 50 uber-experienced (1000s of jumps) skydivers. they even made a documentary about it. sweet.

.seattle.

2008-06-16T14:25:00.000-07:00

[show panoramic]

this weekend i went up to seattle to install my first photography show, "this place is a prison" featuring work from angela dawn, emily ibarra, & jack raynard.

me & angela

angela's mini prints

this guy came in and started dancing and taking off his shirt. he wouldn't leave. (i didn't know my show was that good! ;P)

the elusive bigfoot was having a solo show at BLVD gallery down the street.

can't leave the house without your copy of the truth about chuck norris: "one time a rattlesnake bit chuck norris. after 5 painful days the snake died."

the next day we went exploring the international district (ie chinatown) and the chinese girl's drill team was doing a performance for the opening of the new chinese cultural museum opening there.

the girls were so disciplined and their timing was perfect. i have never seen anything like it before.

my friend sohaila met up with my dad, brother, johnny & i to do a little snack shopping at uwajimaya. yum!

the cans of drink and bags of candies are the cutest - i heart asian markets.

speaking of asian markets, here's an old store they have preserved in chinatown. one of the first chinese general stores in seattle. gotta love those sweet & sour balls.

this place is a prison

2008-06-11T14:40:00.000-07:00

this upcoming friday night will be the opening of This Place is a Prison, my first photography show and probably my last show for a year since i'm in school. the photographs are already up on the website, so please check them out if you're not in the area. you can see them here: Suite 100 Gallery

martin atkins video

2008-06-11T14:25:00.000-07:00

martin atkins is a drummer and a music producer who has drummed with johnny rotten (public image ltd.), trent reznor (NIN), ministry, pigface, and most recently has done a lot of producing for up-and-coming bands in Beijing.

he is owner of invisible records and he's written a book on bands and the business of touring called "Tour:Smart" and he came to speak to 12 last week about his endeavors and to encourage us to have a wide skill-set and also to keep thinking outside the box or cd cover.

he is a big supporter of cross-promoting events. mixing medias and reaching people when their guard is down. (ie using an art show for a cd release or having a scratch n' sniff record cover) he thrives to create and has this insatiable hunger for something different.

his brainstorming process seems like borderline madness and it was interesting to meet someone who was so freely creative and believes in the virtue of crackpot ideas.

in the middle of our conversation with him, he randomly broke out his video camera and started taping us and our time with him. at the time, i thought 'how strange' - but then he created this amazing video to thank us for having him here at W+K. i hope he'll come to visit us again soon sometime this year.

field trip!

2008-06-10T22:01:00.000-07:00

we met at work at 7:30 in the morning and headed to evergreen museum in mcminnville for the opening of their space museum. we got lost for an hour.

PEW!!!

patriotic parachuters plummetted with plumes of puff. pow. (i love alliteration)

can you imagine falling out of the sky in this?

er...

yah!

monica-sized.

evergreen houses the spruce goose; the biggest friggin plane ever.

mac & cheeraz - fellow 12ers.
oh, i magically became a giant when i took this photo.

and then when we got back, we went to first friday @ grass hut gallery which was splendid.

in other news: i gambled for the first time this weekend; i used only $20.

i did pretty good i think.

yum.

2008-06-10T13:24:00.000-07:00

this is a paper steak.

nerdling

2008-06-10T10:20:00.000-07:00

i've never been a comic book reader. i'd rather go play outside. but lately, i've been reading Fables and uh, i heart it!

i was attracted to Fables because James Jean does their cover art and he is awesome. i've read issues #1-5 and am working on my second trade paperback (is that what you call it?).

if you haven't yet, check it out. (^__^)

recess: wave

thursday!

2008-06-07T16:00:00.000-07:00

[warning: this is a photo dump for june first thursday]

free mimosas in the morning.

caldera art opening
(caldera is an afterschool and outdoor art program for kids founded by dan wieden. it reaches city kids from middle school to college age, pairs them up with mentors, and teaches them to use performing and visual art as an outlet. caldera also provides an artist residency program so that the children involved in the program can have access to professional artists. caldera is also housed in the wieden + kennedy building.)

these are hanging in the lobby now. kinda creepy, but i love them.

mhak @ compound

oiel @ compound

oiel & mhak live painting

APAK!!!

"seven" @ fifty24pdx

ryan bubnis and fifty24pdx curator stephen

ryan's work

ryan jacob smith @ fify24pdx

sylvia ji video

2008-06-05T13:45:00.000-07:00

juxtapoz.com posted this video about the LA art scene, corey helford gallery, and sylvia ji.

sylvia is one of my favorite artists and i find her work very moving in both subject matter and execution. her lines are so clean and the pieces are beautifully painted. i have been lucky enough to have seen her artwork in person last year at White Walls gallery in SF. hopefully i'll have another chance to again soon.

first thursday is on thursday: return to art

2008-06-05T10:29:00.000-07:00

i've been posting a lot about wieden + kennedy and 12 lately because it's been taking up most all of my time. yesterday, i got a chance to do some artsy-helpy type stuff though. I helped Grass Hut pack up some artwork from the J. Otto show they just had and got a little peek at the the artwork for the upcoming show.

Grass Hut Gallery is preparing for their first friday opening of the Yosemite studio show featuring Souther Salazar, Ester Pearl Watson, Seonna Hong, Martha Rich, and Mark Todd who all share the same studio space. <3

i've been a fan of Seonna Hong's for a while. She does animation backgrounds and doesn't show her artwork very often - which makes her work really scarce and a must have. lately she's been showing at Takashi Murakami's Kaikai Kiki gallery.

it should be a really wonderful show! if you are in the portland area, you should come (or look at the artwork on the website):

"Yosemite studio show"
Grass Hut Gallery
811 EAST BURNSIDE
PORTLAND OR 97214
Friday, June 6 2008
6-9pm opening (show runs for the month of June)

and tonight is the opening of two great shows on my old stomping grounds NW 5th & couch:

two japanese artists, MHAK and OEIL will be having their opening at Compound Gallery. i always love to see the new japanese artists that come through compound. because the owner is japanese and their new curator has japanese connections, they are able to have lots of great japanese artists that have either barely or never shown in the US.

"Fractal Edge"
Compound Gallery
107 NW 5TH AVE.
PORTLAND, OR 97209
(503)796-2733
Thursday, June 5 2008
7-10pm opening

trot across the street and at Fifty24PDX, we have the opening of Seven, featuring Corey Arnold, Ryan Bubnis, E*Rock, Caleb Freese & Justin Gorman, Jason Greene, Sara Padgett, and Ryan Jacob Smith. sweet!

ryan bubnis is the best ever, i'm so glad that i'll be able to start my first thursday back in portland with his opening. i've shown his artwork a few times and he's just an all-around ace of a dude. come support him tonight!

Upper Playground's Fifty24PDX gallery only has openings every two months... and this is one of those months... and they don't often show local talent, so you don't want to miss this one!

"SEVEN"
Fifty24PDX
23 NW 5TH AVE.
PORTLAND, OR 97209
(503)548-4835
Thursday, June 5 2008
7-9:30pm opening (runs until July 26)

------------------------------------------------

in short, it's going to be a wonderful next few days and i will be drowning in all the artsy goodness that is portland (finally!). thank you portland, oregon... it's good to be back. <3

portland rose festival

2008-06-03T09:36:00.001-07:00

this weekend i went to the rose festival...
ate corndogs and elephant ears (aka fried dough), lousy "fresh" kool-aid lemonade, saw some exotic animals (baby pythons were $50!), got free handouts from aquafresh, watched people waste money trying to win gigantic neon stuffed animals from impossible midway games, felt nauseated just looking at the fair rides, and got my picture taken with junior's nascar.

it was amazing to say the least:

why am i making the same face?

when i took this picture he said, "don't tell my mom, she thinks i have a real job."

who really buys the stuff from this tent?

me.

<3

flashy & video-y

2008-05-29T23:39:00.000-07:00

gah! i'm learning so much this week in 12. yesterday i learned a little bit of flash and animated a little guy for this game we're developing and today i made a video for 12er will.

will is actually #13 of 12. he's from the UK, but he's not here yet because he still had to finish university. he should be here around the beginning of june.
anyways...today is his 21st birthday, making him the youngest 12er this year. he's not here and he's never met any of us even over the phone, so i thought i'd be nice to make him a birthday video.

here it is:

HOORAY!!!

12: first week

2008-05-28T18:27:00.001-07:00

i know i'm already well into the 3rd week of 12, but i thought i'd post some pictures i took from the first few days.

my computron

the 12 office space

devil's lunchbox, the in-house catering/foody place gave us an awesome breakfast to welcome us to WK. <3

layered cheesy, meaty, eggy, yummyness.

cheeraz, luke, & byron already hard at work.

completely unrelated, but how cute is this cat? mew.

hard at work

2008-05-22T10:45:00.000-07:00

i finally have internet!

2008-05-21T22:51:00.000-07:00

after almost three weeks of being in portland, i finally have internet in my house. it's been kind of nice to find alternate forms of entertainment when i'm not at the office, but i've been neglecting my blog. (>_<)

update: i guess i haven't been doing much lately except for getting up early and working a lot. i really enjoy the new environment; wieden + kennedy has such a gorgeous building and i love the open feeling of the architecture - though i think i might talk too loud/high-pitched for a space with so few walls. everyone keeps on overhearing everything i say.
things are going very well and being the workaholic that i am, i'm glad to say that i've been keeping busy with lots of projects already and have been working 9-12 hour days.

i'm becoming an old lady - i get sleepy around 11:30 or so now. poo.
for the past few years, i haven't had to really operate until the PM, so it's a little weird for me now to have to wake up at 7:30am to get ready. i'm sure i'll get used to it soon enough, but for now, i'm missing a lot of go-outy time with my friends. still, it's such a relief to be back in beautiful portland!

work isn't all that's taking up my time though. i still have one more art show i'm going to do before diving completely into w+k 12. i'm doing another show at suite 100 gallery in seattle, but this time it's a photography show (my first one). OOOoOooo...

emily ibarra

I have three photographers in the show: Angela Dawn, Emily Ibarra, and Jack Raynard. I selected them for this show together because they all live in urban cities and their subject matter tends to lean towards young, urban lifestyle.
plus, i normally have a bit of difficulty relating to photography but these three really grabbed me, so i think it's worthwhile to show them.

there is a show description here: This Place is a Prison
photographer information and images should be updated on the website soon as well. the show opens friday, june 13 from 6-11pm.

i'm excited to go up and hang the show. i think by that time, i'll be well into my work at wieden + kennedy and it'll be nice to take a break and do something else creative. my dad and brother will be flying up to seattle to see my show too. they haven't been to one of my shows in over a year, so it'll be really nice to have them there.

last art show in a year probably...kinda sad. (-_-)

back in portland

2008-05-16T18:58:00.000-07:00

just finished my first week of 12 at wieden + kennedy. actually, i'm still here.
things have been great! the people here are really nice and i get along pretty well with the rest of the group - a lot of talent and ambition. one week down, a whole year to go.

there is already talk of a reality tv show. ;P

here is an amazing video one of the 12 shared with us:

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo

"Happily..." opening

2008-04-15T21:05:00.000-07:00

here are some photos from this past friday's opening of Happily Ever After? 2

after two days of hanging the show, i got to spend friday relaxing and passing out fliers around town for the opening. sohaila, johnny, and i went to honey hole for the most delicious sandwiches ever. i had the pulled bbq pork sandwich with coleslaw, johnny had the beef brisket, and she had a yummy turkey/havarti/amazingness sandwich. the fries were perfectly crispy and the perfect portion.

we dropped by goods, an urban fashion-sneaker-skate shop to visit my friend george otto who i had met during the weiden + kennedy 12 weekend. while we were there, we had a redbull and watched japanese bug fighting. every "round" involves a match between two deadly insects/arachnids and they pretty much fight until one eats the other one. i thought it was quite disturbing - might be more of a 'boy' thing, but here's a link.

{i had wanted to go to the butterfly house at the pacific science center, but we ran out of time. i think that last time i went to something like that was when i was aged in the single digits. i guess i ended up seeing some bugs anyways, though not quite as graceful.}

we headed back to the gallery for some last minute preparations, a celebratory drink (or 1/4 of one), and had our opening!

the weather was lovely, so there was a lot of foot traffic and i talked to so many people that night, my throat was sore after we closed that night.

{look at tons more show photos here}

early in the evening, before it got too crazy, the three of us ventured over to roq la rue and BLVD for their openings. travis louie and femke hiemstra were showing at roq la rue and graffiti artist ghost was at BLVD.

i met travis a few months ago while i was down in LA at audrey kawasaki's solo at copro nason. it was really nice to see him again and as always, his artwork was mind-blowing. i know the description says acrylic, but i can't even see any brushstrokes!

i really appreciate the time and care travis puts into every piece he does. he even writes little stories about each character he creates. this one is about Eunice. an artist AND a storyteller? fabulous!

(look how tiny!)

femke's pieces were so delicate and super detailed. i loved how they were painted on old books, tins, and holy water fonts and were displayed in elaborate gilded frames.

ghost's artwork at BLVD.

i was able to sell a few pieces and several prints during the opening (yay!) and afterwards, we went to The War Room for their 3rd year anniversary. george got us on the guestlist and we shook our booties til the early morn. i'm so glad i was able to spend a few days in seattle, it was good to see old and new friends, have a great art show, and a few mini adventures.

"Happily..." installation!

2008-04-11T13:52:00.000-07:00

getting ready for my opening (TONIGHT!) for Happily Ever After? 2" at suite 100 gallery in seattle.

i got everything hung wednesday and spent yesterday painting little foresty elements to frame the pieces. my friend and artist Sohaila Adela helped me paint the title. um...i'm sure you know by now (especially because it's in my header) that i am not an artist myself, i just curate. so it was a pretty intimidating and frightening to paint on the walls for this show.

last time, my friend erik helped me and i pretty much just filled in the color, but this time it was all me. scary! i'm pretty proud of how everything turned out. i love those stupid mushrooms! (^__^)

happily ever after 2!

2008-04-04T00:37:00.000-07:00

my show Happily Ever After? 2 opens next weekend at Suite 100 Gallery. very excited! and also starting to feel the tinges of stress coming on. but more excited than stressed, which is always good. {view artwork here}

after this and my photography show This Place is a Prison (also at Suite 100), i'll probably be taking a little sabbatical from curating because i got accepted into Wieden + Kennedy's 12 program and will be moving back up to portland and starting class next month. i'm a little scared and a lot excited about the opportunity to work my butt off in a field that is not that familiar to me. my class (of 12 people) will be working on actual advertisements for actual companies that W+K work with, so i'll be updating as projects are completed and who knows, maybe you'll see something i made on tv! (^__^)

that said, i plan on attending and updating on a lot of artsy goodness happening in the portland area. i feel like i've missed a lot in the 4 months i've been away and i can't wait to get back.
tonight was another round of First Thursday openings in portland and Usugrow is showing at Fifty24PDX! so sad that i missed that opening, because i'm sure he flew out for it. Compound Gallery is having a remix the masters show and tomorrow, Grass Hut Gallery is having their opening for a two person show with Trish Grantham and Amy Ruppel.
too many great shows that i'm missing. (-__-) *sigh*

stella im hultberg opening

2008-04-03T23:41:00.000-07:00

eek! i hate editing photos. oh dear.
well, here are the photos from stella's opening that turned out to be very interesting due to a cup of beer for me an a bunch of artists armed with sharpies.

the show was really beautiful and REALLY well received. lots of people came out despite the rain (for SF people it's rain!) and i got to finally meet some art people that i've been in touch with but have never met face-to-face before.

the lady of the hour

so many people were gathered around when we tried to take this picture, it was pretty embarassing.

josh of The Creep Machine art blog.

isaac pierro and katie of gallery 1988 with stella

this guy came up to stella with a stack of her gelaskins (to sign for ebay?)

flowers and beer

kukula wearing one of her new necklaces that you can buy here.

everyone wanted sketches except for me

i opted for a neck tattoo

which was very well received by marcus and hung-hei of the Sleeps to Dream blog. i had actually sold three of stella's paintings to hung-hei from my show at Compound Gallery last january and he is good friends with Luke Chueh as well and is an extensive and very knowledgeable collector of low brow, but i never put two and two together and realized that he was the same doctor who bought the pieces from me a year ago. small world.

peter gronquist insisted that he get in on the action. he also insisted that i go to isaac pierro's house and get his drawing inked right away. i have photos, so i'll think about it. ;P

with my new neck tattoos, i was feelilng pretty tough. i've been throwing up gang signs too much in blogs i think.

enough, enough, about neck tattoos. here's the art. these are my favorite pieces, but you can see all the artwork as well as stella x Gallery 1988's exclusive prints here.

favorite

most most most most favorite! stella's tea and ink staining really brings such a great quality to her drawings. (0_o) beautiful!

stella's canvas pieces turned out really gorgeous too, stella and audrey both doing canvases? eek! hurray!

favorite canvas piece. (i have many favorites)

i look so small here.

the hultbergs. long story.

bear cup waves goodbye!

oh...and then there was food.

foody fun.

2008-03-29T01:18:00.000-07:00

after a year and two months (!!!), i got to hang out with my friends stella and matthew again. they're in town for the week for stella's solo show at gallery 1988SF. yesterday, we met up in the afternoon and had a bit of adventure around the mission, tenderloin, and russian hill - all of which involved some sort of food (of course!)

after having some late busses and getting stuck in the tunnel on the L due to congestion at church station, we met up and wandered around the mission for some lunch. here is a present i made for the two of them the night before, i'm glad matthew didn't shave his facial hair off:

we went to sunflower vietnamese restaurant; funny that we didn't have mexican. matthew and i had two steaming bowls of pho and stella got the bbq pork and imperial rolls with vermicelli noodles. yum!
afterwards, we looked around valencia and found the alley (i forgot the name) that has been completely covered with murals - some of them are so amazing!!! i had been to the alley a few times before, because it's near my friend erik's old studio.

we dropped by little otsu to look at some super cute artsy things and then across the street to 826 for some pirate-y adventure.

i'd never been to this place before, but apparently everyone's at least heard of it. it was full of drawers and nooks of pirate treasure and goods and even had it's own fish theatre, lard bucket (from which you could scoop and purchase your own lard), and sand tub for treasure hunting.

beard or mustache, anyone?

stella and i couldn't figure out how to use the spare stuffed appendages. were they legs or arms or long, irregularly-shaped breasts?

i was COMPLETELY obsessed with this stuffed pheasant. reminded me of a rooster i once knew; good ol' robert.

for more taxidermy, we went next door to paxton gate. it was one of the most wonderous places i've ever seen and i'm sure liz mcgrath would be in heaven there. they don't allow photography, unfortunately, but the place is full of natural wonders and you can buy everything from a weasel skull to rare preserved butterflies and tropical spiders, badger claws, photographs of a woman with elephantiasis, and strange exotic pitcher plants (that stella and i were fascinated by).

we ended the mission trip with a bag of blue cotton candy. thanks matthew! then hopped on a bus back to the tenderloin for a spot of tea at a place it took us about half an hour to find. it was worth it though, because the tea-guy working there was super helpful and we asked him to choose a nice "luscious" black tea for stella and i and a green one for matthew. he gave stella and i a strong black tea with rich chocolate flavour (with a u!) and tender rose buds in it!

perfect with a few madelines. (^__^)

very serious conversation. ah, indeed.

we met up with matthew's sister carrie and had some dee-lish sushi for dinner at sushi groove on russian hill.

we had some hawaiian butterfish there that was creamy-yummy-awesome.

after our meal, we had to eat some more of course, so we went up the street to Swensen's for ice cream. this is it's original location, which earle swensen opened up in 1948 (thanks wikipedia!) in which he developed over 150 different flavors (i played it safe and had the thin mint). Swensen's is now an international chain.

we ended the night with the long walk back from russian hill all the way down to market so that carrie and i could catch the MUNI back home. it was soooo much fun to see stella and matthew again and i'm so glad that we have such similar sense of humor and can laugh and talk about the most vulgar/strange/inappropriate things (oh, and art too) for days.

w+k weekend

2008-03-27T23:24:00.000-07:00

i haven't really told anyone, but i'm trying to wriggle my way back up to portland and applied for the wieden + kennedy 12.5. twelve is a school of sorts that is run by global advertising agency wieden + kennedy (headquartered in portland). this is going to be their fifth year.

twelve only lasts for a year and doesn't really have traditional classes; instead, much of "school" is lab time working on actual ad campaigns for actual clients. so it is more hands-on than traditional ad school.
i first became aware of wk12 when i went to the graduation of my friend Scrappers Morrison for wk12.3 last year. i was too busy with graduation from college to apply for the current twelve, but got the opportunity to do so this year and luckily was chosen as one of the 25 finalists. (^__^)

wieden + kennedy flew us up this past weekend to do interviews, see the space, and meet everyone. it was the best, craziest, most tiring, and exciting three days ever. first of all, apparently my ID is expired as of this month and the first event of the weekend was for all the candidates to do some socializing at a neighborhood bar.
i was promptly kicked out, which was quite embarassing -- i was so bummed because it was going to be my first chance to meet everyone. (-__-) sadness... though, i did go to Saint Cupcake and treat myself to some pre-Easter cuppies (chocolate with hot fudge & sprinkles!, chocolate with cream cheese frosting, vanilla coconut malt/choco-egg).

fortunately, i got to catch up with everyone the next day during the first group of interviews (i was the first one in the first group to be interviewed, go figure). there was a lot of talent and a LOT of great personalities there and it's crazy i got chosen to be part of such a great group of peoples.

i got to stay in the ryan jacob smith room at the ace hotel. <3

the sixth floor, aka heaven. there is a giant pterodactyl nest up there and all the executive offices.

hullo!

goodbye!

photodocumentation and iphones seemed to be a theme this weekend.

mac from Mass Appeal Magazine and bill, my weekend BFF.

rob heppler. kinda sorta sam flores' double.

me & turbo, who was wheeling around on his heelys all weekend (hence the nickname turbo). i didn't know someone could get a nickname so quickly; i also didn't know they made those for adults! he kinda rocks.

jinnina, chet, byron, & susan = the judges

ooh-wee. what a handsome group (we are minus bill and 5 international candidates)

wish me luck! <3

silent spring

2008-03-25T20:55:00.000-07:00

just got back from portland last night from the Wieden + Kennedy 12.5 candidates weekend. exhausted. just waiting to hear back now.

anyways, i'm super stoked for stella im hultberg's solo show at gallery 1988SF this coming friday, march 28! i got to work with stella last january in my show at compound gallery. she and her husband matthew are the best, most awesome people - and, like me, love to eat! i'm so excited to go on some eating adventures when she gets into town! ^__^

her show is called "Silent Spring" and features drawings, paintings, and also some new prints.
the gallery will be releasing a mini print set (10% of them include the special chase print and 5% include an original 4"x5" drawing!!) and also a giclee print of one of the pieces in the show (shown above).

the prints will be available for locals at the opening and then the gallery will be taking phone/web orders the next day. for pictures of the mini set, go to the gallery1988 blog. i've seen the prints that they did for luke chueh a few month's ago and they turned out really well, so i'm very excited to see stella's set too!

for inquiries about artwork, contact the gallery at:
gallery1988sf@gmail.com
(415)409-1376

printed matter III & an adventure with some cardboard

2008-03-09T23:29:00.000-07:00

the last art show i attended was the Printed Matter III show at giant robot sf. i went to the show with my friend jack and we met Last Gasp Books' colin and nancy there. i met them both while i was in LA at audrey kawasaki's show at copro nason.

colin

i have only seen a few shows at giant robot sf so far, but i am always pleasantly surprised not only by the quality, but also the sheer amount of work they always manage to have in their gallery space. i think this show had over 100 pieces! many of my favorite artists were in this show, including susie ghahremani, APAK, and kelly tunstall to name a few.

as the name indicates, this was a print show and jack picked up a piece which the staff graciously wrapped up for us in a sheet of cardboard. i thought to myself, "that's funny, now we look like some hobo-teens" so i thought i'd make the best use of our situation and in the spirit of the friendliness/loveliness of portland (and inspired by a video made by a friend of a friend), i made a sign. "FREE HUGS!"

it started out pretty slow at first, only about 10% of people passing by took me up on my offer, a bit disheartening. but soon, after many questions like "do you want money?" and "is this a trick?", people warmed up and for the next 4 hours, i hugged everyone who would hug me back. i think i probably hugged over 70 people that night.

some people would even double-take and come back to hug me. it sounds cheesy, but the joy that i felt that evening from the people who took the time to get a hug and the happiness they expressed to me was really quite encouraging. i felt drunk... but with joy. weird, huh? maybe this world isn't as cold as it seems after all.

this nice man even recited a poem for me in exchange for the hug i gave him.

this is going to make me sound like a hippie, but it's good to take some time and do something spontaneous and kind sometimes. most of the time, you'll find that you're the one who gets the most out of it.
don't be - make happy!

spring/summer 2008

2008-03-05T10:07:00.000-08:00

here's an update on a few shows i'm working on for this upcoming spring and beginning of summer. both are with Suite 100 Gallery in seattle. i had my first show with suite 100 spring of last year and they invited me back to curate more art shows for them.

this year, i'll be doing another exhibition of Happily Ever After? my fairytale-themed show. the first one did very well last year and this year i was able to include some artists who couldn't participate in the first one. here is the list of participating artists:

Meg Hunt
Mari Inukai
Joshua Clay
Ryan Bubnis
Deth P. Sun
Miniature Mouse
Cory Benhatzel
Rudy Jan Faber
Krista Huot
Edwin Ushiro
Jeremiah Ketner
Leanne Biank
Susie Ghahremani
Sophie Varela
Meomi
Heather Amuny-Dey
Johnny Yanok
Sohaila Adela

also, with this year's show, Sohaila Adela has agreed to paint the installation for the show. last year, my friend Erik Otto helped me with a mural to tie the show together:

Happily Ever After: Chapter 2 will be opening friday, April 11. i plan on flying up to seattle two days before to install. i had 4 days last time, but i'm familiar with the space now and i know where home depot is, so installation shouldn't be too much of a problem.

another show i'm working on is This Place is a Prison, my first photography show. the show features the work of Angela Dawn, Emily Ibarra, and Jack Raynard. no theme with this one, i selected artists whose styles and subject matter seem to work well together. all three photographers are young 20-somethings from urban areas (san francisco and seattle) and the lifestyles of the photographers themselves often is portrayed in their work.
(i really wanted to include a photographer from portland in this show, especially since it's been one of my goals to give portland talent more exposure, but the photographer i was set on couldn't do it. =\ )

This Place is a Prison opens Friday, June 13.

also, the purpose of my whole LA trip a few weeks ago was to see the two Munky King spaces and also to finally meet the owner, Patrick Lam and talk about curating some shows for him. i've been knocking some ideas around for that and there have been some shows i've been waiting for a good venue for. Munky King has a chinatown and also a melrose location, both of which have a good amount of room for art (and super high ceilings!!!) so hopefully i'll be able to do something for both end of this year.

2nd day (pt. 2)

2008-02-21T00:02:00.000-08:00

finally! i resized and uploaded pictures from LA trip day two part two:

after seeing luke's "Long Arm of the Paw" show at 1988, we met him at mari's house and headed over to Merry Karnowsky gallery for Sideshow Redux, a show curated by brad benedict.

there were some really gorgeous pieces in the show.

mark mothersbaugh

i met travis louie for the first time too!

andrew brandou

earlier in the night, mari, luke, & i decided to take the pepcid ac challenge. supposedly if you take pepcid ac an hour before you start drinking alcohol, it reduces/eliminates the "asian glow" or becoming "lobster in the face" as my friend kevin calls it.
luke and i convinced david "the chung" chung to also take the challenge.

korin faught

camille rose garcia

i'm already planning my next trip down to LA for this coming may when luke, mari, and chet zar will be having a three person show at copro nason! yay!

^__^

dear god...even nike is super artsy down here.

kosher pizza

after the show, the three of us headed over to starbucks for a snack which somehow ended up being a pseudo-classy-starbucks-awkward-first-date. ha!

very romantic!

then mari and luke ro-sham-boed for who was driving to copro nason. mari won 3 out of 5. here is the winning play!
ROCK CRUSHES SCISSORS!!!!

the show featured 17 original paintings (including two on canvas, oh my!) and two drawings. the second space was filled with the limited prints that audrey's been making for the past few years. the show was so packed and audrey was mobbed, but luckily we stuck around long enough to say hi.

favorite!

yayeeeee!

juxtapoz's greg escalante trying to convince audrey to do an interview. =P

one of audrey's two canvas pieces. interesting to see where she'll go with a different medium!

yah...beautiful!

brian with the giant bottle of vodka that made deceivingly delicious drinks. stupid pepcid ac!!!

best way to end a night of artsy amazingness!!! the chung, travis louie, luke, mari, & i went to get yummy korean food at this 24-hour place in koreatown. too bad the jerk of a waitress kicked us out because we hung out after eating to talk art. hat0rzzzz!!!!!

day two... (pt.1)

2008-02-12T23:13:00.000-08:00

in the morning, i sat for mari

i stood too.

then we went to japantown to go to the murakami show again.

the queue was ridiculous.
luckily, we didn't have to wait & got in for free because i recognized someone i met at the MOCA the day before. :)

after, we went back through downtown

to the melrose district to see luke's show.

it was balmy.

along the way, we saw this giant tree

and i got distracted by shiny things

my and mari's favorite piece - eek! so cute!

mark bodnar was showing too

the tooth's long legs & socks made me laugh (and reminded me that i need my wisdom teeth out)

yosuke ueno's pieces made me warm and happy.

more elephants

= more happy.

"i'm in los angeles today..."

2008-02-09T01:06:00.000-08:00

today i:

1. woke up at freak o'clock in the AM
2. flew to LAX from SFO
3. was picked up by luke
4. went to an interesting part of town and took some pictures
5. ate some dim sum and NOT "latino-style" vietnamese sandwiches
6. went to japanLA - bought some amazingly cute stuff
7. went to munky king (melrose)
8. ate pinkberry
9. went to MOCA (no.1) for a walk through of Collecting Collections
10. went to MOCA (no. 2) to see the Murakami exhibit
11. went to japantown - bought and ate many japanese snackins and drinkins
12. shop shop shop - cute overload!!!
13. went to munky king (chinatown)
14. went to MOCA (no.1) for opening reception of Collecting Collections
15. met up with mari & kent
16. ate yummy mexican foods & (1 very strong) margarita
17. blogged
18. sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeep...

*phew!*

[not pictured: any of the MOCA things (no cameras allowed) and adventures in japantown and with mexican food - (>_<) dumb]

lovely

2008-02-02T19:21:00.000-08:00

yesterday gallery 1988SF had their opening of "a place called lovely", a 5-woman show with amy sol, caia koopman, camilla d'errico, krista huot and lilly piri. it was...beautiful!
it's been a bit since i've been to an art show because i missed ben tour's show at fifty24sf (sad day), and i'm really glad i didn't miss this one. amy was there and i hadn't seen her since she showed with me last january!

amy sol

amy sol

caia koopman

camilla d'errico

gah...mad that i didn't take blog-worthy pictures of lilly piri and krista huot's pieces. hopefully the gallery will be updating the pieces on their website: Gallery 1988SF

ooh ooh...and i found out that kathie olivas is having a solo show at 1988SF at the end of the month! so excited for that!

presents!!!

2008-01-05T22:11:00.000-08:00

luke chueh is the BEST! he is indeed!!!

how am i supposed to compete with this awesome care-package-ness? how?!?
jeff soto calendar? art books? postcards galore? hi-chews and these amazing little marshmallow-y/ caramel-y yum yum things called scotch kisses?

and the creme de la creme: "astigmataism" from the show he had with me at compound last year. eek! *faint*

neulovers & drawing a blank

2008-01-05T18:39:00.000-08:00

new year's was spent in portland and although i've only been living in SF for only a little while (about a month and a half), it was wonderful to be back and to see the old faces. it's been a trial ever since i left -- i've been mostly a homebody and haven't been doing nearly as much networking as i should be, but i have to keep reminding myself that i'm going through a transition right now and to give myself time and not get too frustrated.
being outside of my comfort zone will ultimately force me to grow both as a person and a curator and i think that moving away from portland's inclusive art scene will help me to understand different markets and influences of the industry.
in the meantime though, it's hard not to feel like a bum.

anyhow, it was good to be back in my old stomping grounds and everything seemed pretty much the same. a new haircut here, a new store banner there, but everyone was normal and doing their normal happy, wonderful portland-y things. lucky jerks. =P

i planned my trip so that i would be in town for the First Thursday art openings in the Pearl/Chinatown districts and i'm glad i did because i was able to catch two wonderful shows at compound gallery and backspace gallery.
compound did a show with grafuck called Neulovers. grafuck is an annual show/art book that usually happens at nucleus gallery in LA. nucleus' grafuck 3(some) had it's opening last month. compound's show was mostly japanese artists that have worked with the gallery before, so it was good to see some familiar styles working in the theme of sex/eroticism for this show.

cho-chan

kozyndan

shannon mcglothin

ena

i wish i remembered who this was...love it so much!

trip (aka meg hasegawa)

next door at backspace, they had their opening for "drawing a blank" a two-person show with eatcho and jason graham. i had seen eatcho's work before, but i wasn't familiar with jason graham. the show was....AMAZING! there was an overwhelming amount of work and it was almost too much for my eyes and brain to handle. oh my!

now, i love art, but i haven't been "what the @*&^%! OMG! ah! ah! no, what?!? *%$^#@!!!!!!" excited about a new (to me) artist in a while and jason graham was that for me. i was so excited, i ran over to the sandwich shop next door and dragged my friends (who had to swallow their prosciutto-provalone-tomato-lettuce sandwiches whole to catch up) to see the show! yah!
jason did 80 drawings and 5 paintings for this show and i just had to buy a few (despite being jobless, eek!) his drawings are so amazingly detailed though and....uh, amazing! sad that he doesn't have a website so i can share better pics! -__-

here are a few photos from the show:

jason graham

jason graham

MINE! ^__^

eatcho installation

eatcho

eatcho

the night ended with dancing and drinks at Someday lounge for "the fix" -- a weekly hip hop dance party that i used to frequent. and i even got to break in my christmas shoes:

i heart portland!

^____^

2007-12-25T00:17:00.000-08:00

happy merry christmas everyone!!! there has officially been 37 minutes of christmasness now. woo!

in other news: 2008 is just around the corner now and i have a few shows i'm working on. i'm doing another show with Suite 100 Gallery in seattle. i did a fairytale themed show with them last year called Happily Ever After? and i'm bringing it back this april with Happily Every After?: Chapter 2.

but before that, i've got a show down in LA at Munky King in late february/early march named by the extremely talented and witty Luke Chueh - "Broken Art for Broken Hearts".

i'm really cutting it close as far as securing artists, but i'm really excited for both of these shows and am looking forward to working my butt off! yah!

hello, my name is simon...

2007-12-23T01:12:00.000-08:00

so the other day i decided to open up illustrator for some reason and doodle a bit. i'm a self-proclaimed non-artist, so i've never considered myself artsy in any way other than as a curator. i am quite crafty though.
anyways, i opened up illustrator and started working on a rendering for possible costuming for Luke Chueh's Super Cute Art Girl militia (or SCAG for short). it's an ingenious idea he had to create a cute art-loving girl army of awesomeness to accompany him to art shows and events. amazing!

i worked on the renderings on my mac book and lazy me still hasn't gotten a proper mouse for it (yes, i'm going to get carpal tunnel) so it was a pain and took me an hour and a half, but i was really pleased with the results:

bubblegum colorway

i got super excited and spent the rest of the day dorking out in front of the computer and made a few more drawings. monica can make some things after all! yay!

pop the glock?

2007-12-23T00:55:00.000-08:00

in a totally un-artsy-related post, my younger brother celebrated his 21st birthday a few weeks ago. he's a pretty cool kid, that one. he decided to go have a little airsoft gun battle in the hills of santa cruz to celebrate. i didn't participate unfortunately, but i did get to hold his glock and watch a whole bunch of grown and not-so-grown men and (3?) women run around in full camo and masks with ammo, grenades, and other cool fake junk strapped onto their bodies.
grown-up capture the flag...uh, with guns.

tomorrow i'm going to shoot rifles with my dad. ^_____^ should be pretty funny and pretty awesome!

vivisect playset IV

2007-12-02T17:34:00.000-08:00

last night was the opening of Luke Chueh's "Vivisect Playset IV" at Gallery 1988 SF. the show looked wonderful and Luke and Greg "Crayola" Simkins were signing and sketching from when the doors opened at 7pm 'til they closed at 11.

the show featured artwork from 23 artists. it was a lovely variety of styles and experience all working in the common theme of animals as subjects portraying the human condition.

the line to meet Luke and Crayola got pretty crazy by the middle of the night and luke could barely find time to sneak outside for a cigarette.

[BEFORE: the line early in the evening]

[AFTER: mid-evening, people were crowding in to get a sketch]

later in the evening i was also able to head over to Shooting Gallery a few blocks away to see their opening for Anne Faith Nicholls solo show "Low Tide Collection".

i have never gotten the chance to see her work in person before and she did a wonderful job on this show with some really large detailed works and also an installation of a bed hanging from the ceiling - as illustrated in the title piece of the show.

the Usugrow/ Mike Giant show was still up in White Walls next door and i'm glad i got the chance to see that before it comes down week after next.

overall, it was a wonderful first night of artsy goodness in SF for me and i can't wait for more! ^__^

san francisco

2007-11-30T21:52:00.000-08:00

my my my...it's been about two months since i last blogged. 0_o

here are some updates:
1. i relocated back to SF from portland about a week and a half ago.
2. i'm looking for an art-related job and keeping my fingers crossed!
3. i'm really excited to go to tons of art shows and start having some of my own soon.
4. even when it's "cold" or "rainy" in SF, it's not nearly as frigid or miserable as a portland winter. yipee!

and tomorrow is the opening of my friend luke chueh's art show at Gallery 1988 SF: Vivisect Playset 4!

and there is also an artist series Vivisect Playset toy set coming out too; with toy designs by Anthony Ausgang, Luke Chueh, Thomas Han, Peter Gronquist, Joe Ledbetter, Greg Simkins, Amanda Visell, and a collaboration between Greg Simkins & Joe Ledbetter. they won't be released tomorrow though.

here is the first of 3 pieces luke is creating for the show:

"Shit For Brains"

hurray!!!

sparks: ignite what's next PDX

2007-09-24T15:57:00.000-07:00

dave choe and saber were in town last week for the portland stop of their "Ignite What's Next" tour. it was probably the most eventful 5 days of my short life. we went out for a lapdance or three and saber even bought me a rootbeer float. it was awesome.

i wasn't working the day they were leaving for seattle, so i got to play assistant and body guard up there too. ^__^

here are some photos from the live painting they did at Rotture and the next day at weiden + kennedy.

dave & saber live painting at rotture.

yay for tree-man.

saber signing the piece.

secret piece downstairs.

happy fun times.

saber, dave, and my friend kevin.

starting out weiden + kennedy piece.

pt. 2

finished weiden + kennedy piece.

"a long way home" videos

2007-08-30T22:14:00.000-07:00

here are some videos from my friend erik's solo show at shooting gallery.
i'm in them for 2.5 seconds, so keep an eye out for me! ^___^

upcoming show @ Backspace Gallery

2007-08-29T09:58:00.000-07:00

so a few months ago, i was up in seattle installing "Happily Ever After?" a group show i had at suite 100 gallery. it was tons o' fun and while i was there, i got to check out a bunch of artshows and even a BFA show at cornish.

seattle has a lot of talent and even though it's just two hours north, the style and tastes of the artists seems very different from that of portland.
i recently was offered the opportunity to curate a show at Backspace Gallery, so i thought, why not bring some of what i saw down to portland? oh, hurray!

i'm really excited for this show. four young artists, four very different styles, three of them doing live painting performances the night of the opening, and one sweet opening party!

if you are in portland, please come by!

Backspace Gallery
115 nw 5th avenue
portland, or 97209

artists' reception: september 6 @ 6pm - 12am
show runs through end of the month.

soso show photos!

2007-08-29T09:28:00.000-07:00

oh my! sorry i didn't get to put together some photos from the show before, but here they are.

this was my first time doing a show outside of a proper gallery space, but the turnout was still lovely and we even sold a few pieces, yay!
it was great to see everyone out and having a good time. dj Zita spun some "phat beatz" (two of my favorite words!) and there were drinks and tiny cupcakes too!

soso did a live painting performance outside the space opening night and despite the wind, it went very well. she didn't know what she was going to paint at first, but then the night before, she had a vision of owls. nice!

thanks so much to angela and micheal for the photos!

here are the photos:

[setting up the show]

[snow owl - SOLD]

[background work on the canvas]

[night falls quickly in portland, doesn't it?]

[the artist as a vandal =P]

[white roses - SOLD]

[aftermath - charcoal on paper - $125]

[after the death - charcoal on paper - $90]

[eye of the beholder - charcoal on paper - $85]

[looking back - charcoal on paper - $100]

there are still pieces available from the show. if you are interested or need more information, feel free to email me at monicahwchoy@gmail[dot]com!

i had a lot of help on this show and i couldn't have done without it!
yay rock n' rose (jeff & sheila)!
yay soso!
yay micheal!
yay zita!
yay angela!
yay that angry lady upstairs who told us to turn down the phat beatz!
yay everyone who came to the opening!

soso @ rock n' rose

2007-07-31T01:27:00.000-07:00

artist's reception: 6-9pm
live painting by Soso @ 7pm
after-party @ Rontom's

this is the first show i've curated since "happily ever after?" in seattle and i'm glad to come back from my two-month sabbatical with this solo show of all-new works from seattle artist Soso.

i've known Soso for almost a year now, but this is the first time i've shown her artwork and i'm really excited for the opening this friday!
the venue is a first for me as well; Rock N' Rose is a vintage/indie clothing boutique that just opened up on e. burnside a few months ago and this marks the first time they're participating in the first friday art walk.

Soso is going to be doing some live painting at the opening and there will be drinks, music, and lots of wonderful new artwork from her, so if you're in the area, please stop by and meet the artist! oh, and say hi to me too!

there is also going to be an after-party at Rontom's (a lounge right next door) after the show, which is also a lovely/chill/fantabulous space!

"a long way home" opening!

2007-07-17T23:00:00.001-07:00

huzzah! so this past saturday was the opening for my friend erik otto's solo show at Shooting Gallery. it was super packed at the opening, there were people there from opening to close and the bouncers had a heck of a time kicking people out.
a lot of lovely people came out and everyone had a good time.

i played photographer again and took pics opening night, here are some of them:

install finished!

2007-07-13T22:12:00.000-07:00

we finished up pretty much everything yesterday for erik's install and today he put on the finishing touches.

here are some pictures from yesterday's work:

erik in the house character.

everybody working hard (except for me, i'm playing photographer!)

install for "a long way home"

2007-07-11T00:46:00.000-07:00

i've been in SF for the past week and a half to see family and such but also to see my friend erik otto's solo show at shooting gallery. it's been wonderful! the weather's been quite nice and i've been eating yummy food and hanging out and having many adventures!

while i'm here, erik decided to use me for free hard labor to help build the huge found wood installation for his show. four of us (well mostly two building and then the other 2 of us help carry things around) are virtually building an entire house inside the gallery space to keep his paintings company during the month that his show will be up.

it is massive!

he and his friend ken built most of the install at erik's studio and then we took it all apart and brought all the pieces over to the gallery yesterday. it took 3 u-haul loads and ten hours.

today we built the entire framework and skinned most of it too. we took pictures yesterday, i posted a few of them here, the rest of them can be found here:
{INSTALL PHOTOS}

Saber is showing next door at white walls and is also doing an installation - a re-make of his huge LA river piece.
it's like a tiny (well, tiny compared to the original) version of the piece that took him a whole year of late nights spraypainting on his knees, avoiding crack-heads and gangs and even trying to save someone who fell into the river to paint.

this is going to be a great coupling of shows; if you're in the bay, you should definitely check it out!

i will have more photos of the installation process and will post those as well as show photos as soon as i can!

melissa forman & electric garden

2007-07-05T20:38:00.000-07:00

this post is a bit late, but here are some photos from Compound's june opening: a solo show with melissa forman and a group show with apak, betsy watson, and peter hamlin. the artwork was simply lovely and i was really glad that all the artists got to come out for the show too!

melissa forman is an artist that was in mike burnett's "neighborWOOD" show. we loved her piece in the show and asked her to have a solo show in Compound's smaller space. it was her first solo show and she created some gorgeous pieces for it.

melissa has been painting portraits since she was a youth (she painted them in high school for extra money). she recently decided to challenge herself and paint historical style clothing and settings, but juxtaposing them with faces of relatives and friends.

here are some images of melissa's artwork:

the show in the larger portion of Compound's space was "Electric Garden" a trio of tiny artsiness: artist-couple APAK, betsy watson, and peter hamlin. the pieces for this show were so super detailed and delicate! i loved it!
plus all the artists painting on the walls of the space and made it really cute and cozy.

APAK

APAK

APAK

Betsy Watson

Betsy Watson

Peter Hamlin

Peter Hamlin

the folks!

THE END of a fabulous opening!

Pretty in Ink

2007-06-25T16:56:00.000-07:00

This was a show that I curated for Grass Hut in April with 3 young female artists: Meg Hunt, MiniatureMouse, & Naomi Nowak.
Old, I know, but there were pictures from the show posted on Juxtapoz's website (courtesy of the lovely Cecelia Singer), so I thought I'd post the link on here.

Click on the image below for pics from the show!

grass hut: june first friday

2007-06-03T17:43:00.000-07:00

this past friday was first friday on e. burnside which means art shows! there was the "rayguns of ray horneau" show over at moshi moshi, the "hilberts!" show at grass hut, and my friend brad delay had a solo show at the chesterfield.
there was a wonderful turnout, the weather was beautiful and people stuck around the galleries long past closing time.

here's a video scrappers made of the hilbert's artwork:

i really loved the vibrant colors and lines of the hilberts' show, which featured 4 different artists: Snaggs, Arbito, Oliver, & Spencer (3 cousins and a wife).
it was really interesting to see 4 artists with unique styles of their own, but who share so many similarities in color palate and flavor to their work.

and of course, i have a soft spot (no pun intended!) for Snaggs work. i love felt and sewing!

here are some terrible pictures i took; i have shaky hands unfortunately. =(

happy postings!

2007-05-16T19:55:00.000-07:00

juxtapoz just put up some pics from the show on their blog!
you can see those here:

{HAPPILY EVER AFTER? on jux}

thank you so much to cecelia and ryan who drove all the way up from portland just for the opening! super specialness!

happy artwork!

2007-05-14T21:48:00.000-07:00

here is all the artwork from the show. i was very VERY!!! (^_^) pleased with everything that i received for this show, such beautiful work!

if you have any art inquiries, comments about the show, or questions, feel free to email me or the fellows of suite 100 gallery at:
monicahwchoy@gmail.com
doug@suite100gallery.com
beau@suite100gallery.com
josh@suite100gallery.com

artist: 2H
title: the eye of the eagle of galactica prime
medium: ink on paper
price: $400

artist: andrew hem
title: reach high
medium: gouache on paper
dimensions: 10.5" x 8"
price: SOLD

artist: andrew hem
title: goals
medium: gouache on paper
dimensions: 8" x 10.5"
price: SOLD

artist: andrew hem
title: the pursuit of happyness
medium: acrylic on wood
dimensions: 6" x 7"
price: $120

artist: ryan bubnis
title: it knows what i'm saying
medium: acrylic/mixed media on paper
dimensions: 16" x 20"
price: $600

artist: ryan bubnis
title: the frog and the golden ball
medium: acrylic/mixed media on canvas
dimensions: 8" x 10"
price: $300

artist: ryan bubnis
title: sometimes in the floating forest
medium: acrylic/mixed media on wood
dimensions: 24" x 4.5"
price: $200

artist: ryan bubnis
title: just for you
medium: acrylic/mixed media on wood
dimensions: 11" x 18"
price: $600

artist: bwana spoons
title: once upon a time
medium: gouache on paper
dimensions: 24" x 9"
sold as set for: $1200

artist: bwana spoons
title: there was a launchramp so big
medium: gouache on paper
dimensions: 24" x 9"
sold as set for: $1200

artist: bwana spoons
title: that even steven was scared
medium: gouache on paper
dimensions: 24" x 9"
sold as set for: $1200

artist: deth p. sun
title: the giant and the hut
medium: acrylic on wood
dimensions: 18" x 18" (each panel)
sold as set for: SOLD

artist: fawn gehweiler
title: mushroomhead
medium: acrylic on canvas
dimensions: 16" x 20"
price: SOLD

artist: ferris plock
title: little red riding hood
medium: mixed media on canvas
dimensions: 16" x 20"
price: $450 (sold as set of 3 for $1275)

artist: ferris plock
title: the three little pigs
medium: mixed media on canvas
dimensions: 16" x 20"
price: $450 (sold as set of 3 for $1275)

artist: ferris plock
title: peter and the wolf
medium: mixed media on canvas
dimensions: 16" x 20"
price: $450 (sold as set of 3 for $1275)

artist: ferris plock
title: the hare and the tortoise
medium: mixed media on canvas
dimensions: 12" x 12"
price: $350

artist: ferris plock & kelly tunstall
title: beauty and the beast
medium: mixed media on canvas
dimensions: 8" x 10"
price: SOLD

artist: heiko mueller
title: woipertinger
medium: graphite and colored pencil on paper
dimensions: 12.75" x 12.75"
SOLD

artist: heiko mueller
title: giant bear
medium: graphite and colored pencil on paper
dimensions: 12.75" x 12.75"
SOLD

artist: jeremiah ketner
title: glitter me all over
medium: acrylic on wood
dimensions: 7" x 7"
price: $250

artist: jeremiah ketner
title: something to do
medium: acrylic on wood
dimensions: 7" x 7"
price: $250

artist: jeremiah ketner
title: stroll softly through the night
medium: acrylic on wood
dimensions: 12" x 12"
SOLD

artist: jeremiah ketner
title: things are growing
medium: acrylic on wood
dimensions: 18" x 10"
price: $550

artist: kelly tunstall
title: glinda, the good witch of the north
medium: mixed media on canvas
dimensions: 12" x 16"
price: $450 (sold as set for $800)

artist: kelly tunstall
title: the wicked witch of the west
medium: mixed media on canvas
dimensions: 12" x 16"
price: $450 (sold as set for $800)

artist: kelly tunstall
title: thumbelina
medium: acrylic on wood
dimensions: 8" x 11"
price: $350

artist: kelly tunstall
title: the little mermaid
medium: mixed media on canvas
dimensions: 24" x 48"
price: $1500

artist: leanne biank
title: the fairest of them all
medium: oil on wood
dimensions: 13.5" x 17.75"
SOLD

artist: mensen & zeeS (legal bee productions)
title: como se dice en espagne - snakke du norske
medium: cut paper/mixed media on wood
SOLD

artist: mensen & zeeS (legal bee productions)
title: como se dice en espagne - snakke du norske (small 1)
medium: cut paper/mixed media
dimensions: 8" x 8.5"
price: $175

artist: mensen & zeeS (legal bee productions)
title: como se dice en espagne - snakke du norske (small 2)
medium: cut paper/mixed media
dimensions: 8" x 8.5"
price: $175

artist: mensen & zeeS (legal bee productions)
title: como se dice en espagne - snakke du norske (small 3)
medium: cut paper/mixed media
dimensions: 8" x 8.5"
price: $175

artist: susie ghahremani
title: mother goose
medium: gouache on wood
dimensions: 5" x 6"
price: $250

artist: susie ghahremani
title: the frog prince
medium: goauche on wood
dimensions: 5" x 5"
price: $200

artist: susie ghahremani
title: bah bah black sheep
medium: gouache on wood
dimensions: 2" x 3"
SOLD

artist: susie ghahremani
title: this little piggy
medium: gouache on wood
dimensions: 2" x 3"
SOLD

artist: susie ghahremani
title: hey diddle diddle
medium: gouache on wood
dimensions: 2" x 3"
SOLD

artist: susie ghahremani
title: the dish ran away with the spoon
medium: gouache on wood
dimensions: 2" x 3"
SOLD

happily ever after?

2007-05-10T19:24:00.000-07:00

this is a show i am currently working on for Suite 100 Gallery in seattle. i arrived on monday the 7th on the train with my friend erik otto and we've been having a great time, staying at the green tortoise hostel, eating yummy fruits and veggies from pike place market, and hanging some beautiful art!

the whole idea behind "happily ever after?" came about because of the prevalence of fairy-tales and fables that i've noticed in american culture as of late. i assembled 15 artists to give their spin on these familiar favorites.

these wonderful people included:
2H, bwana spoons, ferris plock, susie ghahremani, heiko mueller, jeremiah ketner, kelly tunstall, legal bee productions, deth p. sun, ryan bubnis, andrew hem, leanne biank, and fawn gehweiler

you can see their artwork here:
"Happily Ever After?" artwork

here are some images from the show! i will have more in a bit.

gallery panoramic shot

erik getting ready to paint the title

erik after a long days work; the boy loves packing peanuts.

being dorky.

being dorkier.

bwana spoons and ferris plock

ryan bubnis, andrew hem, 2H, & leanne biank

lovely fawn gehweiler

left & right views of suite 100 storefront

HI!!!!

early in the night.

we were lucky to have gorgeous weather

more people.

happy opening!

happy show!