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BANG. POP. UP.
POPLOCK GALLERY & HOLD UP GALLERY PRESENT
354 South SPRING Street
Downtown Los Angeles ARTWALK
ROBBIE CONAL
ARIEL ERESTINGCOL
RYAN SNOW
LEXIE GEHRKE
PLASTIC GOD
RETNA
CHAZ BOJORQUEZ
Upcoming Shows:
Durden and Ray Presents:
Durden and Ray Fine Art group exhibition in conjunction with Phantom Galleries LA
Brian Bosworth
Jacob Butts
Ariel Erestingcol
McLean Fahenstock
Roni Feldman
David French
Gil Kuno
Claudia Parducci
Max Presneill
Jason Ramos
170 N Promenade, Long Beach, CA 90802
Opening reception Feb 13, 7-10 pm.
Gallery hours TBA or by appointment with Phantom Galleries.
Held in conjunction with Phantom Galleries LA.
SHE'S NOTHING LIKE A GIRL YOU'VE SEEN BEFORE, NOTHING YOU CAN COMPARE TO NEIGHORHOOD GIRL!
The first time I ever saw Kelly Thacker Hickenbottom I knew I had to have her in my friend collection. I met her at karaoke party at Royal -T and she was there with some mutual friends. She was wearing the coolest jacket i had ever seen. Turns out she had made it by hand especially for the event.(See above picture). She also sang a beautiful rendition of “What a feeling”.(I wish i had the video.) Kelly is rad and she makes rad art! Find out more now!
AO: When did you first start making art?
KTH: Since the beginning of time! I mean, like, my time. Just your standard drawing and stuff as a kid. But I think I liked it more than most of my classmates. I branched off into different artistic interests. As a teenager, everything from doodling to taping and photocopying zines for my friends, making mix tapes and decorating sleeves and cases for them, anything creative…and I was always into clothes - making things to wear, or just wearing things that I thought were different and cool. Like when I was 13, I cut the ears off a teddy bear and glued them to barrettes and wore them. Of course, I totally got made fun of like every day of my teenage life, but the more I got made fun of, the more I felt like I was doing everything right! I started doing graphic design seriously in college and decided to major in it. I feel really lucky to have the job I have now, which is doing graphic design and illustration for a clothing company (Paul Frank Industries) - it's like all my biggest interests collided! I can't imagine working at an ad agency or something.
AO: Would you recommend going to school for graphic design to others?
KTH: Honestly, I don’t think it’s really necessary. I went to college, but some of the most successful people I know did not. I think it might be a job where experience and your portfolio are more important than your degree. I always thought I would make more money because I had a degree, and right out of college I was doing graphic design for 10 dollars an hour. I had to work my way up from the very, very bottom, and I remember thinking that if I had just started working instead of going to school, I would have been making a lot of money. But with that said, I am really glad I went to school. Having a degree feels like a big accomplishment, and I think it shows that someone can start something and finish it, and be a hard worker. So I guess it just depends on your goals.
AO: I felt exactly the same way after I got out of college. But I agree I’m happy I majored in the field that I am in now, which was “blogging”. Hahaha! I have the same exact story but in the fashion world.
AO: What is your favorite art media (computer programs, paint, photography... etc?)
KTH: I am in Adobe Illustrator all day long at my job, which is definitely my favorite program, but it's nice to break away from that and do things by hand. Most of my favorite things I've done for my personal art have been paintings, but I've only been painting for a couple years. I was really intimidated by painting because I thought I had to get all medieval on it's ass, but the more I'd see other people doing whatever they want with whatever skills they have, the more I was like "Oh wait, I can just paint something because I feel like it, and not because it's going to be in a museum or something." So I did. I'm a total n00b. But probably my favorite thing to do is make textile prints. I make them all day every day at work, and I would like to make some prints in my personal work. My favorite way to work on prints is to mix hand-done things with Illustrator. I like the challenge of making some elaborate hand-drawn print be able to repeat and tile and actually work.
AO: What inspires you?
KTH: My friends, music, artists I admire, vintage textile prints, new textile prints, fashion, food, interior design, design blogs, encouraging words from people, and always trying to be a little bit better at something than I was the last time I tried it.
AO: oh, I like that attitude! Who are your favorite dead artists? Who are your favorite living artists?
KTH: Oh so many, but to name a few, Mike Perry, Steven Harrington, and this guy Mike Shine who I think is theeee coolest! Just creative people in general! Leslie Hall and everything she does - she is a comedic genius and trendsetter. My pals Parker Jacobs (http://parkerjacobs.blogspot.com) and Ben Soto (http://www.benjaminsoto.com) who turn anything they touch into gold. Anyone involved in Yo Gabba Gabba. Another friend, Ariel Erestingcol (arielerestingcol.com) who is not only incredibly talented, but really encouraging, and through one day of talking he helped me more than he knows. My friends Todd Masters and Paul Meshreky over at Toddland - two of the most clever designers and quick-witted guys I know - they come up with some crazy ideas. My buddy Alex Funderburk who I think is a totally awesome painter and designer. Lisa Frank! I want to be like a demented Lisa Frank. Like, a couple of teddy bears that hang out next to a rainbow, but they have a suicide pact or something.
AO: Hahaha! That would be epic, like Lisa Frank gone postal. Todd and Paul are pretty clever. Every where I go people ask me where I got my Toddland cheeseburger wallet. Speaking of Toddland, what projects are you currently working on? ( I guess we should give Todd a plug, since he introduced us.)
KTH: It's hard to find time to work on things, but I am really trying! I spend my days at Paul Frank making tee graphics and prints for sportswear and pajamas. I LOVE my job, but I have to be creative for 8 hours a day, and usually when I get home I'm mentally pooped. But it helps me to have goals. My current goal is a group art show that will be happening in May 2010. I will be working on paintings for that! I am also currently doing a collaboration with the awesome clothing company Toddland. We put out a Let's Die Friends wallet, and a tee is coming out this spring. Let's Die Friends is like an unofficial name I've been using for my stuff. I would like to do more with that for sure! Oh yeah, I am also currently working on brewin' a fetus in my uterus, which is probably the coolest thing I will ever make!
AO: Congratulations on becoming a mommy! What are you going dress your spawn up as for Halloween? You know, until they get old enough to choose for themselves?
KTH: Well thank ya! I have already given this a lot of thought. Some of my ideas are... 1. Ventriloquist dummy and I am the ventriloquist. I can just draw little lines on her mouth and put her in some weird outfit and maybe a wig. 2. Centaur baby. Would require brown baby pants, maybe with some fur added on by me, some sort of footwear to look like hooves, or I could go the “Pan” route and add a little goat horns headband and strap a flute to her. 3. Either I am a garden gnome and she is a mushroom that I carry around, or I am a giant mushroom and she is a little gnome that hangs out with me. I want to exploit the crap out of this kid before she gets all into princess crap.
AO: Oh so cute! What advice would you give people that want to get into doing graphics for clothing lines?
KTH:- Always be aware of trends. Your eyes are your best friend. Look at graphics on clothing in stores, even if it’s not something you would buy. Look at people on the street, at concerts and clubs, read magazines and design blogs, and visit online stores to see what kinds of graphics are popular.
KTH:- Be aware of trends, but do not be a slave to trends. Obviously if something is super cool right now, and you are designing a year in advance, you might miss the boat. You need to be aware of it and also a step ahead of it all at the same time.
KTH:- Look at kids! You can learn a lot about what kinds of graphics sell by driving past a high school. Not that I do that... Cuz I’m not creepy at all... Ehh heh... I just mean pay attention to the young’uns. Even the really young ones – that’s most likely what their parents are buying them. Late teens – early twenty-somethings are great too because a lot of them are trying to be more cutting edge. If I go somewhere like Coachella, I must look like a creep because I’m looking at everyone’s chests. My whole point is, you can be the best designer in the world, but at the end of the day, if your graphics aren’t selling it makes you kind of useless to whomever you are working for.
KTH:- Know your audience - artsy boutique in a hip city? WalMart? Big difference.
KTH:- Be aware of techniques for printing on fabric, and know what is and is not realistic. For example, you don’t want to make a tee graphic that has like 27 ink colors in it. And you don’t want to design a print that has a lot of fine lines and tiny details because they will most likely get lost in the printing process.
KTH:- Don’t be a sloppy designer. As far as using Adobe Illustrator is concerned... clean up points that need to be cleaned up. Group things in a way that makes it easy if you or someone else needs to go back and edit it. Make sure you don’t have random colors in your palette. If you’re using pantones, don’t have CMYK or RGB colors in your graphic, and if you are using 2 ink colors that are really similar, consolidate them into one. If you are making a print, turn it into a swatch. I trust myself to not mess up a repeat more than I trust someone else. Always look at your file as something that someone else is going to have to deal with later (which it is). The easier it is to deal with, the better!
AO: That was very informative. Yes, people please don’t do 27 colors on a t-shirt ever. The factory and product developer you work w/ will have a cow, man. What advice do you have for artists that want to get into galleries or collaboration art shows?
KTH: Oh golly, I’m a terrible person to answer this because I have only been in one gallery show, with one on the way, but I will tell you that if I didn’t know people, it wouldn’t be happening for me! So get out there and meet some people! Look for smaller galleries that open their doors during art walks. Get your stuff into a group show. Make friends :)
AO: all great advice Kelly!
Check out kelly's awesome blog www.letsdiefriends.com
BY AMY OSBORNE
The Making of "I Me Myself" 12" Bobblehead. This doll will be exhibited @ The TAM FYI Reflected Gaze-Self Portraiture Today...
UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS@TOGONON GALLERY
October 1-28, 2009
Opening Reception: Thursday October 1, 2009 5:30-7:30
Artists: Servando Garcia, Ariel Erestingcol
October 1-28, 2009
Opening Reception: Thursday October 1, 2009 5:30-7:30
Artists: Servando Garcia, Ariel Erestingcol
Channel 4 news shot of Ben Needham and I, during my solo exhibition install at Sabina Lee Gallery. "Cewebrities" The Virtual Red Carpet"
| Current Exhibition |
| CeWEBrities: The Virtual Red Carpet Ariel Erestingcol April 25 - May 30, 2009 |
| The Sabina Lee Gallery is pleased to present CeWEBrities: The Virtual Red Carpet , multiple-colored sceneries and portraits mosaicked with tiny plastic ring engage with the elements of social media's internet personalities that has attained celebrity. The images are brought to life where they are re-imaged, re-imagined, and re-produced, as another gesture to extend access to ways of understanding this unique form of persona. |
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In the future everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes. - Andy Warhol
CROCKER MUSEUM
Titled: Landmark i San Francisco 2007 This piece was exhibited in 'Please Stand By..' at the Togonon Gallery. It is now in the Collections of The Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento. The Crocker Museum is a masterpiece in the making, the New Crocker will open 2010.
Ichys Gallery Aoyama Japan
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhp1dOMpchQ
L.A. Art Treasure: Barnsdall Art Park and Art Gallery...BY Victoria Joyce FOR LA2DAY.COM Aug 26, 2008 On top of a little hill called Olive just off Hollywood and Vermont the view is breathtaking even for the jaded. From up there it's a 360-view of Century City, downtown, Griffith Observatory, Hollywood sign and purple-veiled mountains. And here sits Barnsdall Art Park, LA's Municipal Art Gallery, and an art education center.
Frank Lloyd Wright-ian detail The park was a gift to the city from heiress and actress Aline Barnsdall in 1927. Moving here from Chicago, she was a squeeze of Frank Lloyd Wright and asked him to build a little theater for her. After they split, Aline gave the whole shebang to the city of LA. The Art Gallery was founded in 1970 predating MOCA and LACMA and shares the hill with a theater, a children's center and FLW's Hollyhock House. If you've got a thing for Art Deco street lamps, this is your place to come see the artificial light. The current show there is THE LOS ANGELES JURIED EXHIBITION, a biennial sharing years with the LA OPEN CALL for which "anyone can submit." Even me? "The line is out the door," grins Curator Mark, raising his long arm to the horizon. Six hundred artists submitted work this year. The show runs through September 7, 2008. Very proud of 2008's jury, Greenfield lists the judges; Tyler Stallings, Director of the University California Riverside Sweeney Art Gallery; Lisa Melandri the Deputy Director for the Santa Monica Museum of Art and Carl Berg of the Carl Berg Gallery in Los Angeles.
LA Juried Exhibition, Best of Show winner, "Sanquilicious" by Julie Hughes Artist Julie Hughes took Best of Show and a $1000 for her installation of "Sanquilicious," a fun, fairly like fantasy room filled with big pink and red flowers Dr. Seuss would love.  "Tool Shop" by Christopher Tallon Life-size sculpture made entirely of paper made by Christopher Tallon. He took 2nd place and was awarded 5K. Now he can get that set of made of metal Allen Wrenches. Rounding third place is Paul Benavidez with a good old-fashioned abstract painting.
Our favorite was "Lima, Charlie, Zulu, LCZ 646" that took an Honorable Mention for Ariel Erestingcol. Look closely. This image of the Oklahoma Bombing is made of little plastic beads. The kind little kids use.  "Lima, Charlie, Zulu, LCZ 646" Curated by: Rico Reyes Overmapped Los Angeles to San Francisco OvermappedOvermapped: A Cartography of Filipino American Visual Arts is an exhibition looking at the vital and vibrant visual arts community with ties to the Philippines. The artists presented in this exhibition are Filipino, Filipino American, American Filipino, scholars of Philippine Studies or Pinoyphiles. This exhibition is an informal and incomplete survey and by no means an exhaustive study. However, the growth and development of the Filipino visual arts community needs to be marked; there is a need to pause, to look, and take stock of what is happening with young artists coming out of school, with established artists and their career trajectories, with hobbyists who find themselves deep in serious artmaking, along with many others. This moment is as good as any! The artists included in this exhibition represent the various points on the arc of Filipino:American visual art production. The points are defined by both artists and the academia and institutions. There exist the myriad points addressing gender and sexuality, the points of race, ethnicity, or otherness, the points of material and formalism, the points of conceptual and avant-garde, the points of the established and the up-and-coming, etc. There are many points on the arc and one artist may occupy many points simultaneously, or a point might be occupied by more than one artist. The artists included in this exhibition are Melba Abela, Terry Acebo-Davis, Matias Aguilar, Yason Banal, Genara Banzon, The Barrionics, Eliza Barrios, Elaine Benisano, Leo Bersamina, Emily Caisip, Danilo Cuevas, Ariel Erestingcol, Robert Gutierrez, England Hidalgo, Maryrose Cobarrubias Mendoza, Allyn Nobles, Marcius Noceda, Johanna Poethig, Carlo Ricafort, Angela Silva, Alberto Vajrabukka, Charles Valoroso, Carlos Villa, Mel Vera Cruz, and Jenifer Wofford. The title of this show is the product of intellectual synergy and confusion. The word “overmapped” is derived from the interplay of ‘overlap’ and ‘mapped’. The concept behind the exhibition is to layer on top of the topographical map of the psyche, as developed by Sigmund Freud, with an imaginary topographic sketch of the colonized mind of Filipinos. This overlapping of maps creates a new terrain that shifts with migration and memory, desire and resistance, embodiment and dismemberment, love and hate. These maps are continuously being drawn and re-drawn to charter a course to unknown coordinates. Thus, the act of organizing an exhibition under the theme of “Filipino” becomes a cartographic exercise, redrawing the boundaries of the community and repainting the lines of visual art, in an attempt to speculate a heading and to propose a new course. Coincidentally, the term “overmapped” is also used in computer programming language. An “overmapped error” describes a situation when 1). two or more data directories exist in a hard-drive and each script in the directory competes and confuses the logic of a given set of memory, or 2). the memory chip is overloaded with a datafile that is too big for it. Either phenomenon describes the condition of Filipino artists. From which “directory” does one process information, or is one’s colonized experience too much to handle within a mainstream framework? The psyche of the Filipino artist is like that of the computer chip overloaded with cultural data from two conflicting sources, always alerting its viewer of a process being OVERMAPPED.
PEOPLes Carlos Villa, Manuel Ocampo and Ariel Erestingcol
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