Gary Taxali never suffers from a creative block.
Either he’s learned a secret that he needs to share with us immediately or something else is up. Besides the fact that he is a busy professional who can afford little time to contemplate his next creative move, he does have one secret he often uses: claiming found canvases and incorporating them in his art. He works on a variety of surfaces, including: paper, plywood, masonite, steel, aluminum and vintage book covers. These non-traditional canvases inform his illustrations as he meticulously works around and on top of pre-existing words, marks and tones to create charming, handmade works.
This Saturday, April 4th, Jonathan Levine Gallery serves up a dazzling array of Taxali’s fanciful characters that are sure stimulate your senses and put a smile on your face.
Learn more about the man behind the illustrations in an exclusive full-length interview (and brand new artworks!) here . . .
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Sylvia Ji (Juxtapoz #80) has been holed up in her Southern California-based studio for months, working on paintings for her new solo show, Haute Epoch, with Corey Helford Gallery.
Haute Epoch is the latest from the artist known for her drop dead gorgeous renderings of mysterious female characters that appear as if they just stepped out of a swanky Dia de Los Muertos celebration.
Haute Epoch opens next Saturday, April 11th, 2009 at Corey Helford. Do what you need to do to be there, because this promises to be a hauntingly beautiful and fun opening. Details at www.coreyhelfordgallery.com
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Greg ‘Craola’ Simkins (Juxtapoz #74) has been making art ever since he got his sticky lil hands on crayons. At the age of 17, he linked up with a couple friends from high school and stepped into the world of graffiti. Fine art was a natural progression, and his paintings have gone on to be featured in galleries worldwide.
Now Craola straddles many worlds as a father, husband, artist, and overall great dude.
To see more of his work, check out www.imscared.com
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In October 2006, Mexican state police opened fire on protestors and media outlets in Oaxaca, killing several people. The violence focused the world spotlight on the initial problem: local teachers’ demands for better pay and working conditions.
The latest from Mark Batty, Protest Graffiti Mexico: Oaxaca, chronicles the public unrest and violent protests that occurred in the Mexican city of Oaxaca in 2006, and the movement of protest graffiti for social justice that emerged from the mayhem.
Together, journalist Louis E. V. Navaer and photographer Elaine Sendyk illuminate the clash between teachers, unions, government officials and citizens during this tense time.
The new book offers readers a snapshot of a growing movement in this tumultuous time with images of graffiti sprawling across the UNESCO World Heritage city of Oaxaca. We were especially impressed that it was the teachers themselves, who were mostly women, who created the graffiti for the most part. The works feature themes and sentiments unique to this particular region and not typically associated with graffiti movements in other parts of the world. Read and see more here…
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It’s time for a sweet archived issue of Juxtapoz. This vintage edition takes us back to May of 1999 and features the marvelous watercolor world of Walton Ford on the cover.
Inside we have features on Margaret Kilgallen, Rob & Christian Clayton, Winston Smith, and Joe Sorren, amongst a wealth of event listings, show reviews, and all-around classic Juxtapoz goodness.
So what are you waiting for? Get to know a decade-old Jux and read the entire 20th issue of Juxtapoz now online here.
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Luke Chueh’s new show is what you hoped for and more. It is consistent with his visual battle between good and evil, which could be better described as cute characters doing very bad things.
Luke’s true strength lies in telling a story that makes you keep looking…and wondering. Often you might think ‘that’s so wrong!’ or ‘wow, wtf?’ Or often I bet there is just a ton of laughter if you can share his sick imagination. His work is full of multiple meanings and layers of emotional question. Read the entire story, Talking with Luke Chueh About His Solo "From Light Cometh Darkness" at Corey Helford, and see tons of exhibit photos. It’s all here…
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DRAW is a must-see art exhibition featuring original drawings by 300 artists in the tattoo, literature, design, illustration, animation, skateboard, music, urban, psychedelic and new contemporary art worlds. The show is a tribute to the often-underrated but fundamental building block of visual and graphic art: the drawing.
DRAW is the largest contemporary drawing exhibition to emerge out of New York City. The exhibit debuted in October of 2006 at NYC’s Fuse Gallery to phenomenal response from audience and press alike. Now it is making its way over to San Francisco for a showing opening April 11th, from 7-11pm at The Shooting Gallery. More info on Draw here…
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Legendary Tel Aviv, Israel based artist Klone just sent us over his latest work- all done in the studio rather than his common use of the streets.
“Working on new stuff, both street and studio…so here’s some of my new work from the studio, some was already exhibited at the Freshart Fair in Tel Aviv, Israel and some to be exhibited in upcoming group show in UrbanAngel in London,” explains Klone. See what he sent our way here…
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HVW8 Production House is comprised of Tyler Gibney, Dan Buller and Gene Pendon. True to their moniker, the trio creates joint works of art featuring musical and political “heavyweights.” Their canvases started out as large format record covers, but now they portray political activists in addition to musicians.
HVW8 Production House does live painting, often with musical performances and they have toured the world with their multi-media exhibit. Watch the HVW8 interview feature on Walrus TV to hear them talk about how it all started, and how they combine talents to create compelling works of art. More on HVW8 here…
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The Movement has struck the street of Los Angeles again. “Painted the other night in Hollywood, this collaboration features: Rime (Juxtapoz #78) on panther detail, Revok (Juxtapoz #78) on letters, and Augor (Juxtapoz #99) going for it with an eagle headed snake,” graf legend Revok writes us.
“This chapter of the movement titled True Game, was inspired by the neighborhood’s resident tattoo legend; the panther and eagle/snake/dragon thing being obvious homages to the tattoo tradition.”
See more photos from Revok and the crew here…
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