IT’S A BEAUTIFUL DAY, I GUESS
This past Saturday was the opening of IT’S A BEAUTIFUL DAY, I GUESS, a group exhibition featuring new work by Gregory Bojorquez, Tim Diet, Mark Drew, Michelle Guintu, Jeramee Haynie, Patrick Martinez, and Kevin Woodruff at Subliminal Projects. The title of the show is a direct reference to a lyric from The Recipe by Kendrick Lamar and Dr. Dre. Yet the show also touches on indirect references, such as the intangible essence of summer in Southern California, the individual experiences each exhibiting artist has had with music, and the disparate communities music can bring together.
Shepard, who was busy on the wheels of steel for the night, shared a few words with us on why this show is so personal to him – “I’m really excited about this show because the golden era of hip-hop, ’86-’94, was incredibly influential for me. All the work in the show is very stylish and witty. I particularly love Mark Drew’s cassette paintings and this one in particular because ICE-T’s Power album was what inspired the use of the word “Posse” in my Andre the Giant Has a Posse sticker. The lyrics to the song Power go “I’m livin’ large as possible posse unstoppable… style topical, vividly optical”. The year was ’88 and other great hip-hop records that used the word “posse” were out… N.W.A., Public Enemy, Beastie Boys, but ICE-T was my specific inspiration.”
Lucky for us, our very own Furlong was able to get a sneak peek into the Gallery before the crowds burst through the doors.
(Mark Drew (b. 1978) was born in Australia and currently lives and works in Tokyo. He is Co-Founder of China Heights Gallery (Sydney, AUS). His artwork revolves around pop culture references, 90s rap samples, and the visual side of music. Drew paints musical genres in the form of stacked cassettes with an old school rhetoric that echoes current cool.)
(Patrick Martinez is from Los Angeles and was introduced to Hip Hop culture and graffiti as a teenager in the early 90s. Both movements influenced his art ever since he understood what they were about. Martinez attended Pasadena City College and later moved onto Art Center College of Design in 2001, where he received a BFA. Martinez visually recreates Los Angeles life as he sees it, breathes it, endures it, thinks it, observes it, and loves it…ultimately paying homage to it in the form of neon word plays, paintings of flowery gun stashes, cast still life’s of fruit, soda pop, and Cheetos, and birthday cakes dedicated to rap royalty.)
(Michelle Guintu lives and works in San Francisco and graduated with a BFA in 2006. She works in a variety of media including tempera paints, paper mache, and thread. Her subject matter includes rosy-cheeked caricatures of pop icons depicted in bright hues. Guintu paints, draws, and imagines a neon-toned life sprinkled with her favorite stars and musicians.)
(Tim Diet was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. He first began painting in the 80s, sneaking out of his parents’ house at night to “tag” alongside his older brother. The graffiti lifestyle immediately drew him in and influenced both his craft and persona. Diet has traveled across the US, Europe, and Japan just to paint. His work can be found in the streets, in publications, and now in galleries. Diet’s paintings are a mash-up of pop references, cartoon characters, and thug life.)
(Gallery Imagery provided by: Jon Furlong)
The beers started flowing and the night was glowing.
The newest members of N.W.A
Kevin Woodruff performing live with Jeramee Haynie. Haynie is a performance artist whose work focuses on the themes of movement, physical exertion of the body, shame and embarrassment, and the pushing and pulling of personal limits.
Camera 1…
Camera 2.
The struggle is real !
That’s all Folks Fucks !
