Sour Harvest

Derek Gores 'Memento Mori' - collage on canvas

We’re excited to be working with FL based collage artist Derek Gores who we introduced to LA audiences this past June as part of our Culver City Art Walk group show. To help us introduce Gores’ work to the world at large Juxtapoz.com just posted a great introductory interview with this up and coming artist to watch.

“From far away you see a woman’s dark hair, perhaps a few feet from the viewer,” states collagist Derek Gores in Juxtapoz’s recent interview with the artist. “When you get closer though, that dark hair is made up of a cityscape at night, with little twinkling windows a mile away.”

Check out the full Juxtapoz interview with Derek Gores here:
http://juxtapoz.com/Features/interview-with-derek-gores-intricacies-of-collage

Derek Gores 'Titanium Skin' - collage on canvas

Look for Gores to return to Thinkspace next month as part of the ‘Love Conquers All: Art For Equality’ group show.

Keep tabs on Derek Gores via his site here.

Main gallery view of Yosuke Ueno's 'Negative Never Again' - on view through July 30th at Thinkspace

An interview with Yosuke Ueno

“If there were more Yosuke Ueno’s in the world, it might be a more enjoyable place. Ueno has an infectious positivity, which jumps out at viewers of his detailed, colorful paintings.” – Juxtapoz.com

“It’s only a matter of looking, or perhaps a better word is seeing, and taking pleasure in the pieces offered before this puzzle begins to speak for itself. When working in symbols so perceptively designed, and so thoroughly imagined, everything takes on meaning…” - Hi-Fructose

“An appealing new body of work featuring cute, whimsical, and mystical visions incorporating a wide variety of pop inspirations.” - DailyDujour.com

Yosuke Ueno sketches for a fan

Please tell us a little bit about the work that makes up your new series for “Negative Never Again”?
Though I am taking up “being Positive” as my art theme, I sometimes despair of things around myself as people always do. However I believe every possibility subsisting in despair. A skull character of my NNA series draws a cloak of the space. The skull represents the despair and the space cloak does possibility. That means the despair is covered with possibility. Then, the NNA series are portraits of human being for me.

Yosuke Ueno 'Positive-E no.5'

Your work was recently a part of the Animamix Biennial that traveled to the Today Art Museum (Beijing), MoCA Shanghai, MoCA Taipei, and MoCA Kaohsiung. How did the exhibition come together and have you heard any feedback from the curator?
I had a solo show in Tokyo last November. The curator of the show had invited my pieces to the show then. I have heard that my works had received favorable reviews at all the places. I was really glad that a lot of Asian people had enjoyed my pieces, and I hope my artworks to be more popular among Aian countries.

Yosuke Ueno 'Hapiko' mixed media sculpture

Please tell us about your plans for “Hapiko”, your first bronze sculpture edition.
First of all, I had created the Hapiko figure with clay. When Gino Jouker from Toy Art Gallery came to Japan, I showed it to him and he liked the figure. He soon arranged things to make the Hapiko figure into bronze sculptures. I really appreciated that. I have a lot of original characters. So I hope more characters of myself to be sculptures or art toys from now on. (*Editor’s note: be on the lookout early next year for Yosuke’s first vinyl release – more details announced soon)

Yosuke Ueno 'Positive-E no. 4' - acrylic on canvas

Your “Positive E” series of paintings are favorites of your fans and collectors alike. What does this series of paintings mean to you?
To tell the truth, I am painting the Positive E series under depression and chaos in my mind. Sometimes many pieces of images are about to surpass my perception. At times like that, I force myself to face the canvas to paint the images. The largest character means the sun for me, and I paint another images heading for the sun character. At that work, I could feel as if myself is going forward the sun. I also feel freedom that belongs to children when I do the Positive E series. On the contrary, I paint the NNA series, extracting a certain image from my overflowing imaginations.

Yosuke Ueno 'Seisyun Engine' - acrylic on canvas

What/who do you consider your biggest overall influence?
Japanese old school comics that I have been reading since I was a child. And ad designs that I come across everywhere. All the things I read and listen have inspired my imagination. Music and books for example, I keep it in mind to have my own imaginations whenever or whatever I come across. That is not a practice, but my most pleasurable play.

Yosuke Ueno 'Sleepy House' - acrylic on canvas

What have you got coming up in terms of shows after your solo show with us?
After this solo, I will take part in ’Sweet Streets 2′ at Gallery Nucleus. The theme of the group show is fashions of Tokyo, and the show will start the 11th of September. Then I will participate in three men show at Gallery 1988 San Francisco with Ewelina Ferruso and Jeremiah Ketner. Of course it is a great pleasure for me to take part in the special anniversary show of Thinkspace Gallery this November! Fortunately, I have some more shows at the end of this year and the early of 2011. I will do my best to make pieces that will blow people’s mind!!

Yosuke Ueno 'BitterSweet' - acrylic on canvas

Yosuke Ueno‘s ‘Negative Never Again’ is on view through July 30th. Don’t miss it!

View the works from ‘Negative Never Again’ here:
http://www.thinkspacegallery.com/2010/07/works.php

Thinkspace
6009 Washington Blvd. in Culver City
Wed-Sat 1-6PM
www.thinkspacegallery.com

David Choe's 'Munko' from Good Smile Company - debuting this weekend at Giant Robot's booth (photo by David Choe)

Sold out for over five months now, the annual ComiCon in San Diego returns this week. Get ready for sensory overload!

There are numerous must have items being released at this year’s ComiCon, but the new series of blind-boxed ‘Munko’ figures from David Choe and Good Smile Company (shown above) are at the top of my list of must have items to pickup. The figure comes in 11 colorways in 3 unique sculpted bodies (+1 chase colorway). Gotta get ‘em all!

The BIG NEWS is that Choe will be at the Giant Robot booth on July 29th & 30th (Noon-2pm) to sign his latest monograph (another must have) and Munkos. Speaking of signings, there is no shortage of signings this year. For a great recap of all the signing events, check out the post from our friends at Arrested Motion here.

PREVIEW NIGHT – WED, JULY 21st:
6:00PM – 9:00PM

THU, JULY 22nd through SAT, JULY 25th:
9:30AM – 7:00PM (+ tons of off-site events running well into the evening)

SUN, JULY 25th:
9:30AM – 5:00PM

If you haven’t gotten your ticket yet, get ready to get creative. See you this weekend in San Diego!

ComiCon
San Diego Convention Center
http://www.comic-con.org/cci/

Tran Nguyen 'How Cloudy Is An Overcasted Psyche' - Acrylic and graphite on paper - featured in 'Love Conquers All'

Thinkspace presents:

‘Love Conquers All: Art for Equality’
Main Gallery

On view: August 7th – August 28th

Opening Reception: Sat, August 7th 7-10PM

*The Crepe N’ Around Food Truck will be out for the opening, so please be sure to bring your appetite.

20% of the proceeds will be donated to Equality California (http://www.eqca.org/)

Laurie Lipton - The Kiss - Graphite on paper - featured in 'Love Conquers All'

Thinkspace is pleased to present Love Conquers All: Art For Equality, a special exhibition supporting the fight for equality which aims to raise awareness for the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender) struggle in the process. This special exhibition features the work of over 50 international artists and promises to open eyes and encourage dialogue.

So, why are we fighting for civil rights? As of July 2010 multiple states have laws on the books that ban gay marriage by explicitly saying that marriage is a union between “a man and a woman.” In addition, at the Federal level, LGBT individuals have over 1,000 rights that aren’t afforded to them because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. They cannot serve our country in the military, cannot jointly file taxes, cannot have a foreign partner made into a legalized citizen, cannot receive death benefits, etc. As you can see, this isn’t only about marriage it’s also about being equally recognized by the government. The issues at hand are much larger than solely marriage.

We have to start somewhere in our fight for civil rights and historically the LGBT community has always had the world turned on its ear. Prop 8 served a purpose for those to define a government sanctioned marriage using a definition based on religion, they used gay marriage as a symbol of the undermining of family values and corruption of children and it served as a defining moment that they believed that Jim Crowe’s “separate but not equal” did not apply to LGBT individuals. For LGBT individuals, it served as a bastion of hope, a light at the end of the tunnel that would usher in a new era of civil rights…an era that would bring a more tolerant, more accepting society.

The fight for equality is not just an LGBT fight; it is a fight for all society. There are many straight allies, like those of us here at Thinkspace and the numerous artists that are involved in Love Conquers All: Art For Equality, that want to see LGBT individuals have the same rights as them. That is why Thinkspace and its co-curators have decided that a portion of the proceeds will go to EQCA (Equality California), because in the past decade, EQCA has successfully passed more than 60 pieces of civil rights legislation for the LGBT community – more than any other statewide LGBT organization in the nation. Working in partnership with California’s LGBT Legislative Caucus, EQCA is committed to building a better future for all Californians by protecting youth, strengthening families and empowering communities.

Caia Koopman 'Blue Angel' - Acrylic on wood panel - featured in 'Love Conquers All'

Artists taking part include:

Adam Caldwell
Allison Sommers
Ana Bagayan
Anthony Clarkson
Aunia Kahn
Bob Dob
Brooke Grucella
Bumblebee
Caia Koopman
Cate Rangel
Chet Zar
Chris Murray
Craig ‘Skibs’ Barker
Dabs Myla
Dave Pressler
David MacDowell
Delphia
Erik Siador
Ferris Plock
Genevive Zacconi
Germs
Harriet Lambers
Imminent Disaster
Jacub Gagnon
James ‘Dalek’ Marshall
Jeff Ramirez
Jen Lobo
Jenna Colby
Jesse Hotchkiss
John Michael Gill
John Park
Joseph ‘2H’ McSween
Josie Morway
Kelly Tunstall
Kelly Vivanco
Kevin Titzer
Laurie Lipton
Leontine Greenberg
Lesley Reppeteaux
Linnea Strid
Liz Brizzi
Luke Kopycinski
Mari Inukai
Mark Dean Veca
Melanie Moore
Naoto Hattori
NohJColey
Paul Barnes
Paul Chatem
Rene Gagnon
ROA
Scott Belcastro
Shaunna Peterson
Stella Im Hultberg
Tiffany Liu
Timothy Karpinski
Tony Philippou
Tran Nguyen

Take a ‘Sneak Peek’ at the works for ‘Love Conquers All’ coming together here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thinkspace/sets/72157624482555932/  

Paul Barnes - 'I Gave You My Heart' - Mixed Media on panel - featured in 'Love Conquers All'

ABOUT EQUALITY CALIFORNIA:
Since it was founded in 1998, Equality California has strategically moved California from a state with extremely limited legal protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals to a state with some of the most comprehensive civil rights protections in the nation.

EQCA works to achieve equality and secure legal protections for LGBT people. To improve the lives of LGBT Californians, EQCA sponsors legislation and coordinates efforts to ensure its passage, lobbies legislators and other policy makers, builds coalitions, develops community strength and empowers individuals and other organizations to engage in the political process. In the past decade, EQCA has successfully passed more than 60 pieces of civil rights legislation for the LGBT community – more than any other statewide LGBT organization in the nation. Each year at the Capitol, EQCA monitors thousands of bills and leads the state’s efforts to defeat legislation that could have a negative impact on LGBT Californians and their families.

EQCA, on behalf of its members, is an organizational plaintiff in the historic lawsuit asking the California Supreme Court to strike down state law that bars same-gender couples from marriage. In court, EQCA has also successfully defended California’s domestic partnership laws and related state policies that have been implemented in response to EQCA-sponsored legislation

Website: www.eqca.org

Linnea Strid 'Time To Let My Lovebird Go' - Oil on wood panel - featured in 'Love Conquers All'

Thinkspace
6009 Washington Blvd. in Culver City
www.thinkspacegallery.com

The work of Andrea Offermann - showing this weekend at Gallery Nucleus

Fri, July 16th 7-11PM
Ronin Gallery
4210 Santa Monica Blvd in Los Angeles
New works from Asia Eng and Nathan Smith
www.theroningallery.com  

Fri, July 16th 7-10PM
THIS: Los Angeles
5906 North Figueroa Street in Los Angeles
‘Drawn’ featuring new works from John Hill, Jr.
www.thislosangeles.com  

Sat, July 17th 9PM-1AM ($8 admission)
Cannibal Flower
Special Orange County show @ World Gallery at 1980 Placentia Ave in Costa Mesa 92627
‘Monthly Group Show & Performance’ with featured artist Glen Arthur along with a huge group show featuring N.S. David, Craig “Skibs” Barker, Michael Pukac, JoKa, David Cooley, Kelly Castillo, Kelly Thompson, Aaron Kraten, Paul Torres, Jimmy Bell, Paul Garcia, Alex Chiu, Sarah Ramirez, Crystal Sylver, Douglas Alvarez, Christopher Willingham, Terri Berman, Heidi Bluegirl Calvert, Taren Meacham, Yuki Miyazaki, Steven Lopez, Andre Ajibade, Donna Letterese, Kitty Brown, Charms 1, Lowell Ong, Jesse Fortune, L. Croskey, Michele Waterman, Kirsty Sandoval, Tony Venegas, Jamie Johnson, Neight Adamson, Will Thompson, Zonk One, Scott Ludwig, Chris Bradley, Burk, Geoffrey Doolittle, Amy Bernays, Robert Mars, James Peterson, Laura Brody, Teri Hendrich and more plus live DJ action along with live painting from Van Sarno, installation art from Tony Venegas, performance by Happy Box (skateboarders), and live music from Early Bird Circus – first 6 people in costume get in free / discount of $6 to those in costume after that
www.cannibalflower.com

Sat, July 17th 7-11PM
Cush Salon
171 S. Robertson Blvd. in Beverly Hills
‘Fantastical Voyages’ featuring new works from Michael Pukac
(On view through Aug 31st)
www.michaelpukac.com

Sat, July 17th 7-11PM
Gallery Nucleus
210 E. Main St., Alhambra / 626.458.7482
‘Systema Naturae – Aeris’ group show featuring works from Michael Brown, Andrea Offerman, Frieda Gosset, and Jaime Zollars
(On view through Aug. 9th)
www.gallerynucleus.com  

Sat, July 17th 7-10PM
LeBasse Projects
6023 Washington Blvd in Culver City / 310.558.0200
‘Botanica’ featuring new works from Melissa Haslam + ‘Savage Justice’ featuring new works from Morgan Slade + ‘Life Form’ featuring new sculptural work from J. Shea
www.lebasseprojects.com  

Sat, July 17th 7-10PM
SCION Installation L.A.
3521 Helms Ave in Culver City / 310.815.8840
‘Ed Emberley and Friends’ – curated by Caleb Neelon and featuring works from Ed Emberley, Raul Gonzalez, Seonna Hong, Matt Leines, Christopher Kline, and Saelee Oh
(On view through Aug. 7th)
www.scion.com/space  

Sat July 17th 6PM-12AM ($5 admission)
Self Help Graphics
3802 Cesar E. Chavez Avenue in Los Angeles
‘Peel Here: Brace Yourself’ – a celebration of adhesive art featuring a huge group show featuring the likes of The London Police, Chaz Bojorquez, Shark Toof, Flying Fortress, Robbie Conal, Germs, Nomade, Man One and many more – bring your stickers to trade and slap on the massive ‘Peel Here’ wall at the event + live DJ action, live music, performance art and live screen printing from the Hit & Run Crew
(On view through July 31st)
www.stickyricks.net
www.peelhere.net

Sat, July 17th 3PM
VANS ‘Off The Wall’ Store
Westfield Fashion Square (upper level) at 14006 Riverside Drive in Sherman Oaks / 818.990.1098
‘Live Art by Derek Albeck’ – free gift to the first 50 people that show up – come celebrate the opening of the newest VANS store with this special event
(One-day only special event)
www.vans.com