Tag: Matthew Bone

An interview with Brian M. Viveros…

“Godless Mess” – 30×38″
An interview with Brian M. Viveros

“The erotic artwork of Brian M. Viveros is a satisfying cross between the Varga Girls and the surrealist renderings of Hans Bellmer. At once playful, hypersexual and erotic, there is also something darkly engaging in Viveros’s images. While he’ll play up the demon aspects of the Femme Fatale, or the depravity lurking just beneath the surface of the innocent girl, he does so with a sense of awe – as if honoring what’s ‘dangerous’ in the erotic female form, not fearing it or degrading it.” – Marilyn Jaye Lewis, editor The Mammoth Book of Erotic Photography
“Godless Mess” close up

Portrait of the artist

Please talk a lil’ bit about the general idea/vibe behind your new series of works for “Southern” at Last Rites Gallery out in NYC.
Keeping the vibe STRONG and DIRTY homie, just the way we like it. Worked on a new special ‘Dirtyland’ piece for the show and she will be representing my Southern Arm-me of smokin’ troops who will be marching there way into Last Rites Gallery in NYC on May the 9th.

“Viva Rose” receiving the finishing touches…

“Faithless” getting ready for battle…

Are you reading anything right now?
I just started reading “The Story of the Eye” by Georges Bataille.

“Protect Yourself” close up…
Favorite artist (living or dead) and what makes them special to you?
My favorite Artists are H.R. Giger, Picasso, Schiele, Beardsley, Warhol, and Frazetta. An inspiration to me every time I see there work. They are the magic six. My favorite directors are Maya Daren, Fernando Arrabal, Werner Herzog, Alejandro Jorodowsky. These filmmakers inspire me to work harder.

“Hang Over” – 16×20″
Do you listen to music while painting/drawing? If so, do you have a current favorite that inspires?
Yes, and play films. When I work I usually have both going on at the same time. The list of music is all over the place, I dig it all from strange sounds to noise and just beats. But lately, I guess my go to right now is Godspeed You Black Emperor.

“Southern” – collaboration with Matthew Bone – 24×30″

You collaborated with Matthew Bone, whom you are sharing the exhibit with at Last Rites, on a special piece I hear. How did that come about?
We were smoking outside and shootin’ the shit and we just thought it would be a cool and fun idea to collaborate on something special for the people of NYC and the exhibition. I’ve always been a fan of Matt’s work, so for me this was quite an honor. The piece is self titled “Southern” and it was a lot of fun. There will be a Limited Edition Signed and numbered Giclee print of this collaboration available at the exhibition just to give everybody the heads up.

“Evil Eye” – 14×26″
We are very much looking forward to hosting your debut Los Angeles solo show next fall. What have you got coming up in the meantime in terms of shows after “Southern”?
After the “Southern” exhibition I’m taking a break with my little devil and then back into the studio where I’ll start preparing the new arm-me for my show at Copro Gallery in January.
“Southern” DVD (regular edition)

“Southern” overview:
Blanketed by a fog of troubling eroticism and violence, “Southern” is an experience of primordial sights, sounds, and sentiment. Brian Viveros and Eriijk Ressler release the fragmented visions that haunt deep within our collective psyche. “Southern” has taken the “Dislandic aesthetic” from poetic desolation to a symphonic saturation of the senses. Multiple viewings lead to new insights not only of story but also of the self. Through “Southern”, Eriijk and Brian return cinema to the unclean.

The show’s title is “Southern”, named after your recent short film of the same name. Do you hope this connection inspires your fans to check out your other creative side – film?

I hope so, I mean it’s definitely a part of me and it’s something I’m very passionate about and will continue to do ’till the day I die. Sometimes painting just isn’t enough, there are always ideas and dreams ya’ know that need to get out of this f*cked up head of mine and this is just another way of expressing my Art through making surreal films.
The show will also feature a special screening of “Southern”.The film is just magically dark. Many props Brian. How would you go about describing / setting this film up for someone who is about to view it / curious about it?
Two hits of acid and call me in the morning – kidding – hahaha or maybe not. Umm, “Southern” is really an experience of primordial sights, sounds, and sentiment with visions that haunt deep within our collective psyche. Trip out!

What are you doing right after this interview?
Smoking two cigarettes and having a beer. Here’s to all the readers brutha’ – cheers!
The ‘Southern’ DVD will be available at Last Rites Gallery along with an exclusive Limited Edition Giclee print of “DirtyLand IV” and his collaboration with Matthew Bone, “Southern”.
Be sure to check out our studio visit with Viveros here.
Look for a very limited edition, hand-touched giclee of “Mess With The Bull” to be issued soon through us (more details announced soon).
Keep tabs on Viveros here and check out Bone’s work here.

‘Southern’

Brian M. Viveros + Matthew Bone
Last Rites Gallery
511 W. 33rd St, New York City

A studio visit with Brian Viveros…

My wife and I headed out to Riverside this past weekend to catch up with Brian Viveros and his wife Jenie. We got a chance to check out his studio and we snapped some shots of the works that are coming together for his upcoming show with Matthew Bone, Southern, that opens this coming May out in NYC at Paul Booth’s Last Rites Gallery.

The new works are looking so tight, he’s really coming into his own in a major fashion. The emotion captured in each new work is spot on. We are extremely honored to be working with Brian and can’t wait to host his debut Los Angeles solo show next fall, but more on that soon enough. Until then, we’ll be headed back out in a few months to his studio to get a wrap up of this new series of works before they are shipped out to NYC. So watch for that.

We’ll be doing a more proper interview with Brian in the next month or so, but below are some choice quotes that we’re included in a recent feature that ran in Truce magazine out of Europe.

“Things that inspire me are everday happenings, finds and observations of life. Like a crazy f*cking helmet from a swap meet that you found and you say to yourself ‘what a great element for a painting’. It’s like you are constantly collecting visual information to translate and bring to life. Sometimes, words can also make for a good painting – or people you see on the streets smoking their cigarettes at the bus stop. It all feeds the addiction and inspires you to want to do and create more and more. These are all pieces to the puzzle that are building up in my head.”

“Painting these girls feeds my addiction. Like a vampire out for blood or my bad smoking habit that I just can’t seem to quit. The female form takes on many shapes and sizes and I dig on changing and distorting it just a bit, which excites me and it reminds me that nothing is perfect.”

“The Smoking Army began back in 2000. I hadn’t yet really honed in on a particular signature style but I knew that painting sexy girls smoking cigarettes is what I wanted to do. Since then, the Army has grown and taken over my studio. They hold me hostage at night and I like it. They whisper in my head and say ‘create more, bring me to life’. Like a mad f*cking scientist in his laboratory I’m always trying to come up with new ideas and elements to decorate these smoking temptresses.”

“I don’t know why all these girls are smoking. I have tried to get them to quit, but they refuse to wear the patch or chew that special gum which is supposed to help you to quit. Just kidding, the smokin’ thing is a piece of myself. I enjoy smoking and drinking a lot so I just thought it would be a cool element to add to this Army of Smoking Girls.”

“I always found smoking sexy as a kid – like in the silent black and white films, when these women would be smoking on the screen. They were these rebellious bad ass chicks that didn’t give a f*ck.”

The beautiful new work featured above (still in progress) was our favorite from his new series, and it plays nicely off his recent “Mess With The Bull” work that we featured at this past December’s Vanguard Fair as part of our ‘Looking Glass’ exhibit.
While out in Riverside, we were also treated to a special advance screening of Brian’s latest film project, Southern. The look and feel of the film is unnerving, and the finished product came out just great. For more on this project and his other films, check here.
Speaking of “Mess With The Bull”, look for a very limited edition, hand-touched giclee of “Mess With The Bull” to be issued soon through us (more details announced soon).