Bewitching VII + Dark Town Sally + Angela Oster this October at Stranger Factory

  • by

Stranger Factory Gallery
presents

main room

Bewitching VII
Annual Group Halloween Exhibition

project room
Of Longing and Otherness
Dark Town Sally

The Lady is a Vamp
Angela Oster

All three exhibitions runs October 6th – 29th, 2017
Opening Reception: October 66-9 PM

Bewitching-7-Slide
Bewitching VII
Group Exhibition of new works inspired by vintage Halloween.
October 6 – 29, 2017
Opening reception, October 6, 6-9 pm

Stranger Factory is pleased to announce our Halloween group exhibition, “Bewitching VII” in our main gallery. Bewitching is the annual Halloween group show featuring an eclectic group of artists creating their own personal versions of iconic Halloween-related imagery in a wide variety of styles and mediums. Halloween is an incredibly special holiday for Circus Posterus and Stranger Factory, and our favorite time of year. We hold many shows and events each year, but Bewitching is always one of our favorites, and we hope you’ll join us for this celebration of all things dark and spooky.

This years participating artists include Kathie Olivas, Karl Deuble, Yosiell Lorenzo, Brandt Peters, Jen Musato, the Beast Brothers, Nightmerriment, Mizna Wada, Ally Burke, Johnpaul Gutierrez, Jen Musatto, Jeremy Cross, Sandi Ray Pierce, Jay Hallopeter, Mandy Palumbo, Mumbot, Patt Kelley, Max Lehman, Ken Keirns, Vanessa Ramirez, and more!
download2
yuk
Of Longing and Otherness
Solo exhibition of new work by Dark Town Sally
October 6-29, 2017
Opening reception, October 6, 6-9 pm

Dark Town Sally Emerging artist Dark Town Sally resides in San Juan, Puerto Rico and works primarily in moody watercolor that depicts the dark and mysterious. Her vision of Victorian spookery focuses on the melancholy of young witches and gentle Halloween haunts.
download3The Lady is a Vamp
Solo exhibition of new work by Angela Oster
October 6-29, 2017
Opening reception, October 6, 6-9 pm

Angela Joy Oster haunts the shores of Lake Erie in beautiful Cleveland, Ohio and creates a spooky world of assorted wide eyed weirdies. “The Lady is a Vamp” is a parade of delicate monsters and scrawny vampire floozies.

September: Outré- Phil Noto & Brandt Peters/Unearthed-Mudmonkey (Simon Boses) & Calan Ree

  • by

Stranger Factory Gallery
presents

Outré
Phil Noto & Brandt Peters

 

project room
Unearthed
Mudmonkey (Simon Boses) & Calan Ree

Both 2-person exhibitions run September 1st – October 1st, 2017
Opening Reception: September 1, 6-9 PM

Phil and Brandt 2017 Instagram

Outré
2-Person exhibition of new works by Phil Noto & Brandt Peters
September 1 – October 1, 2017
Opening reception, September 1, 6-9 pm

Contemporary narrative artists, Phil Noto and Brandt Peters are joining forces to create a 2 person exhibition focused on empowered portraits of the strange, the unusual, and the eccentric.

Phil Noto is an Eisner nominated American painter, comic book/ concept artist who is known for his work on such titles as Black Widow, Jonah Hex, Uncanny X-Force, and most recently Star Wars (Chewbacca and Shattered Empire). After a 10 year career at Disney Feature Animation, he started to work full-time as an artist for Marvel, DC, Image Comics and Dark Horse, and as well, time in gaming working on such blockbuster hits such as Bioshock. While most of his commercial work is done digitally, Noto works in traditional acrylic painting for his fine art works that focus on contemporary character portraits of iconic empowered women that teeter into superheroes and villainous archetypes.

Brandt Peters emerged from the entertainment industry into an internationally recognized and accomplished fine artist, designer, and producer. Often known for his award winning toy designs, Peters is also a mixed media painter and story-teller who centers his work on character design and visual development. His work hearkens back to the earliest days of comics and animation, with a seeming simplicity that hides layers of intricate back story rooted in humor and a strong, empowering narrative voice.

Calan and Mud 2017 Instagram

Unearthed
2-Person exhibition of new work by Mudmonkey & Calan Ree
September 1 – October 1, 2017
Opening reception, September 1, 6-9 pm

In the project room, ceramicists Simon Boses and Calan Ree present new character driven works exploring nature’s role in inspiring mythology and personifying its elements.

Simon Boses creates an ongoing mythology through ceramic narrative figures. His myth is influenced by the events of his life, often drawing upon threads of common human experience. Simon’s creations have a surface meaning that is easy to recognize. Further investigation reveals the use of a library of symbols developed over a lifetime to layer ideas into the physical form. Allowing a deeper, subtler symbolism in the piece.

Calan Ree creates contemporary ceramic and mixed media figurative sculpture. Clay is her first true love, so even when working in bone or metal, there is more often than not, ceramic binding the elements together. She finds the natural world just as intriguing as the folk lore that tries to explain it. Her work is figurative in nature and often expresses the hidden spirit that resides within the subject.

Stan Manoukian, Johnpaul Gutierrez, Fika Art, and Creeptoons this August!

  • by
Stranger Factory Gallery
presents
 
Woodland Escapade – Stan Manoukian
 
The Succulent Gardener – Johnpaul Gutierrez
 
Somewhere in Dreamland – Fika Art
 
Creeptopia – Creeptoons
 
All 4 solo exhibitions run August 4th – 27th, 2017
Opening Reception: August 4th, 6-9 PM
SM email
 
 
Woodland Escapade
Solo exhibition of new work by Stan Manoukian
August 4 – 27, 2017
Opening reception, August 4, 6-9 pm
STAN MANOUKIAN is a Paris-based artist whose work focuses on inhuman flora and fauna in both traditional 2d illustration and resin sculptures. His evolving creatures narrate complex and otherworldly legends of newly discovered species and categorizes each new beast with his own scientific observations.
Manoukian is an internationally recognized member of the Circus Posterus Collective, known for his comic illustration, film and commercial story development, toy design and monster creation.

JPG email

 
 
The Succulent Gardener
Solo exhibition of new work by Johnpaul Gutierrez
August 4 – 27, 2017
Opening reception, August 4, 6-9 pm
John Paul Guiterrez’s new solo exhibition, “The Succulent Gardener”, brings this local Albuquerque talent to Stranger Factory for second solo exhibition of new drawings and paintings. His work focuses on surreal worlds where flora and fauna are sometimes indistinguishable from one another; sometimes as one, co-existing as distortions in a phantom reality. Guiterrez transports you into his dream-like landscape that is familiar enough to draw you in but strange enough that you cannot look away until you’ve decoded every dense layer of symbolism and iconography. Best described as “naturalist meets surrealist”, Stranger Factory is excited to bring you new works from this incredible talent.

fika email

 
 
Somewhere in Dreamland
Solo exhibition of new work by Fika Art
August 4 – 27, 2017
Opening reception, August 4, 6-9 pm
Fika Art is a the illustrated brand of emerging artist Stefani Rabideaux. Her colorful 2d works combines elements of darkness and isolation with vivid contrasting tones that are nostalgic of vintage illustration. Her delicate female characters evoke hope and optimism in dark times.

creep email

 
 
Creeptopia
Solo exhibition of new work by Creeptoons
July 7 – 30, 2017
Opening reception, July 7, 6-9 pm
Creeptoons is the emerging creature brand by Florida based artist Matt Duncan. His 2d illustrative works begin as automatic drawings which develop as big strokes of drippy landscape and ink blotches that transform into dark and mischievous characters hoping to add chaos and misfortune to his apocalyptic landscapes.

This July: “A Memory” Lana Crooks & “Matriarchy” Horrible Adorables

  • by

 

 

Stranger Factory Gallery
presents
“A Memory”
Lana Crooks
&
“Matriarchy”
Horrible Adorables

lc

 
A Memory
Solo exhibition of new work by Lana Crooks
July 7 – 30, 2017
Opening reception, July 7, 6-9 pm
The work for “A Memory” is inspired by victorian jewelry, mourning practices and hair work. For this exhibit I have learned traditional hair work using instructional manuals from the 1870’s and have used a number of materials (even my own hair) to emulate the victorian memorials. Creating wool skeletons and silk flowers encrusted in glass, jet, onyx and other semi precious beads to create modern memento mori specimens.
Lana Crooks loves the antique, the creepy, the cute and the mysterious. Constructing creatures from fabrics and found objects, she is a purveyor of faux specimens and soft curiosities that are a blend of science and fantasy. Sought after for her pattern-making abilities, she frequently teams up with other artists to breathe three dimensional life into their illustrations, earning her two Designer Toy Awards. She enjoys drawing from real specimens in dusty back rooms of Chicago’s natural history museums but, on an average day, you can find her in the studio surrounded by skulls, old books, aging fabrics, and a cat named Tanuki.

ha

 
Matriarchy
Solo exhibition of new work by Horrible Adorables
July 7 – 30, 2017
Opening reception, July 7, 6-9 pm
Horrible Adorables current body of work depicts matriarchal societies in the form of anthropomorphized creatures. It shows the social dynamics between royalty and their subjects; from those loyally serving their ruler to the fate of doomed queens after a revolt. Our hybrid creature interpretations are loosely based on matriarchies in the animal kingdom, where females reign supreme.
 
Horrible Adorables are the creations of Jordan Elise Perme and Christopher Lees; a wife and husband team from Cleveland, Ohio. They met at the Cleveland Institute of Art where Jordan graduated with her BFA in Fiber & Material Studies, and Chris was pursuing training in fine arts after completing his BS in Mechanical Engineering.
 
Jordan and Chris bring their soft sculptures to life by meticulously arranging patterns of felt scales onto hard carved forms. The resulting characters have qualities that are both cartoonish and eerily realistic at the same time. Horrible Adorables are strange hybrid creatures from a fantastical word. Their facial expressions and postures reveal recognizably human emotions as they interact with one another. Horrible Adorables can be found online and at indie craft fairs, galleries, and boutiques across the globe.
 
In addition to Horrible Adorables, Jordan also works as a freelance toy and textile designer. She has proudly worked for companies such as Little Tikes, Hasbro and Joann Fabrics.

This June: Toy Makers of Planet Earth and Bats in the Belfry custom show

 

 

 

Stranger Factory Gallery
presents
Toy Makers of Planet Earth
INTERNATIONAL TOY MAKERS GROUP EXHIBITION

and

Bats in the Belfry
Custom Toy Group Exhibition Based on Brandt Peter’s Classic Toy, The Night King

Both group exhibitions run JUNE 2nd – July 2nd, 2017

Opening Reception: June 2nd, 6-9 PM
june2017_postcard_frnt

Toy Makers of Planet Earth
Group exhibition of new work in Main Gallery
Curated by Kathie Olivas, Lana Crooks, Brad Smith and Brandt Peters
June 2- July 2, 2017
Opening reception, June 2, 6-9 pm

Circus Posterus and Stranger Factory are proud to present our upcoming toy art group exhibition, “Toy Makers of Planet Earth” opening this June. This invitational art exhibition will feature top independent contemporary toy artists, narrative artists inspired by toys, character makers, and independent toy companies from all over the world under one roof at Stranger Factory Gallery.

Over 35+ artists

Artists include: Mark Nagata, Brandt Peters, Jess Hernandez, Otto Björnik, Sergey Safanov, Junker Jane, Jen Musatto, Silk and Thistle, Victoria Rose, Lana Crooks, Daniel Talone, Steve Ferrera, Scott Radke, Stan Manoukian, JShea, Eric Althin, Kathie Olivas, Sweet Bestiary, Mudmonkey, Tanya Marriott, Art Toy Maison, Vanessa Ramirez, Fanny Kao, Cassia Harries, Sumrow, Tim Lee, Joe Scarano, Aya Kakeda, Ratokim, Munktiki, SeriouslySillyK, Super Secret Fun Club, Scott Wilkowski, Psycho Scimitar, Mizna Wada, Circus Posterus, VTSS, Black Seed, Mr. Clement, and Bob Doucette
june2017_postcard_bck

Bats in the Belfry
Custom Toy Group exhibition Based on Brandt Peters’ Classic Toy, The Night King
Cardboard Spaceship Toys & Circus Posterus
June 2- July 2, 2017
Opening reception, June 2, 6-9 pm

As part of our month long celebration of toymakers, we will also be showing “Bats in the Belfry,” a group exhibition based on artists customizing and reinterpreting Brandt Peters’ Night King bat vinyl toy produced by Cardboard Spaceship Toys & Circus Posterus.

24 Artists

Artists include: Camilla d’Errico (pictured), Jellykoe, Drilone, House of Boz, Dolly Oblong, 64 Colors, Tasha Zimich, Igor Ventura, Ian Ziobrowski, Joe Whiteford, Brandan Styles, Ink Visuals, Otto Björnik, Jess Hernandez, Victoria Rose, EL DODO ALBINO, Tokyo Jesus, Kathie Olivas, Brandt Peters, Tim Lee, Joe Scarano, Cassia Harries, Karl Deuble, and SeriouslySillyK

 

Kathie Olivas and Jen Musatto this May at Stranger Factory

  • by

k1

Stranger Factory Gallery
presents

STRANGE DAYS

KATHIE OLIVAS

CARNIVAL OF LOST DOLLS

JEN MUSATTO

Both exhibitions run MAY 5-28, 2017
Opening Reception: May 5th, 6-9 PM

Strange Days
Solo exhibition of new work in Main Gallery

Kathie Olivas new solo exhibition “Strange Days” opens Friday, May 5, with an opening reception with the artist from 6-9pm. The exhibition of new paintings, mixed media assemblages, and hand made art toys focus on a brave new world of personified chaos and transformation.

Through her current body of work she explores society’s insatiable desire to morph innocence with vulnerability and our discomfort with the unknown. A dark blend of early American portraiture set in post apocalyptic times, her paintings and hand-made art toys are a satirical look at how fear and isolation affects our sense of reality.

Kathie Olivas is an internationally exhibited multi-media artist from New Mexico. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of South Florida. As a co-owner of Circus Posterus Inc. and Stranger Factory Gallery, Olivas has helped build the contemporary art toy market by curating and participating in exhibitions of narrative art throughout the world.

j77

Carnival of Lost Dolls

Jen Musatto creates “Them Dollz”, a line of handcrafted plush dolls that evoke a sometimesbroken and gloomy image of childhood where innocence and the longing for companionship take a most unusual form. Her “rag doll” figures are nostalgic and reminiscent of the sewn faces of characters from her childhood like Raggedy Ann.

Made from a combination of new and found materials, Musatto’s art figures are each wholly unique and provide a fresh, if slightly creepy, voice in modern plush art.

Both exhibitions run MAY 5-28, 2017
Opening Reception: May 5th, 6-9 PM

j777 k66

Three shows this April at Stranger Factory!

  • by

This April at Stranger Factory

APOTHECARY
an introduction to ritual and tradition in the outer colonies of space

GUIDE TO MINOR GODS AND HOUSEHOLD SPIRITS

SPECKLE
sk

Shing Yin Khor

Apothecary: an introduction to ritual and tradition in the outer colonies of space

“Apothecary” is an art installation and narrative about the legacy of an outer colony space apothecary obsessed with Old-Earth, and also about the persistence of ritual, the space immigrant diaspora, and the obsessive nature of archiving and collecting. Visitors are invited to explore the cabinet installation, discovering and unraveling the story of Theodore Lee, a recently deceased space apothecary.

“As a sculptor, cartoonist, and installation artist, I build stories that explore diasporas, the compulsion to create and collect ritual in a disordered universe, and awkward, yearning, human emotions. Rooted in my personal history as a woman and immigrant from a postcolonial country, my themes are often inspired by old museums, cabinets of curiosities, pre-Linnaean taxonomy, and the quiet horror of colonial era collecting.”

ll

Leslie Levings

Guide to Minor Gods and Household Spirits

Ever since the first humans painted on cave walls, creatures have featured heavily in our history of art, storytelling, and beliefs. The urge to envision something larger (or smaller) than ourselves as a vessel for our subconscious has often manifested in ways both profound and childlike, reminding us that the distance between the two might not be so great.
Leslie uses creatures to poke at the deep, old places of the psyche. Inspired by the human urge to personify emotions and explain the irrational, her sculptures explore the relationship between beliefs and the believer through beasts that invade familiar settings with the persistence of an uncomfortable thought.

ds

David Santiago

Speckle
Local artist David Santiago’s first solo exhibition at Stranger Factory “Speckle” emphasizes one of the predominant features of his work: freckles.
“I’ve always been curious with how many people hated having them. They possess so much personality; the random, yet organized chaos they emit is hypnotizing to me, like that of stars in the night sky. In fact, if you look close enough at the faces in my work, you will begin to notice that each cluster of freckles is actually a constellation in disguise.”

His artwork explores a fascination with body language.
He focuses on creating people with very subtle expressions, as though they are hiding a secret. Looking into a straight face creates an uncertainty inside of you, a feeling you want to resolve.

APOTHECARY: An introduction to ritual and tradition in the outer colonies of space / GUIDE TO MINOR GODS AND HOUSEHOLD SPIRITS / SPECKLE
Runs from April 7th – April 30th – 2017

Opening Reception for these three solo exhibitions: Friday, April 7th from 6-9pm
(The opening is free and open to the public.)

All three artists will be in attendance for reception.
The Gallery and its gift store are open 5 days a week (closed Mondays or Tuesdays). Please check strangerfactory.com for updated hours
during Albuquerque Rapid Transit Construction.

Stranger Factory
3411 Central Avenue NE
Albuquerque, NM 87106
505-508-3049

 

Paul Kaiju one night only at Stranger Factory!

  • by

Paul K slide 2017

Stranger factory is proud to present our March mid-month event with sofubi (Japanese soft vinyl) toy artist, Paul Kaiju. Paul is a designer, sculptor, and painter working away at his sofubi/kaiju creations in sunny San Diego, California. Known as much for his custom paint work as for his original toys such as Boss Carrion, Paul’s work is recognized as some of the best in the American Toy scene.
 Paul Kaiju will have a limited amount of hand-painted custom figures at this one-night opening reception. It is a very limited engagement and any available figures after the weekend, will be put up for online sale on Monday, March 20th by 12 PM noon (PST) in our online store on CircusPosterus.com.

In person sales on Saturday will require a raffle wrist band that will be distributed on a first come first serve basis, starting Saturday, March 18th 12 noon through 7:00 PM (UPDATE 3/17/17). Numbers will be randomly picked and called at 7PM. Must be present to participate in the lottery.

One item per person. No additional in person sales over weekend once a piece is purchased Saturday night.

No phone calls or emails will be accepted until the following Monday, if any pieces are still available.

Stranger Factory Gallery presents ABUNDANTLY DIM and CIRCLE OF LIFE

  • by

Stranger Factory Gallery
presents

ABUNDANTLY DIM

and

CIRCLE OF LIFE

Two solo exhibitions featuring new works by Karl Deuble and Patt Kelly

MARCH 2017
Stranger factory will be presenting two new solo shows opening March 3; “Abundantly Dim” by resident multimedia artist Karl Deuble and “Circle of Life” by Patt Kelly.

Both artists work in a complimentary abstract, illustrative style of portraiture that focuses on humor and is often charmingly grotesque. Deuble’s graphically layered mixed media work focuses on unique, often goofy characters lost in their own mundane worlds. Kelly’s work incorporates iconic cartoonish characters in a dreamy watercolor simplicity that narrate complex social situations that openly mock the human condition in a way that reminds us it’s ok to laugh at ourselves.

The exhibition opens with a reception with the artists on Friday, March 3, from 6-9pm.
ig1Karl Deuble is a screen printer and musician living in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  He received his BAFA from the University of New Mexico in 2006. Through his own signature combination of screen printing, acrylic, spray painting techniques, ink, and graphite, he creates what he describes as dim-witted characters that explore the inner workings of random thoughts and the day-to-day events that we humans encounter. Deuble will be showcasing about 22 new pieces, including original paintings, screen prints, and 3D plush figures.

ig2

Patt Kelly is a Boston based illustrator who creates editorial work, comics, product design, and concert posters. Obsessed with cartoons and comics, Kelly attended Massachusetts College of Art and graduated in 2002 with a BFA in Illustration and has been working as an illustrator ever since. His editorial work has been seen in various magazines and newspapers all around the world.

With books published by Top Shelf Digital and Hic&Hoc Publications, Patt Kelly’s comics have received accolades from The Society of Illustrators and Publishers Weekly

ABUNDANTLY DIM and CIRCLE OF LIFE will run from March 3rd – April 2nd 2017

Opening Reception: Friday, March 3 from 6-9pm
(The opening is free and open to the public.)

Both artists will be in attendance for reception.

The Gallery and its gift store are open 5 days a week (closed Mondays or Tuesdays). Please check strangerfactory.com for updated hours
during Albuquerque Rapid Transit Construction.

Stranger Factory
3411 Central Avenue NE
Albuquerque, NM 87106
505-508-3049