Auto-reply is evil, but Brian McCarty rules!

Hello,
La Luz de Jesus Gallery Director Matt Kennedy will be out of office and unreachable from September 13 through 26, back in the gallery on Monday September 27th. If you are attempting an art purchase, redirect your query to theposterfinder@yahoo.com.
If you are emailing a submission, no further action need be taken. Matt will be reviewing submissions when he returns.
If you have a delivery, pick-up or general information question, please email sales@soapplant.com or call (323) 666-7667 and ask for Billy Shire. Thanks –Matt will be back in touch with you soon!

Above is the out-of-office message that responded last night to pretty much every email that has been sent to the gallery in the last year and a half. My apologies that my auto-responder went cuckoo. It has been disabled and our I.T. guy will have a sensible replacement on Monday. So if you don't get a swift reply to your email, it's because I'm not here, and won't be back until we start hanging the October shows on Monday, September 27th.

I'll be gallery hopping in China.

The 2011 schedule is already pretty full, so the impact of this trip won't be readily visible (if at all) until we post the 2012 schedule. I don't think that means that the Gao Brothers will be showing at La Luz de Jesus, but I'm very interested in what's happening over there right now, and I'll be introducing many of our artists to galleries in Shanghai and Beijing as I discuss the possibilities of introducing the next wave of Chinese artists to Los Angeles. In other words, I'm hoping to open up the trade routes like that other Californian did forty years ago –but please don't call me Tricky Dick!

Thursday night's Brian McCarty book signing turned into an impromptu gallery exhibition, so head in and check out a collection of signed and numbered prints (editions of only 10 each!) featured in his incredible photo book ART-TOYS. This special exhibition will be on the L-wall in the rear gallery until this Friday. On Saturday, they'll come down off the walls to make room for the first ever gallery exhibition of Punk Rock Icon Dee Dee Ramone's lowbrow art.


This special birthday memorial show (Dee Dee would have been 59) has the largest collection of Dee Dee's paintings ever assembled at once. These pieces are not for sale, so we've collaborated with the Dee Dee Ramone estate and produced a special screen-printed commemorative event poster (limited to only 150 editions). This item is fully sanctioned by the band, and will be released on the night of the show (Saturday, September 18th) at 7 PM. The poster features Dee Dee's signature self portrait "The Blue Demon," alongside the band's logo. Designer Alexia Pellegrini has hand screened each poster, and they will be signed and numbered. We'll also have a limited edition (21!) of six great archival photos from the Jenny Lens Photo Archive which will also be signed and numbered. The exhibition will be displayed through September 26th.
Gabba Gabba Hey!

The complete preview of the Art of the Lowbrow Tarot Exhibition is posted, as are sneak previews of Christine Wu's Romancing the Looky-Loos and Matt Wood's Mom's in Prison, and Karen Hsiao's Between the Surfaces. All shows open on October 1st, and the opening is going to be insane, with fetish models, a cash Absinthe bar, and free spirits from our new sponsor Bear Flag Wine.

Dave Cooper makes his return on Thursday, September 30th, too, and I suspect he'll bring more than his latest book, Bent, so be sure to cruise in for these incredible events!

Meanwhile, check out the coverage we received in this month's GQ –on newsstands now!

200 Posters Later...

The print release and artist reception for Nathan Ota & Yumiko Kayukawa was an elbow-to-elbow success! We actually gave away about 150 free posters for each artist (instead of the 100 we announced) to the throngs of patient fans who attended the opening night celebration. It's a rare pleasure to host Yumiko Kayukawa for a brief stay in Los Angeles, and it's always great to be able to spend time with Nathan Ota, who is perpetually busy at work as a professor at Otis and SMC when not working tirelessly on an exhibition or commercial assignment. Both artists were overwhelmed (in a good way) with the tremendous response that their work received, and were likewise bowled-over by the special show posters we printed for them (sponsored by Sino Tequila).

We were able to hold back a very small portion of the 200 edition run of Nathan's "An Unforeseen Homecoming" and Yumiko's "49 Days" prints.

We currently have them on the website in the online galleries for each of them, and for a limited time they will be available for $20.00 each. I don't think they'll last through the next couple of weekends, so if you couldn't attend the opening but still want a keepsake (and can't afford a painting), here's your chance –and don't blow it! I'm still lamenting the pair of Yohji Yamamoto Y3 Swarovski Edition Adidas that I didn't buy when I had the chance back in 2007. They were my size and everything! Trust me, you don't want to live with this kind of regret, so call or come in and get yourself one of these before they're gone.

Later this week we've got a Brian McCarty book signing (for his beautiful photography tome ART-TOYS on Thursday), as well as welcoming back Mick Farren to read and sign his new alt-deviant-non-fiction-history book, Speed-Speed-Speadfreak: A Fast History of Amphetamine (on Friday). The following weekend on September 18th, we'll be hosting a posthumous birthday exhibition of Punk Rock Legend Dee Dee Ramone's lowbrow art, for which we'll be debuting a new, extremely limited edition screen print featuring Dee Dee's art and selling silver-gelatin prints of some Ramones photos from the Jenny Lens Photo Archive. This event is fully sanctioned by the Ramones estate, and ought to draw some very special guests.

Stay tuned!

Installing the next show already!

Christopher Ulrich gave a great lecture yesterday about his artistic process and regarding the impact of fables on art. Afterwards, most of the die-hard Ulrich fans headed over to Umami Burger for a tasty dinner and to reflect on the wonder and spectacle that was Illuminator: The Royal Wedding.

Today the work is off the walls, but if you didn't get to see it, about half of the paintings from the series will be on display October 9 & 10 at the Beyond Eden Contemporary Art Fair inside the L.A. Municipal Art Gallery within historic Barnsdall Park.


Right now, we are preparing the next installation of Nathan Ota's An Unforeseen Homecoming. Nathan stopped by the shop today to help layout the show and let us know that American Illustration has included his work from this Friday's show in their upcoming published annual. Earlier this morning I received a phone call from the Hollywood Arts Counsel requesting images from Nathan and also from Yumiko Kayukawa's 49 Days series for print in their quarterly magazine, so this Friday (September 3rd) will be another great show. Don't forget that we'll be giving away posters to the first 100 people here at 7PM on Friday night, and both Nathan and Yumiko will be signing them. They were produced specifically for this occasion, which is sponsored by Sino Tequila. I'd like to give a special shout out to our pal Spanky Stokes who will be celebrating his birthday that evening and is completely open to someone buying him a Nathan Ota painting as a B-Day gift.

Pre-sale options are available for these shows and many others on our calendar, and there are still works available from several of the recent exhibitions, so browse the site and give me a call on the gallery line: (323) 666-7667. Ask for Matt!

It seems that Illumination, too, must end...

This Sunday (August 29th) marks the final day of exhibition for Christopher Ulrich's Illuminator: The Royal Wedding. As a special treat, the artist will be discussing the work and signing books and prints, which will be available for direct purchase. Following the lecture, at 6 PM, if you purchased a painting or drawing or digital proof edition, you will be able to take it with you.

Ulrich's paintings are steeped in allegory, and it will be a challenge to cover every aspect of each piece in the allotted time frame, so this is your chance to engage the artist with your own insight of his work and pick his brain about the piece that greatest embrace you. Christopher is incredibly easy to approach and talk to, and while some of the paintings are rather intense, this is a great opportunity to expose young people to fine art –presenting a rare opportunity for juvenile artists to ask questions about technique and integrity.

In just one week we'll be opening solo shows for Yumiko Kayukawa's 49 Days and Nathan Ota's An Unforeseen Homecoming. Previews for each show are already posted, and work is beginning to sell. Yumiko is flying down from Seattle so both artists will be attending their opening on Friday, September 3rd, and in celebration of the occasion, we're releasing posters free to the first 100 people through the door. The artists have agreed to sign them for one hour preceding the opening of the exhibit, starting at 6PM.

Nathan received preview coverage for this, his first solo show on Hi Fructose's website, and will be live painting on Thursday evening at Montana Cans paint shop on Sunset Blvd., from 7-9ish in a collaboration with L.A. graffiti legend Risk.

This is followed by a weekend of outta sight book signings. On Thursday, September 9th from 6-9PM, we welcome Brian McCarty as he signs and discusses his book Art Toys, an extensive photo-tome of the secret lives of designer toys. Then on Friday, September 10th, we welcome back author Mick Farren to sign his latest mind-bending, counter-culture non-fiction work: Speed-Speed-Speedfreak: A Fast History of Amphetamine, tracing the cultural and criminal use of this very dangerous narcotic. There will be a story contest and musical performances, so rush on over from 6-9PM! At the end of the month we'll be welcoming back Dave Cooper, to kick off the tour of his new book Bent, which is much more than just the catalog of his sold out 2008 BSFA show. Info soon!

A special mid-month exhibition of the art of Dee Dee Ramone will debut on the punk rocker's birthday of September 18th. A special Memorial poster will commemorate the show, and rare, classic photos of Dee Dee from the Jenny Lens Photo Archive will be made available as oversized, signed, numbered Museum quality prints. The very next weekend La Luz de Jesus pal Brad 'Tiki Shark' Parker opens his Ocean Dreams exhibit at the Manhattan Creative Arts Center. That's on Saturday, September 25th, and it runs through October 14th. We're handling the sales, so let me know if you want to buy anything. The preview is posted.

Hi Fructose readers will also be familiar with the Art of the Lowbrow Tarot exhibition that guest curator Aunia Kahn has assembled in anticipation of a new book and tarot card deck featuring the art of 23 of the biggest name in pop-surrealism and the pieces they created specifically for this project: Carrie Ann Baade, Christopher Ulrich, Edith Lebeau, Cate Rangel, Kris Kuksi, Chris Mars, Christopher Umana, C.C. Askew, Brian Viveros, Claudia Drake, Heather Watts, Molly Crabapple, David Stoupakis, Laurie Lipton, Patrick 'Star 27' Deignan, Chet Zar, Jessica Joslin, Danni Shinya Luo, Jennybird Alcantara, Angie Mason, Scott G. Brooks, Aunia Kahn, and Daniel Martin Diaz (pictured left) have all brought their A game, and this exhibition is sure to be talked about for a long time after it's over. This show opens on October 1st, but the preview is already posted, and I wouldn't be surprised if everything sold before the opening reception.

Also on the walls in October is Art Center alumni Karen Hsiao, who's been catching much press in the UK, Europe and Asia for erotic painted photography art and has just seen the publication of her first book, Rubber Duck, alongside recent Art Center grads Christine Wu (whose painting in the recent 100 More Artists See Satan exhibition sold pre-opening) and Matt Wood (whose Mom's in Prison show warrants Art in America coverage).

I didn't even get to mention the TIKI FARM 10th Anniversary show in October! Watch this space for more info soon!

The Eve of Illumination!

"There are very few human beings who receive the truth, complete and staggering, by instant illumination. Most of them acquire it fragment by fragment, on a small scale, by successive developments, cellularly, like a laborious mosaic." – Anais Nin

Tomorrow night the gallery will be filled with patrons, artists, chaos magicians and simple passers-by. Their one commonality will be awe, as Christopher Ulrich unveils his masterwork, almost three years in the making, Illuminator: The Royal Wedding. The reception begins at 7PM, when Ulrich will be celebrating (and signing) the official release of his 16 image print collection, each of which is limited to only a dozen editions. He'll also have the last remaining copies of his Demoneater tome available for purchase. The grand opening celebration will start one hour later, and I honestly can't prepare you for what you will see if you are lucky enough to attend.

We just finished hanging the entire show, and it's grandiose on an unsurpassed scale. This is the first exhibition of the New La Luz de Jesus, to utilize both rooms. This is a journey: a full gallery takeover by one artist. The front room has all of the drawing studies, which line the south and east walls. The print editions are lined in a double row along the west wall. And on the North wall...

You'll just have to come and see.

It's the perfect springboard for the doorway into the back gallery, which houses the rest of Illuminator: the Royal Wedding!

Black Cracker Bastille

It's happening now!

Wyatt Doyle has just read the first excerpt from his novella Stop Requested, and Josh Alan Friedman is in the middle of reading from Black Cracker, his autobiographical recollection of surviving a lynching while growing up as the only white kid at the last segregated school in New York.

After Josh, Los Angeles legend Chris D. will be reading from his collection of fictional truths and factual lies, A Minute to Pray, A Second to Die.

This is the New Texture Tour, which is the key-note performance for the second celebration of The July Exhibitions. We could call it a soft opening, but there's nothing soft about this bunch!
Their first three books will debut at in-person events across Los Angeles this week. The three aforementioned authors will be at all events, with special guest appearances at many venues. You can get your books signed here or call in an order to have them personalized and sent to you, but time is running out...

I'm happy to say that I will be among the guests at Saturday's Reading series at The Echo this Saturday at 6 PM. So come on down and listen to the first ever public reading from "The Panik Diaries."

In just a little while, Josh will be providing a set of atomic acoustic guitar, and Chris D. is rumored to be joining in musically, so whatever you're doing, stop, and get over here. The New & Improved La Luz de Jesus Gallery is fast becoming the location of legendary, must-be-here events, and this is definitely one of them.

The carnival before the storm...

Congratulations to Fiddle Tim, whose entire debut exhibition Scumfuck, was completely SOLD OUT –and also made it into the Huffington Post!

There was a spectacular turnout for last night's opening reception, and the gallery line was ringing off the hook with long distance phone calls from patrons on the east coast and Europe maintaining late hours to secure their purchases once news of this show hit the wire.

Lauren Gardiner is also on the verge of a complete sell out, with only one painting from her exhibition, Unfit Saints, unsold as of this writing. This would be her second consecutive sold out show after last year's Royalty Before Surgery, and I'll be surprised if it's not off the market by the time the first bottle rockets whistle skyward tomorrow."St. Agatha: Patron Saint of Bigfoot" is actually quite large by Lauren's standards, but still only measures 8.25" x 9.5"
(with doors opened).

Damian Fulton seemed to be holding court with a constant flow of friends and colleagues from surf, animation and advertising circles and was offered a publishing deal right there at the opening! I promise to disclose the details as everything becomes more concrete, so meanwhile, you can follow the adventures of "Sue Nammi" right here on the gallery walls as part of Damian's latest magnum opus Surfploytation!

Robert Palcios' work complements it perfectly on the two opposing walls that house Gallery I. His Loteria themed show, Game of Life, garnered comparisons to both Mark Ryden and Jose Guadalupe Posada.

Frijol Boy and Cristina Paulos each drove in from Las Vegas to revel in the carnival atmosphere of the La Luz de Jesus Independence Day Weenie Roast. Each has explored different routes from animation to fine art, with spray acrylic and reclaimed paper playing a major part in their respective exhibitions. Michael Brown was unable to attend, but Alyson Souza was on hand to discuss her gorgeous oil on wood and multi-media constructions.

If you missed the opening, you've got just under 30 days to catch it!

In five days we welcome New Texture Publishing for the L.A. Weekly's Pick of the Week for Thursday, July 8th. Josh Alan Friedman will be playing guitar and reading from his book Black Cracker, the heartbreakingly funny four-year odyssey of the only white kid at the last segregated school in New York. He'll of course be signing copies of his book, and he's bringing along friends Chris D. (of The Flesheaters and Divine Horsemen fame) to read and sign his collection, A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die, and publisher/author Wyatt Doyle, who'll be signing his Los Angeles bus memoir, Stop Requested.

So there you have it: at least eleven reasons to get your tookus on down here!
See you soon.