sparks: ignite what's next PDX

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

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

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!

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

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!

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!

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!)