2009
09.11

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Erik Saidor: “The Witches of Light” 2009, acrylic on paper on wood 8 x 14″

Continuing our coverage of artwork donated to our 15th Anniversary Art Auction by Los Angeles hotspot Thinkspace gallery, we now present pieces by Allison Sommers, Catherine Brooks, Ekundayo, Erik Saidor, and Sarah Joncas.

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Allison Sommers: “Keeper” 2009, gouache on illustration board, 4 1/2 x 6 1/2″

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Catherine Brooks: “Changing of The Guard” 2008, oil & mixed media on panel, 8 x 10″

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Ekundayo: mixed media on metal, 13 1/2 x 21″

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Sarah Joncas: “Dark Messages” 2009, oil on canvas 10 x 14″

2009
09.11

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Tran Nguyen: “Funae” 2009, mixed media, 16 x 10 1/2″

If you know much of anything about the art scene in Los Angeles, you’ve surely been to Thinkspace gallery. Located in LA’s artsy Silverlake neighborhood, Thinkspace is owned and run by husband and wife team Andrew and Shawn Hosner, with Cannibal Flower producer L Croskey.

Unafraid to test out something new, Thinkspace is constantly pushing boundaries and exposing new and exciting artists that often go on to exhibit internationally, while maintaining ties to the gallery that helped them start it all. This is not to say Thinkspace only showcases emerging talent, as a quick look at their roster proves Thinkspace has their proverbial finger directly on the pulse of contemporary art.

In their typically generous fashion, Thinkspace has donated not one or two but a whopping 11 pieces of beautiful artwork to our 15th Anniversary Art Auction. Catch a look at pieces by Anthony Clarkson, Cherri Wood, Craig ‘Skibs’ Barker, Dan-Ah Kim, and Tran Nguyen now.

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Anthony Clarkson: “Crazy Carnies” 2009, acrylic on wood panel, 11 x 14″

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Cherri Wood: “Before and After” 2009, mixed media on paper 15 x 20″

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Craig ‘Skibs’ Barker: “Stay Right Here” 2008, oil and mixed media on wood, 22 x 16″

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Dan-Ah Kim: “Untitled” 2008, mixed media on paper, 17 1/2 x 14″

2009
09.10

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Richard Colman lives in San Francisco, so lucky for him, he just needed to roll himself down 3rd Street to the Juxtapoz offices to drop off his work for the 15th Anniversary Benefit Auction. And what a bit of work he brought to us: Two very nice original paintings for you, the viewer and audience, to put a bid down on. Good luck.

 

Evan Pricco: What do you like in the art world right now?

Richard Colman: I haven’t really been that into looking at art lately. Mostly I have been watching a lot of documentaries about people. Some of them are about artists. Does that count?

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What kind of work did you donate to Juxtapoz for the 15th show? Two pieces, right?

Yes, two small paintings. I guess they are the sort of paintings I usually make but a little different.

What else do you have going on? Shows, books, murals?

I’ve been redesigning my site for the past few weeks; it’s looking rad and should be done soon. I have some stuff in a book you guys are putting out but I’m not sure when that will be out (Editor’s note: Juxtapoz Dark Arts, out later this year. Keep that in mind). Some of the shows coming up are the Juxtapoz show, Art Copenhagen in September, Infinity; a group show curated by Andrew Schoultz at the Scion gallery in L.A. October 10th, a solo show with KRETS in Malmo, Sweden October 17th, an auction benefiting DIFFA with VIPP October 28th in New York, and I have a solo show coming up at New Image Art in L.A. scheduled for March.

2009
09.09

Ron English

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Ron English (Juxtapoz #79) has made an internationally known name for himself with his instantly recognizable satirical images of Ronald McDonald, KISS members, and more. We’re proud to have Ron on board as our next featured artist participating in our 15th Anniversary Art Auction.

Greg Escalante: You’ve said that you’ve done your last billboard ever, right? And you’re doing a moving kinetic sculpture, and animatronic dummy of Ronald McDonald?

Ron English: Well, I was working with the Billboard Liberation Front. We knew the animatronic Ronald feeding the fat kid would be difficult to install, so we devised a diversionary stunt to distract the police. We got 40 of our friends to dress up like Ronald McDonald, and hide in the park across the street from the billboard. We also had 15 getaway cars parked around the corner and about a dozen or so lookouts with walkie-talkies. When we arrived at the billboard, there was a guy from the billboard company on the board. We waited around the corner in our van until we got word he’d left. We then pulled the van under the billboard, posted the backdrop, and then installed the Ronald and boy robots. We had come out the night before and wired into the billboard’s electric system to save time. We got everything up and running, and we had one detail left: a magnetic sign that changed the Viacom logo to “ENGLISH/BLF.”

I lost my nerve a bit when we finished. Thank God I did. Just as we exited one side of the parking lot, the cops entered the other side. The Ronalds flooded the scene, and we pulled around the corner and put on Ronald suits, then walked back into the chaos as just a couple more Ronalds. More and more cops were showing up, then the fire department. The Ronalds all ran across the street to the McDonalds, followed by the police who kicked us all out. We all ran up the street to a sports bar, then out the back door and into a hipster bar, where shots of Jack were waiting for us. We got word there were now over 30 cop cars at the scene, and the cops were going to start arresting the Ronalds. They were coming up the street going door to door looking, so everyone declowned in the bathrooms. We sent them back out into the street in pairs where cars picked them up and whisked them away to another bar 20 blocks away. Jack Napier and I were the last two out, and the cops pushed past us to get into the bar looking for “those damn Ronalds.”

–Excerpt from Juxtapoz # 79, August 2007
Interview by Greg Escalante

2009
09.08

Munk One

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Zacky V: Being so respected in the art community, what do you feel is the most important way to maintain credibility?

Munk One: You know, I just do what I do, the best I can and hope that someone out there will get something out of it. I think people pick up on the fact that what I do is done with passion and I spend time developing my ideas to put something out that’s special. My art is very personal to me, and I do think people pick up on that. I like how Jay-Z put it, “Treat each job like it’s your last, but try and stay humble like it’s your first day on the job.”

A lot of artists are very reluctant to listen to other people’s ideas when creating graphic designs. You seem to have a clear vision but are very willing to listen to people’s ideas and expand on them. Do you think this has helped in your success?

Listening to a band’s ideas is challenging. More than likely it’s coming from multiple people in the band, which can be an issue in itself. Learning to listen is a skill I’ve picked up over the years. It’s important to me because if I can get an idea of what they’re looking for nailed down right away then I’m able to really expand on the vision that I have in my mind and take that to the fullest without going astray and handing them something out of left field. Since my art is personal, if I’m given the freedom to do anything I want sometimes it’s just too much. I have issues that show through just like everyone else. I think my clients see how much of myself I put into each design.

What advice do you have for young aspiring artists?

To me there’s nothing better than a life drawing course to really build skills. The body’s difficult to draw, but it’s so important to have those skills. I know computers can do so much nowadays, but I can tell if a person has the ability to sketch something out and pull off a concept when looking at their designs. You don’t have to spend all your money on school if you don’t have the means. I took a couple classes in community college. I also advise to learn about the business side of things. I’d say half of my workday revolves around business and not actual creative time, speaking to clients, emails, and really having an aim and a direction. I try and focus on specific goals and put other things to the side, even though they may pay better. Learn legal terminology and how to protect your artwork. Write contracts and keep them up to date. Maintain a portfolio.
–Excerpt from January 2009, issue #96. Interview by Zacky V of Avenged Sevenfold.

You can also buy the Munk One x Juxtapoz t-shirt of the same design at our webstore here.