Amanda Louise Spayd

Monsters & Misfits II: The Critter Congregation

  • by

So this is what happens after hours at the Kusakabe Folk Museum: critters of all walks of weird gather by the irori and mutter in tongues unknown to the human ear …

And at the end of the month, they disband: continuing on their own separate journeys, they’re likely to never cross paths with their pals again …

Monsters & Misfits II is a Circus Posterus group exhibition featuring new works from Chris RyniakDoktor A.Kathie OlivasBrandt Peters and Amanda Louise Spayd. Hosted by Tomenosuke-syoten, the exhibition is on display through April 26th.

Photos by Susumu Noto

Monsters & Misfits II: Opening Night & Gallery Photos

The photo onslaught continues with a bunch of snaps of opening night and the exhibition set up in the Kusakabe Folk Museum. Have a look!

Monsters & Misfits II is a Circus Posterus group exhibition featuring new works from Chris Ryniak, Doktor A., Kathie Olivas, Brandt Peters and Amanda Louise Spayd. Hosted by Tomenosuke-syoten, the exhibition is on display through April 26th.

* Gallery photos by Susumu Noto

Monsters & Misfits II: Behind the Scenes

  • by

Some beautiful, behind-the-scenes photos of Monsters & Misfits II to enjoy with your coffee on this fine Sunday morning. Special thanks to Shinji & Eno of Tomenosuke-syoten for the solid coverage and the Kusakabe staff for their unparalleled attention to detail.

The exhibition is on display until April 26th. Artworks can be viewed here — we’re only a few pieces away from a sold-out show!

M&MII Video: Opening Reception @ Kusakabe Folk Museum

  • by

We continue our Japan video coverage with beautiful footage from the opening reception of Monsters & Misfits II, along with other festivities that took place yesterday.

Chris Ryniak managed to find a hotspot this afternoon and gave us all a quick update via the Circus Posterus forum:

This whole experience has been so surreal and unlike anything I’ve ever done before. They have been so generous and gracious to us over here…treating us like royalty and making us all feel very special about what it is that we do.

All of yesterday was amazing and unreal… We had a sit down conference with the vice mayor of Takayama(who also gave a speech at our opening last night). They prepared a traditional tea ceremony for us…which I am sure I messed up somehow and shamed someone’s ancestors.

We still have so much to see and do. And EAT….

Omg guys…the food! Omg.

Thank you all for your wonderful support!

Kanpai!

Definitely sounds like the experience of a lifetime. The gang is in Japan for a few more days, so there’s bound to much more coverage to come; stick around!

M&MII Video: The Journey So Far

  • by

The artists have landed. The exhibition is hung. It’s now time to soak it all in. And while most of us will only be attending the opening reception of Monsters & Misfits II in spirit, Shinji has whipped together a video of the adventure thus far: from the airport, to driving through the winding roads of Hirayu and Takayama, right up to the Kusakabe Folk Museum, where the show is being set up. Have a watch; it’s magical.

Monsters & Misfits II opens tonight in Japan at the Kusakabe Folk Museum in Takayama

New Sneaks from the Monsters & Misfits II Catalog

  • by

Circus Posterus’ catalog for this year’s Monsters & Misfits exhibition is hot off the press and Shinji over at Tomenosuke-syoten has granted us a sneak peek at some of the pages. Showcasing selected works from each of the exhibiting artists, the 48-page, full-color catalog will be available for purchase on opening night and will likely be part of the online sale, as well. To the collectors outside of Asia who are looking to take home a piece of this exhibition, the online sale will be taking place at midnight on April 14th, which I believe will be Saturday morning/afternoon for many of us. To be safe, keep checking the Monsters & Misfits II banner near the bottom of the Tomenosuke homepage (right now it should say ‘coming soon’ when you click on it). If this sale is being handled similar to last year, the preview page will be up before it goes live to give collectors a chance to look at everything (preview instructions are usually included on this page, as well). Good luck to all the collectors and best wishes to Brandt, Kathie, Chris and Amanda as they attend their first Japanese reception!

Amanda Louise Spayd’s ‘Grape’ for Monsters & Misfits II

  • by

Amanda Louise Spayd is exhibiting 7 resin and soft sculptures as part of Monsters & Misfits II in Japan. Among them is Grape, an original critter who looks to be a wine or jam maker of sorts (yum either way). With those impressive ears, Grape probably stands (well, sits) around 13 inches and the buttons on the arms are a nice touch — like an old teddy bear. With the way these are evolving, I wouldn’t be surprised if these guys soon have movable parts!

A Sneak Peek at Amanda Spayd’s ‘Forgotten Finery’

  • by

Amanda Louise Spayd’s solo exhibition, Forgotten Finery, opens tomorrow at Rivet Gallery in Columbus, Ohio! In anticipation of the event, Mandi has been dropping teasers of some of her new soft sculptures that will be up for grabs. Starting from the top: limited edition Belladonnas (each are an edition of 5 pcs) …

One-off bee sculpts Petite Abeille Rose and Petite Abeille Bleue.

Duchesse: one-off soft sculpt that stands 30 inches!

Little Lamb, Blue is looking rather confused. Love the ears; I wonder if he can take flight …

And last but not least: Allegro, a lovely buttercup ballerina.

Forgotten Finery will be on display at Rivet this Saturday through Mon., April 30th. Reception with the artist on Saturday from 7 to 10pm. Stop by and say hi!

‘The Baker’ by Amanda Louise Spayd for Monsters & Misfits II

  • by

Aside from her insanely impressive Lizzie custom, Amanda Louise Spayd has another big fella for the upcoming Japan exhibition: The Baker. And if she is anything near the height of Mandi’s first two tall dudes (The General and Harvest Gift), she stands at least 30 inches. It’s always such a pleasure watching Mandi’s work evolve — she’s performed many engineering marvels over the past year: how to make her sculptures sit, develop arms, adopt convincing animal forms and now, compared to her first tall dude, she’s mastered long legs. Bravo, lady!

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