Audrey Kawasaki, the most unattainable artist in my dream pantheon of artists whose work I want on my walls, has posted a great set of photos of all the works in her new show, Kakurenbou, that recently opened in Rome at Mondo Bizarro Gallery. I have been watching her work for almost four years now, and I still can’t believe that she keeps getting better. Any normal human being would’ve reached their pinnacle of talent already. Unfortunately the better she gets the more distant my chances of ever owning one of her works becomes. Her shows sell out way before they ever open, and her prints go almost as fast. My solution: become an equally renowned artist and just trade work with her. Now I just have to keep her alive for the 100 years it will take me to accomplish that.

Audrey Kawasaki “Kakurenbou”

Just a quick note to let you know that ISM’s art auction, titled Sk8ology, is now in full swing. As the name implies all the works are on skate decks, which is kind of played out, but it’s the giant roster of amazing artists that makes everything worthwhile. Oh, and the good cause. The proceeds go to support Now That You Know, a non-profit that gives girls from developing countries a “secure environment for learning and growth.” If you want to know more about the show/auction you can check here. Get over to the auction page now or later. You’ve still got 17 days until the auction runs out. But don’t put it off and forget like you did with that one girl’s birthday. You remember how pissed she was?

Sk8ology Auction

The time has come once again for me to do a long, not very interesting post of the crappy photos that I managed to take over the weekend. I spent most of my time at the Paper Pushers show at 1988. I did make it over to the Vans Lo Life show at Club Six, but it was really bright in there, and the whole place just sort of creeped me the fuck out. On Sunday I went to the Jeff Canham workshop at VASF, which was small enough to be personal. I can now add sign painting to the list of things I have no aptitude for. I won’t even bother showing you the craptastic results of my signage. And Sunday, well, I’ll let Sunday speak for itself. Check after the jump for the rest of the photos in all their mediocre glory.
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Oh, it’s been so long since I’ve had the time to go out and actually see art. But tonight is the night that we ride, and for the first time in history I’ll be setting foot inside Club 6. Anything with the word club in it usually drives me away, but tonight is the Vans Lo Life show, and I’m not missing that for anything. Plus, Monday is my birthday (which means I have the day off) so I can get as hammered as I want this weekend and not worry about getting the DT’s at work. Bonus. Check after the jump for the full weekend calendar of crap I’m going to.
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Canadian Mathlete and Calvin Klein Hand Model Rey Ortega (read his interview) wanted me to let all of you know about his upcoming group show, No Parachute Required, opening next Thursday at Gallery 1313 in Toronto. I won’t be there because I’m allergic to snow and hats with ear flaps, but I know that several of you are Canadians by trade. I check the stats, there’s no sense in denying it. If you’re anywhere in the sovereign Maple Nation you have no excuse for missing out on this show. Aside from Rey’s work, the show also features works from Christina Ung, Alexei Vella, Greg Hill, Michael Byers, and Kyung Soon Park (mentioned previously). That’s a seriously great line-up, and for the first time in my life I’m a little regretful that I’m not going to America’s little brother. Check the flyer (above) for all the details. And as an added bonus Rey was drunk enough to send me a great shot of one of his newest works. The piece is actually the finished version of the sketch that was featured in my interview with Rey. How do you like them apples, Internet? See the masterwork after the jump.
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Kirsten Anderson’s Seattle-based gallery, Roq La Rue, is celebrating 10 solid years of presenting pop surrealism to the world at large. A massive group show is opening tonight (July 11th) in honor of the event, and the art is all pretty much on the scale of “amazing works you can’t afford.” But if you’re in the Pacific Northwest then you’d better shake a leg and get up to Seattle to stare at the pretty pictures. You might not be able to buy anything, but you can damn sure eye-cuddle the hell out of each painting. There’s a nice online preview of most of the work, and once you get done goggling at that you should spend some time at Kirsten’s writerly blog, Right Some Good.

Roq La Rue Tenth Anniversary Preview

In other amazing skate photographer news, Cliche Skateboards has posted photos from Mike O’Meally’s photography show, Far From Home, that opened at Dactyl Gallery in NYC. O’Meally captures the random beauty of a life on and off the road, traveling to places that every skater wishes they could go. I guess I need to get myself a job at Transworld or somewhere similar and I’ll be ready for adventures. Um, anyone out there want to hire a writer/web designer/skater/skilled weaponsmaster? I made that last one up, so tack on /amazing liar to the list. Anyone? No takers? Fine. O’Meally’s show looks great anyway, and I wish I could see it in person. I’ll just have to settle for the glossy pages. Not a terrible substitute at that.

Mike O’Meally

I started out the art weekend on Friday instead of Thursday. Nothing ever goes as planned. I did manage to see the Tara Foley (work pictured above) show at Fecal Face Dot Gallery. There was no visit to Rare Device. On Saturday I got to see the Needles and Pens show, but it took a little finessing on my part. I didn’t get to Receiver for their awesomeness, which bummed me a little. Vitamin A(lcohol) perked my spirits back up. For a look at the stuff and saw and the people I saw it with, read on after the jump.
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I know that this show happened a while ago, but as I was walking through Salvation Army the other day (the whole store was 50% off), I noticed the aged, giant landscape paintings that lined the walls, staring down on windsuits and orphaned shoes like portals into pastoral universes. The paintings reminded me of the Vintage Vandals show that Wurst Gallery had, and how awesome a concept it is. If had more than five bucks on me at the time I would’ve taken one of those idyllic monsters home with me to sprinkle it with some imagination. I thought some of you might like a look back at what Vintage Vandals had to offer to inspire you to similar ends. There are so many useless paintings languishing in the dusty corners of second hand stores all over. Why buy a black velvet clown painting when you can paint your own?

Vintage Vandals

The first of the month art onslaught begins tonight and rolls through Saturday. I have to cut things short on Saturday so I can get some friends wasted, because they get married in three weeks. But I’ll be out on bikeback for a few shows in the next three days. As always the city by the bay has provided some top notch art for our viewing pleasure. My tentative itinerary is after the jump.
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