March 2012

Misfits Touch Down in Japan and M&MII Preview Info!

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Mr. Shinji Nakako over at Tomenosuke-syoten received a most wondrous box of sculptural beauty from Brandt and Kathie a few days ago. Looks like everything arrived safely, which is a relief (though not a surprise: KO = Uline Queen). Feel free to scroll, stare, lick the screen, etc. I’ll wait.

… OK, the next important thing is the highly anticipated preview info, direct from the Tomenosuke blog:

Local collectors attending the exhibition on April 13th get first crack. Afterwards, all remaining pieces will be available online at midnight on April 14th, Japan time. North Americans, this will be the Saturday morning for you — queue up that time zone calculator! More info will be released as we near the date!

Monsters & Misfits II opens April 13th at the Kusakabe Folk Museum in Takayama, Japan.

 

Sneaks from Andrew Bell for ‘The Great Escape’ @ Stranger Factory April 6th

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The other artist making his great escape to Stranger Factory next month is none other than keen creature wrangler, Andrew Bell. His tragicomical illustrations, otherworldly monster sculptures and designer toy lines have garnered him international attention; his distinct aesthetic has made him one of the most interesting artists to watch in the lowbrow/pop surrealist and art toy scene. Though he’s spent many hours holed away in the studio, quietly creating some Great Escape magic with fellow exhibitor Kelly Denato (her sneaks here), he’s also been kind enough to throw us the odd tweet or two to feed our curiosity. Have a look below at what the last two months have looked like in Dead Zebra Studios!

The Great Escape opens April 6th through the 30th at Stranger Factory in Albuquerque, NM. Reception with the artists on opening night from 6pm to 9pm!

 

 

Kelly Denato Preps for ‘The Great Escape’ @ Stranger Factory April 6th

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Since early February, Kelly Denato has been plugging away at The Great Escape — her two-person exhibition with Andrew Bell, opening next month at Stranger Factory. We’ve all had the rare fortune of watching Kelly create this show, essentially from start to finish, via her Twitter account: from beautifully simplistic drawings to elegant paintings and whimsical sculpts, she’s produced what is arguably her best work to date. Compiled here is a visual scrapbook of the last two months in Studio  ‘Doomnato’ — the canvases, the lumps of clay … the cocktails and animal crackers. It’s all here.

And for those who are curious of the tally so far: “7 paintings, 6 sculptures, and 11 drawings just about ready to go… I can finally see an end in sight! (Sort of…) G’nite!”

(Go, Kelly!)

The Great Escape opens April 6th and runs through April 30th. Reception with the artists on opening night from 6 to 9pm!

 

More Monsters from Kathie and Brandt

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The landslide of Monsters & Misfits teasers continue, with this batch coming from Kathie Olivas and Brandt Peters. I’m digging the four-legged Masao cat, the Pink Bird and Lucky Lolli, but Brandt’s custom orange Kuma totally steals this round. The cartoon-style gloves, bronze Stingy Jack staff and painted eyes bring such character to the sculpt and the overall engineering behind it is fantastic.

Ha, this is cool — almost like a Lucky Skull set in jello. We’ve seen Brandt and Kathie experiment with embedding objects in the past (remember the Freyja? How bout this guy?), and I’m hoping the idea comes around more frequently. It’s impressive how snugly the Lucky Skull fits and the congealed look of the resin around the skull adds a cool haziness.

Since the Living Between Worlds show at G1988 two years ago, I’ve ached to see more of these wild branch mutations. Finally the ‘gloves’ on Elizabeth make sense — they’re more twig-like than anything, and damn, with branches like that she must stand at least 12 to 14 inches. Beautiful piece (and seems Pink Bird agrees!).

Monsters & Misfits II is presented by Tomenosuke-syoten and the Kusakabe Folk Museum. The exhibition kicks off April 13th in Takayama, Japan.

 

A New Gaggle of Gremlins from Chris Ryniak for Monsters & Misfits II

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Chris Ryniak has just revealed a new batch of beastlies for us in anticipation of Monsters & Misfits II. First up is this meanie, who I’m convinced had something to do with Bubblegut’s missing ice cream. Well … I shouldn’t just start accusing, but he is looking rather snarly for someone who has a paw full of sugar high. Loving the scowl and slivered teeth of this one and I’m also curious of his size; if those candies are to scale, we have another big boy to ogle next month.

Speaking of ice cream — here’s the custom soft-serve Bubblegut who we last saw chillin’ (heh) atop Lizzie’s head. I’m really digging this colour on Bubblegut; it suits the sculpt and emphasizes his eyes. Not to mention that he looks good enough to eat …

Ah, so that’s where those pearly whites wound up! Very cool to see the Cuspid taking a bite out of the Kuma platform; the spots on the head and belly are a nice touch. Any volunteers want to teach this fella how to brush? I cannot guarantee that you’ll leave with brush and/or fingers intact…

According to Chris, “this is what happens when you really don’t know how to use a camera…..and monsters are involved.” True, but you have to admit that overexposed images do lend themselves to pretty sweet teaser shots. I’m pretty sure this is the giant Lizzie sundae — yes, the one with the aforementioned soft-serve Bubblegut. Unfortunately, the only full-reveal of said sculpt also includes its creator being … well, himself. Sorry, Chris, but I have no other choice! Scroll …

And there you have it. I’m also pleased to announce that Chris will also be on display at the exhibition, likely making a series of faces much like this one. Pictures, please. Monsters & Misfits II opens April 13th at the Kusakabe Folk Museum in Takayama, Japan!

Stranger Factory Presents: Andrew Bell & Kelly Denato’s THE GREAT ESCAPE, April 6th

Ladies, gents, freaks, geeks and neighbourhood gentle giants! I hope you’ve been saving your pennies because April is turning into quite the big deal here in CP land. You’ve been hearing plenty about Circus Posterus’ Japan group exhibition, Monsters & Misfits II, along with Amanda Louise Spayd’s solo show, Forgotten Finery, at Rivet Gallery. But it doesn’t stop there: crashing smack-dab in the middle of the action is The Great Escape from Andrew Bell and Kelly Denato, kicking off April 6th at Stranger Factory. The dynamic duo are blowing into town to show off their newest 2- and 3-dimension works and given the WIPs and teasers that have been circulating around the web these past few weeks, it’s going to be a doozy (fingers crossed for no site crashes this round!). Here’s a snippet from the press release:

The debilitating feeling of heartbreak; the self-destructive spiral of past emotions and memories; the overwhelming feeling of social suffocation — they’re the less gracious experiences in life that we all inevitably encounter and Andrew Bell and Kelly Denato bring them to the fore in The Great Escape – an exhibition of new drawings, paintings and sculptures from the Brooklyn-based artists.

Combining tragic humor and delicate elegance, the artists wade the terrain of a new reality: a reality of pushing forward after shedding the skin of a previous life – be it a love left behind or old fears and insecurities now put to rest.

Many creatures in nature possess innate defense mechanisms – poison, quills, ink, spots, stripes, white winter coats. People on the other hand must create them. Oftentimes it’s not a predator we are trying to evade but ourselves; we are bundles of electricity, blood, and spirit – constantly moving, feeling, thinking, sweating, breathing. Our bodies are both containment and confinement.  The circumstances that keep us contained, confined, and safe are as thin and delicate as ribbons. – Kelly Denato

Very exciting stuff is in store for us next month! Enjoy the handful of Great Escape preview images below and stay tuned for more sneaks in the coming days!

Mini Honey Skelves from KO & BP and Pre-Japan Sale Info

The newest addition to the Skelve family is the Mini Honey Skelve, who made his debut last week as part of Japan pre-release sale with Tomenosuke-syoten. Needless to say, these — along with all of the other editions — sold out in less than a minute and left fans on this side of the globe wondering when they’d get their hands on these golden grails. Well, good news: CP’s having a Japan fundraising sale as soon as the rest of the stock shows up. Here’s the lowdown straight from KO:

The minis: Once we get this show shipped out we’ll be painting the next round of mini masks for these guys–12 will be chase versions similar to the dark one in the picture (above right)…

We will start selling our Japan Fundraiser items as soon as they all arrive—hopefully next week!
Without ruining too much of the surprise we will be offering a limited number of the following:

5 print set (8×10″ screen prints) featuring Amanda, CMR, Dok A, BP, KO
Honey minis (ed. 100)
CMR tshirt (to be revealed)
Mini resin set (tba)
+ a few surprises…

Folks, it’s time again to spend our allowances. More info as soon as it’s released!

This Year, Ryniak’s Going BIG!

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Real big. And with quite a few of his pieces, actually. Unfortunately, Chris’ camera skills still need a bit of work and his hand got in the frame. Or maybe the critter wouldn’t hold still (I can only imagine the ruckus in his studio when he brings home a box of doughnuts). I guess a full reveal will have to wait … but I’m digging the candy stripes!

Monsters & Misfits opens April 13th!

Scott Radke’s Second Totem is All Stacked Up and Ready to Paint

Yeah, so like I was saying: Scott Radke doesn’t waste any time. Following last week’s teasers of his second totem commission for actress/producer Nathalie Rheims, comes the next (and final) creatures for the piece, which look to be a rabbit and goddess. I love the movement of this piece  and the liveliness of these creatures despite the totem being a static sculpture. The hunch of the raccoon from all of the weight, the goddess teetering on top … just incredible. Very excited to see it all painted up. More photos to come!

‘I Brought Dessert’ by Amanda Spayd for Monsters & Misfits II

Ten inch legs. One and a half inch diameter eyes. Thirty inches tall. And in-freaking-sane. Amanda Louise Spayd appears to be the next queen of Lizzie customs. She made waves with her first Lizzie and Junior for Dragon*Con two years ago and we’ve all been waiting with baited breath for her to revisit the platform. Suffice to say,  ‘I Brought Dessert’ is a knockout and the Kusakabe Folk Museum has yet another breathtaking piece on its way to them for Monsters & Misfits II. Less than a month till opening night!