FACULTY: Known Gallery

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Hello Kitty Hello Art! - Gallery Show & Book Release

Hello Kitty : Hello Art!

Gallery Art Show & Book Release

This past October 14th, 2012 from 1-6pm. Known Gallery, LA's top premier street art gallery and home of The Seventh Letter got together with Sanrio and unleashed a one day pop-up event at it's location in the Fairfax Market. Hello Kitty Hello Art! is a gallery art show and book release inspired and based on the beloved characters of Hello Kitty and Sanrio. Entire new works by some of the major top players in the contemporary and street art world took center stage at this one day pop-up event. Known Gallery main room was transformed in into a world of Hello Kitty through the eyes of "POSE". A well-known Los Angeles graffiti street artist and member of famed crews: The Seventh Letter and MSK. POSE is also the cover artist for the new Hello Kitty Hello Art! book by Roger Gastman by Abrams Books which was released at this show.

The back room was dedicated to other various artists who participated in this Hello Kitty extravaganza. Some of the artist included were: 64 Colors, Adam Wallacavage, AIKO, Caia Koopman, DABS MYLA, Kenton Parker, Niagara, RISK, Shepard Fairey (Obey), Simone Legno and many more.

The auxiliary back room was open as well and provided the shop aspect of the event. Where show goers could purchase the Hello Art! book, limited edition screen prints and exclusive artist tees by The Seventh Letter. Some of these items are still available from Sanrio.com as well.

In addition to all of this, about a dozen of the featured artists were available and on-hand to graciously signed copies of the new Hello Art! book. Some of the artists for the meet and greet were: POSE, Roger Gastman, DABS MYLA, RISK, Mr. Toast, Shark Toof, Adam Wallacavage, Tim Diet, Kenton Parker, Deph, Gary Baseman & Andrew Brandou. The book which is over 200 pages features art from a plethora of artists. All that were listed above as well as Shepard Fairy of OBEY, Buff Monster, Ron English, Luke Chueh, AIKO, CRASH, Niagara and many many more.

Since this was a one day event, there was an over whelming response and turn out. With doors opening at 1:00 pm, by 1:30pm the line was a block and a half long. Extending around the corner of Rosewood stopping just short of The Hundreds Fairfax location. With most of these artists being from the contemporary, street art and graffiti world, there was really something for everyone, young & old, male or female at this show. Although with the wait time tipping into the multiple hours, the overall wait of show was worth it in my eyes and I enjoyed to get a chance to meet some of these fantastic artists that most of us have admired for many years now.

Below are selected shots from this one day pop-up Hello Kitty event:

MAIN ROOM:

Hello Kitty x POSE

"Wet Paint"

Various "Two 4 One"

12" x 12" acrylic on clayboard

"Hello Fishy"

30" x 40" acrylic and spray paint

"Cruisin"

36" x 48" acrylic and spray paint

"Doll"

36" x 48" acrylic and spray paint

"Beach Party"

36" x 48" acrylic and spray paint

"Hello Bloomers"

36" x 48" acrylic and spray paint

"Hello Paint #2"

30" x 40" acrylic and spray paint

"Hello Paint #1"

30" x 40" acrylic and spray paint

A photo op with Miss Hello Kitty

"Hello Kitty was here!"

"HELLO POSE"

Hello Kitty x POSE

Girlfriend can get down

No drips...

Hello Kitty in abstraction

Sanrio Supermarket Signs

28" x 20" sign ink on poster board

BACK ROOM:

by "RISK"

"East Meets West in Neon"

by "RISK"

"East Meets West"

by "RISK"

"Small Gift Miami Mask Instillation Detail"

by Anthony Lister

"Small Gift Miami Mask Instillation Detail"

by Anthony Lister

"Hello Kitty Pink Chandelier" (also in White) 45" x 52" diameter

by Adam Wallacavage

"Hello Kitty" 18" x 24" acrylic on wood

by DABS MYLA

"Hello Kitty"

by Camilla d' Errico

"Hello Kitty"

by Niagara

"Hello Kitty"

by Tokidoki

"Astro Kitty" 32" x 48" acrylic on wood

by "64 Colors"

"Hello Kitty Block Party"

72" x 72" mixed media on canvas

by AIKO

"Getting Up"

"Ghetto Blaster"

"B Girl"

"Hello Kitty NYC"

"Untitled" 18" x 24" Screen Print

Shepard Fairey (Obey)

Limited Edition Screen Prints that were for sale

by Tokidoki, Shepard Fairey & Dabs Myla

"Risk Rock" signing books

Main floor Captain "POSE" signing a book

"Deph" busting a doodle

Special appearance by Hello Kitty!

"Hello Kitty Hello Art!" book

Curated by Roger Gastman and out by Abrams books

One day pop-up event

To learn more about Known Galley, featured artists and upcoming exhibits, please visit:

knowngallery.com

To learn more of Sanrio, it's products and the world of Hello Kitty, please visit:

www.sanrio.com

Thursday, September 20, 2012

SABER "Beautification" & REVOK "Gilgamesh" at Known Gallery

During the dates of July 28th to August 1th, 2012. Known Gallery located in the heart of the Fairfax Market in Los Angeles, played host to two of LA's most notorious and infamous graffiti and street artists this Golden State has ever produced. SABER and his brother in-arms REVOK (aka Jason Williams) banded together for a joint dual solo exhibit. SABER with "Beautification" and REVOK with "Gilgamesh". Both are famed graffiti artists from the MSK, AWR & The Seventh Letter Crews in Los Angeles. Each artists show growth and maturity in their work while striving and maintaining the transition from the streets to galleries and museums.

SABER: Born in the Los Angeles suburb of Glendale, SABER was raised by creative parents and discovered his passion for art at an early age. At 13, his cousins introduced him to graffiti when they took him to see the spray paint-covered Belmont Tunnel. From that moment on, he was hooked. After honing his skills on local walls, SABER joined MSK, and was later inducted into legendary piecing crew AWR. SABER was already a fixture in the Los Angeles graffiti scene by 1997 when he completed the largest graffiti piece ever created. His piece on the sloping cement bank of the Los Angeles River was nearly the size of a professional football field, and took 97 gallons of paint and 35 nights to complete. In a famous photograph—taken by his father just after it was finished—SABER stands on the piece and appears as a tiny speck amid a giant blaze of color. It catapulted SABER to legend status in the graffiti world. SABER began exhibiting in his fine art in 2002. His monograph, SABER: MAD SOCIETY, complete with stories of his graffiti misadventures, was released by Gingko Press in 2007 and is now in its second printing. In October 2010, SABER released a video in which the year's heated debate about health care was spray painted over the American flag. While some saw it as desecration, SABER advocated for health care reform in the video, revealing that he had epilepsy and was un-insurable. This work led SABER to create a large group of American flag paintings called the Tarnished series.

In 2011, SABER's solo show, The American Graffiti Artist opened in New York to great acclaim. Additionally, his art was featured in two museum exhibitions, "Street Cred" at the Pasadena Museum of California Art and MoCA's "Art in the Streets". (Bio courtesy of saberone.com)

Below are selected samples from the VIP opening on July 28th, 2012.

SABER "Beautifcation"

"War of the Worlds 1" 5' x 6

Mixed media on canvas

"Untitled" 6' x 12'

Mixed media on canvas

"Untitled" 24" x 34"

Mixed media on canvas