1. Picks of the Harvest at Thinkspace Gallery in Los Angeles.
The first show I think you should see this March is [spoiler alert] one that I’m in. Thinkspace is a really really great gallery in the Culver City area of LA (is my ass kissing not subtle enough? They’re really really really great). Seriously, though, I’m very flattered to have been chosen as part of their “Picks of the Harvest” show, a large group show featuring some really great artists from their roster (like Adam Caldwell and DABS MYLA) alongside some talented artists they’re trying out (me me me). If you’re in the LA area in March, go check out the show and tell them how much you love my work and what a fancy dresser you think I am. Or tell them I smell like lavender. Or make something up. Just tell them nice things about me so that they think I’m cool and invite me back to do more shows. The show opens March 3rd 5-8pm (sadly I won’t be able to make it myself), and runs through March 24th. Check out more about the show, including a full list of the participating artists (there are a ton of great ones) with links, here or go there in person: 6009 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA.
2. The Calendar’s Tales: Fantasy, Figuration & Representation at Boston University’s 808 Gallery.
For those who don’t know it, Boston University owns a giant space on Commonwealth Avenue that used to be a car dealership. Occasionally they put on sprawling, expansive shows, usually of student work. Which is fine. But this show blows that shit out of the water. Raul Gonzalez (featured in this very blog way back here) partnered with his wife Elaine Bay (known locally as Princess Die of Miracle 5 fame) to create work for this show as dieRaul. It’s some heavy shit. Drug cartels, money running, decapitation, school buses, and the 1979 cult movie The Warriors. Yikes. The other artists in the show mine illustration, graphic novels, myth and folk tales in their work. Pretty bad ass. Check it out at 808 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA, February 2nd – March 31st, 2012.
3. Caleb Neelon: Victory Garden at the Center for the Arts at Endicott College, Beverly, MA.
Local Boston artist, writer, world traveler, authority on street art, and all around phenom Caleb Neelon has a show up right now at Endicott College, just north of Boston. If you’re not familiar with Caleb or his work, he quite literally wrote the book on graffiti in America. And I’m not just saying that to be nice – seriously, he wrote the book on graffiti in America. His latest work feels surprisingly quiet for someone known internationally for his large public murals, and it really pays to see them in person. The show is up from January 20th through March 16th, but I’d really recommend stopping by between Feb 27th – March 6th, when you can catch him working on site on a mural. Or try to catch his lecture March 6th at 5pm. Here’s the full press release.
4. Tim Doyle: Unreal Estate at Spoke Art Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
I’ve got no vested interest in this show, it just looks kind of awesome. Tim Doyle has painted a selection of well known television locations in a gritty, realistic style. My favorites are the scenes of the Kwik-E-Mart and Moe’s from the Simpsons, along with Strickland Propane from King of the Hill. They feel like familiar, real, lived-in places, which considering how long the run of shows like The Simpsons, Seinfeld, and Sesame Street have been, they kind of are. I stopped into Spoke Art when I was in San Francisco a few weeks ago and, although it was before this show opened, I was really impressed with the work they were showing. It was a fun show with a lot of great artists I’ve shown with at Gallery 1988 (and elsewhere), like Mike Mitchell and Scott C. If you happen to be near San Francisco, stop into Spoke Art and see Tim Doyle, from February 2nd-23rd.
5. Laylah Ali: Artist in Residence at Jaffe Friede Gallery, Dartmouth College, Hanover NH.
My alma mater has a long tradition of hosting artists-in-residence for a semester, dating back to 1932 and Jose Clemente Orozco (dayum). Although I’ve always admired the program, the artists that happened to be in residence while I was there in the mid-nineties were decidedly more of a mixed bag. Some were really great, others less so, although they were mostly in the “not really that famous” category. Which is fine. So am I. That said, I think it’s something of a coup that they nabbed an artist of Laylah Ali’s stature. I’ve long admired her work, and I’m more than a little jealous of the current students who get to spend some time with her this semester. In conjunction with her residency, she also has a show up right now in the Jaffe Friede Gallery in the Dartmouth’s Hopkins Center for the Arts, a building I spent waaaaaaaay too much time in as an undergrad. If you find yourself near Hanover, New Hampshire between January 10th and March 4th, definitely check it out.
6. An American Language at Guerrero Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
Yeah, OK, I’m cheating here. This show, unfortunately, will be already done by the time you read this. So you can count this as a show you should have seen. But I had the opportunity to catch it while I was in San Francisco a few weeks ago, and was really impressed with the work and the gallery. If you’re lucky, you can probably still check it out online. Most of the pieces in the show were impressively affordable, and might still be available (if you act quickly). Featuring a selection of twelve “traditional sign painters” (their words, not mine – not sure how traditional they really are) from the New Bohemia crew, the pieces in this show are all elegant and beautiful and weird and surprisingly diverse. Some are funny, some are crude, all are well made. My home boy and former manatee Josh Luke (see previous post on him by me here) is well represented, alongside fellow Boston sign painter Kenji Nakayama, and a slew of other talented folks. Take a peek at the show online here, and if you find yourself in San Francisco, get a little lost on your way to Guerrero Gallery (like I did) and see what they’re showing now. I’m sure it’s pretty good.
7. Brian Burkhard’t Unicorn Collection at the Kenneth Cole store in Grand Central, NYC.
More of an event than an art show, old friend of the blog Brian Burkhardt unveils his Unicorn Collection with Kenneth Cole at their Grand Central location in New York on February 23rd, 7-9PM). If that previous sentence didn’t make a fucking bit of sense to you, then you clearly didn’t watch Lifetime’s Project Runway spinoff Project Accessory. Back in June, I wrote this post on Brian’s amazing jewelry line Triian that he makes with his wife Trisha Brookbank. Since then, Brian was chosen for a spot on TV’s Project Accessory and [BIG TIME SPOILER ALERT] fucking dominated the thing. The highlight of the whole show, at least for me, was the episode where Brian made a handbag with a single, hand sculpted Unicorn horn attached as a handle. Admittedly, I don’t know much about designing accessories, but for me it was the handbag equivalent of what Eminem did to that other dude at the end of 8 Mile. Drop the mike, Brian. Game over. The winner of this particular challenge got their accessory made by Kenneth Cole himself (he was one of the judges), and I got the sense that none of the other participants thought Brian would win. Let’s be honest here, Kenneth Cole makes some really nice stuff (I’ve bought his shoes before). But he tends towards a classic look that, if you were feeling a bit harsh, is kind of safe. Unicorn handbags are not safe. They are fucking awesome. But give Mr. Cole some credit. Realizing that Brian’s Unicorn handbag was the signature moment of the whole entire show, he chose it to win. And now you can attend an event with him and Brian and get yourself one of those bags. Email instyle_kennethcole(AT)timeinc.com and tell them you’re coming.















































































































































