Thinkspace presents a photo tour of JAMIAH CALVIN (aka MIAH THE CREATOR) ‘Reganomics, Cocaine ’80s and the ’90s Re-Up’ in Gallery III, WILEY WALLACE ‘Woven Trails‘ showing in Gallery IV, and GOOPMASSTA ‘Leader of the Pack’ in The Dog House Gallery.
All exhibitions are on view at Thinkspace Projects now through August 26, 2023.
Photos by @BirdManPhotos.
Thinkspace presents a video tour and opening reception of Mark Jeffrey Santos’s (aka Mr. S / @mister_sasquatch) new collection ‘Uncharted Paths’ is on view in Gallery I for his debut U.S. solo show. Clémentine Bal (@clementine.bal) is also experiencing her debut U.S. solo show with ‘Magic Friends’ in Gallery II. Jamiah Calvin’s (@miahthecreator) new body of work ‘Reganomics, Cocaine ‘80s and the ‘90s Re-Up’, is on display in Gallery III. Wiley Wallace (@wileywallace) is back in Thinkspace Projects with his new solo show ‘Woven Trails’ in Gallery IV. ANd last but not least GoopMassta’s (@goopmassta) debut solo show ‘Leader of the Pack’ is the perfect fit in the Dog House Gallery and worth a visit.
All exhibitions are on view at Thinkspace Projects now through August 26, 2023
On view August 5 – August 26, 2023
4207 + 4217 W. Jefferson Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90016
Gallery I:
MARK JEFFREY SANTOS (aka Mr. S)
‘Uncharted Paths’
Gallery II:
CLEMENTINE BAL
‘Magic Friends’
Gallery III:
JAMIAH CALVIN (aka MIAH THE CREATOR)
‘Reganomics, Cocaine ’80s and the ’90s Re-Up’
Gallery IV:
WILEY WALLACE
‘Woven Trails’
The Dog House Gallery:
GOOPMASSTA
‘Leader of the Pack’
Thank you to all of the art collectors and lovers who came out to celebrate the opening of our latest exhibitions. Love seeing so many people packing all of our gallery spaces and courtyard to take in all of the incredible art on view from our family of creatives. A big shout out to everyone at GoopMassta’s ‘Courtyard Sessions’… Alex Solis with the live painting + a mini artist mart with booths from GoopMassta, Atlasgraffiti, Sean Keeton, & Anthony Patrick Manorek + amazing grub from Kabob Senpai + live DJs Venice Beats PLUS + Brushwork’s Dog House Gallery!
Video by Birdman
Thinkspace presents a virtual tour of ‘Uncharted Paths’ debuting as his first U.S. solo exhibition by MARK JEFFREY SANTOS (aka Mr. S) showing in Gallery I and CLEMENTINE BAL brings her new sculpture collection ‘Magic Friends’ showing in Gallery II. Along with JAMIAH CALVIN (aka MIAH THE CREATOR) brings ‘Reganomics, Cocaine ’80s and the ’90s Re-Up’ in Gallery III, and WILEY WALLACE returns for his new solo show ‘Woven Trails‘ showing in Gallery IV. And last but not least GOOPMASSTA ‘Leader of the Pack’ in The Dog House Gallery.
Explore the virtual tour here: https://players.cupix.com/p/agSnUXQ1\
All exhibitions are on view at Thinkspace Projects now through August 26, 2023.
Virtual tour created by Birdman.
Thinkspace presents GOOPMASSTA ‘Leader of the Pack‘ in The Doghouse Gallery.
Our interview with GoopMassta shares his life outside of the studio, which skill/superpower he would choose and what would be on the menu for his ultimate 5 fantasy dinner guests.
My main theme was playing off the irony of the dog house itself while embracing it at the same time. The main piece I created ‘Smokin’ Bones Poker Club‘ presented the most challenges. I wanted to recreate the well known dog poker scene painting while maintaining its familiarity, but incorporating my character, giving it my style, while still pushing myself with different painting techniques.
What themes were you exploring in this body of work? Did you have a piece that was particularly challenging?
What does a day in the studio look like for you? How do you structure your days? Do you have any rituals that help you tap into a creative flow?
I’m an early riser, so as soon as the light shines through the window into my eyes in the morning I wake up ready and happy to be able to have another day to create and experience the world. I have a vision board where I have all my projects up so I can see everything all at once – upcoming shows, sculpture ideas, mural sketches, etc. I wouldn’t say I have a set structure to my days, I like to do what feels good and go with the flow, while of course keeping in mind any deadlines, commissions or upcoming projects. As far as rituals go I’m a traditional style artist – I still like to conceptualize my ideas into reality using pencil and paper.
What is your most favorite and least favorite part of the creative process?
Who are some of your creative influences? Why do they inspire you?
My favorite part is actively working on any of my projects; when you really get into it and completely lose yourself. The creative flow just takes over and it’s a blissful and surreal feeling that seems like it will never end. My least favorite part is the real end – the clean up. Having to pick up all the pieces, clean up spills, spots, messes. I’m already tired and exhausted, but it’s got to get done to get ready for the next one. I would say that I am creatively influenced by many different aspects of the world – people, passion, the environment, music, architecture, you name – you can find inspiration from it. It’s not about why something inspires me, it’s about the feeling and the drive it gives me to pursue what I want and love to do.
If you could have any skill or topic downloaded into your brain, what would you want to be able to do / be an expert at?
Easy – finance. I would like to download how to be a financial expert, so that I can have complete financial freedom. Not only to support myself and my family, but to also be able to give back and help others as well.
What do you hope viewers take away or experience while viewing your work?
For this particular show and its pieces I want viewers to experience the irony of “being in the dog house” and really see how I embraced the theme not only in a literal way but also in a figurative way as well and to appreciate the different points-of-view I showed through my body of work.
How do you like to enjoy your time outside of the studio? Do you celebrate the completion of a body of work?
Honestly, I spend all my time working. When I am not in the studio I’m at a show, or event, or out painting a wall. I’m constantly trying to build up my brand and showcase my character to the world. And I’m always celebrating! ABC baby (always be celebrating)! I’m grateful for my career, the people I’ve met along the way and everywhere it has taken me, as well as the different opportunities it has provided for me. And that is how I get to enjoy my life.
If you could collaborate with any artists in any sort of medium (i.e. movies, music, painting) who would you collaborate with, and what would you be making?
I would choose to collaborate with Murakami. He has helped push characters to be in the limelight, allowing for a broader audience to appreciate them. I also enjoy his kawaii style and the way he markets and brands himself. Our collab would definitely be some type of iconic sculpture.
Who would be on the guest list if you could throw a dinner party for five people, dead or alive? What would be on the menu? What would be the icebreaker question?
My guest list for my dinner party would be Walt Disney, Jim Henson, Murakami, Bernini, and Nigo. My appetizer course would be oysters and a seafood tower or beef tartar in case someone doesn’t care for seafood. Followed by a main course of a pistachio crusted rack of lamb topped with caviar alongside pureed parsnips and glazed carrots. For the dessert course I would serve a delectable creme brulee. My icebreaker question would be – What is something you attribute to your success that could help others who are trying to reach their dreams and goals?
What was in your musical rotation during the development of this body of work?
For this body of work my music varied from Big L, Charles Bradley, Action Bronson, Mulatu Astatke and the list can go on and on. I like to switch up my music depending on the way I’m feeling and vibes the music is giving me.
Exhibition on view August 5 – August 26, 2023 on Saturdays only at The Courtyard from 12 PM – 6 PM at:
Thinkspace Projects
4207 W. Jefferson Blvd.
Los Angeles, California 90016
Thinkspace Projects presents:
Gallery I:
MARK JEFFREY SANTOS (aka Mr. S)
‘Uncharted Paths’
Gallery II:
CLEMENTINE BAL
‘Magic Friends’
Gallery III:
JAMIAH CALVIN (aka MIAH THE CREATOR)
‘Reganomics, Cocaine ’80s and the ’90s Re-Up’
Gallery IV:
WILEY WALLACE
‘Woven Trails’
Dog House Gallery:
GOOPMASSTA
‘Leader of the Pack’
If all that wasn’t enough, be sure to check out GoopMassta’s ‘Courtyard Sessions’ between our two spots with Alex Solis live painting + a mini artist mart with booths from GoopMassta, Atlasgraffiti, Sean Keeton, & Anthony Patrick Manorek + amazing grub from Kabob Senpai + open bar + live DJs Venice Beats + Brushwork’s Dog House Gallery
Opening Reception:
Saturday, August 5 from 6-10pm
On view August 5 – August 26, 2023
Thinkspace Projects
4207 W. Jefferson Blvd + 4217 W. Jefferson Blvd.
Los Angeles, California 90016
#310.558.3375 | Tues. – Sat. noon to 6pm
MARK JEFFREY SANTOS (aka Mr. S)
‘Uncharted Paths’
Thinkspace projects is proud to present ‘Uncharted Paths’ from Mark Jeffrey Santos, aka Mr. S in our main gallery. Following appearances in our Chicago and Dubai group shows last year, this is the artist’s debut solo exhibition in the United States.
Santos’s creations show his penchant for adventurous and larger-than-life personas, there’s an instant and comfortable connection that is established once a viewer comes to experience his art.
His new body of work for ‘Uncharted Paths’ is based on his personal experiences traveling, creating a body of work that evokes the certain feeling of excitement when you find yourself in a new place.
“Last year I had the opportunity to travel to South Korea and I was lucky to have witnessed the season of autumn. Seeing it for the first time feels like I’m in a strange world. It was such an otherworldly experience for an ordinary phenomenon.”
Many of Santos’s works revolve around vignettes of a young boy captured in the midst of discovery and exploration of a new realm. A sense of self-awareness is evident in the pensive gaze of his innocent protagonist. It is a look that is filled with profound reflection and contemplation of things to come. Santos uses a variety of Japanese Noh masks to expand this concept — masks that conceal its subject’s emotion opposite the pensive gaze that reveals the true emotions he feels.
Complete with a dreamlike environment and his wide-eyed characters, Santos is not only technically skilled, but also gifted with the vision to construct imaginary, bordering on surreal, scenes. His characters can often be found on an adventure, accompanied by larger-than-life creatures. Such talent in world-building and character design only comes natural for Santos, who did works in video and film before becoming a visual artist.
About Mark Jeffrey Santos (aka Mr. S):
Mark Jeffrey Santos (b. 1990 Philippines) works are steeped in the world of fantasy. With previous work in video and film, he is a world-building and character design wonder. Since participating in art exhibitions in 2015, Santos has been gaining a massive following online and on ground, earning the moniker “Mister Sasquatch” in the local street art scene, for one. Santos’s paintings and illustrations are also beginning to gain traction internationally, having exhibited his works in Taiwan, China, and the United Kingdom. He has had four solo exhibitions, too, and has been part of art fairs and group shows in the country and abroad.
CLEMENTINE BAL
‘Magic Friends’
Clémentine Bal’s Magic Friends welcomes viewers into her world of characters who proudly embrace their uniqueness and vibrant colors, filling Gallery II of Thinkspace Projects for her debut U.S. solo exhibition.
This body of work explores slightly strange, quirky, or even truly bizarre characters and a joyful luminous ensemble fueled by gradients and contrasts. Each subject was designed to celebrate their own individuality, even as some of them still struggle to accept themselves as they are.
With shapes ranging from the easily recognizable, such as animals, suns, or mountains to the more abstract curves, spikes, bumps, and hollows. The tactile aspect of my work is undoubtedly what I appreciate the most. Each character is unique, yet they all seem to be connected in one way or another. They form a magical entity that can transform at will. With their simple, clean lines, it’s as if they just came out of a drawing, evoking a childlike wonder and even a disconcerting naivety.
“I truly enjoyed bringing these characters to life, aiming for them to be light-hearted, kind, and funny, like friends.”
About Clémentine Bal:
Clémentine Bal is a sculptor born in Paris in 1979 and who lives in France. She graduated from the School of Fine Arts in Annecy. In her work she creates characters that reflect her inner world. They can come from feelings, memories, projections. They take the form of multicolored mountains or volcanoes, semi-human creatures, little hybrid ghosts. With their simple, clean lines, it’s as if they just came out of a drawing. Clémentine Bal maintains the strong ties she keeps with childhood, giving her characters a sometimes disconcerting naivety. Influenced by the worlds of Mark Ryden or Hayao Miyazaki, she will also draw her inspiration from her memories of reading or cartoons from her youth. Family, children, friendship, animals, and more generally the strong bonds that give us emotions are themes that she likes to address. Thus are born a variety of characters gently. Their lightness protects us like an antidote to the sound and fury of the world.
JAMIAH CALVIN (aka MIAH THE CREATOR)
‘Reganomics, Cocaine ’80s and the ’90s Re-Up’
In Gallery III, Thinkspace Projects presents Jamiah Calvin’s new body of work, full of moments of fortitude and moments of healing. ‘Reaganomics, Cocaine ’80s and the ’90s Re-Up’ uses past memories and nostalgic moments where the “hard times” were also the best of times.
In no real order these paintings tell an intimate story of the artist’s world and upbringing, providing a sober view of what it meant to live in a world where drug transactions and confusing crack for candy as a child was a normalized way of life.
In this body of work you can see the way in which Calvin has enriched himself in the art of visual storytelling without aggression. With depictions of iconic hood spots, Calvin highlights the “golden days,” calling attention to the ways recent transplants have glamorized the times of hardship.
About Jamiah Calvin:
Jamiah Calvin is a visual artist and muralist from Chicago Illinois. He graduated from Northern Illinois University with a BFA in studio art with an emphasis on painting. He specializes in figurative and narrative oil paintings that captures raw emotions and nostolgic experiences growing up within the Austin Community on the West side of Chicago.
WILEY WALLACE
‘Woven Trails’
‘Woven Trails’ is Wiley Wallace’s latest solo exhibition, bringing a captivating exploration of interconnectedness, time, and space to Thinkspace Projects’ Gallery IV.
Through a harmonious fusion of yarn, threads, transparent shapes, translucent glass, hiking trails, and metaphysical elements, Wallace creates compositions that transcend the boundaries of the tangible world. Symbolizing the invisible threads that bind us and the universe together, the incorporation of string highlights the connected nature of all things. With translucent glass, the artwork takes on an ethereal quality, inviting contemplation of the seen and unseen. Central to the exhibition are the motifs of hiking trails, serving as metaphors for the journeys we undertake in life and the narratives that shape our experiences.
‘Woven Trails’ delves into metaphysical concepts, inviting viewers to reflect on the mysteries of existence. The paintings depict transformative journeys where time, space, and interconnectedness intertwine to form a mesmerizing tapestry of exploration and reflection. Wallace’s pieces convey a kind of sci-fi nostalgia harkening back to a Spielberg-era of extraterrestrial-themed filmmaking. At times their implied innocence and naiveté give way to darker and more dystopian readings, surfacing amidst the neon-hued glow.
About Wiley Wallace:
Phoenix-born painter Wiley Wallace’s work is playful and ambiguous, his luminous and ostensibly radioactive worlds suggest a metaphysical interest in the possibility of alternate realities: the endlessly shapeshifting and protean nature of fantasy at the intersection of the imagined and “real.” Wallace’s paintings combine realistic rendering with elements of the surreal, and near-magical references that include eerily cast light sources bordering on the supernatural. Playful and macabre, his works combine intense thematic contrasts between light and dark to achieve suspense and evasion. Children are a recurring theme in his compositions, representing a kind of primordial link to something invisible and beyond comprehension, exempt from the rationalizations of the adult. Often using his own children as models, Wallace’s narratives are open-ended, filled with suggestion and partial disclosures rather than forceful assertions or posited certainties. The themes of connection and communication resonate throughout Wallace’s imagery, as the works’ protagonists seem ever in search of fugitive contact. The skeleton is a recurring figure throughout Wallace’s imagery as well, appearing at times as a sinister harbinger of some kind and at others as Halloween costume level kitsch. Wallace’s pieces convey a kind of sci-fi nostalgia harkening back to a Spielberg-era of extraterrestrial-themed filmmaking. At times their implied innocence and naiveté give way to darker and more dystopian readings, surfacing amidst the neon-hued glow.
GOOPMASSTA
‘Leader of the Pack’
GoopMassta’s debut solo show embraces the environment of the Dog House Gallery. Playing off the irony of the dog house itself, the collection features 15 new canine-inspired works. Each piece creates a unique and playful atmosphere that will evoke a feeling of happiness and familiarity. The refreshing experience does not stop as you take in the full collection, but continues throughout with eye-catching installations both inside and out.
About GoopMassta:
Hello, my name is James – I’m currently living in the Los Angeles area; was born in New York and raised in Miami. I am the creator of GoopMassta, the iconic and legendary fashion-forward, positive thinking froggy character. I focus mainly on my character and portraying his exclusive lifestyle to the world. The more you experience with him, the more you’ll become a part of his journey and never want to leave. I’m constantly pushing and exploring different aspects of GoopMassta and his story to continuously promote positivity through different mediums. My goal as an artist/creator is to inspire and show others that there are no limits – you can achieve anything you desire.
