“Birthday Party” - Art Show and Skate Event celebrating the 1 year anniversary of Jacuzzi Unlimited
Date - November 9, 2024
Time - 4:00-9:00pm
Crossthread has teamed up to bring sounds from Big Boy, Doomsday and Stand Tall
Sponsored by: Converse
Beverage provided by: Shindig Cider and Drink Weird
art
Takashi Murakami's first solo exhibit in SF! Opening of “Unfamiliar People — Swelling of Monsterized Human Ego”
Took a trip up to SF to see the new Takashi Murakami exhibit at the SF Asian Art Museum.
“Unfamiliar People — Swelling of Monsterized Human Ego” is Takashi’s first solo exhibition in San Francisco! There was such a variety of mediums and styles in this exhibit! Definitely planning to go back to become re-immersed in his world!
Below is the SF Asian Art Museum’s write up about this exhibit:
An internationally recognized artist, Murakami is also a major figure in global pop culture whose influence extends to fashion, consumer products, curation, and entertainment. With a boldly colored, upbeat style and a pop sensibility that draws inspiration from anime and manga, Murakami’s accessible and fun creations deliver more than meets the eye: beneath the surface of his work lies a nuanced examination of human behavior, informed by historical and art-historical references and a wry sense of humor.
The larger-than-life paintings and sculptures in Murakami: Monsterized use monsters as a central motif to address the complicated nature of the world around us. The artist’s recent works suggest that our rapidly changing and increasingly digital landscape is populated by monsters — whether harmful or helpful — many of which humans have created and perhaps even become. Blurring the line between frightening and fun, these monsters embody the forces and behaviors that threaten and haunt us, as well as those that offer us diversion and escape from chaos. Several new works created for this exhibition find Murakami responding to a social environment marked by a global pandemic and a shift toward virtual interaction. Paintings of distorted figures reflect the swelling egos of individuals promoting themselves relentlessly on social media, while works recording the artist’s creation of NFTs, including avatars, look with optimism toward a digitally liberated future.
Senior Curator of Japanese Art Laura W. Allen locates Murakami’s imagery in a lineage of Japanese supernatural creatures including the kaiju (giant monsters) of postwar manga, television, and film — such as Godzilla, who makes a memorable appearance in this exhibition — and extending back to the “menacing and adorable” yōkai (supernatural entities) of Edo-period scrolls. “The visual DNA of Murakami’s characters has origins in centuries-old styles in Japanese art,” says Allen, “such as depicting Buddhist arhats and Daoist immortals as wizened beings with strange features, bulging eyes, and bared teeth.” To these venerated historical sources, Murakami adds the “technicolor palette, goofy expressions, and eclectic mixture of motifs” that have become his trademark — boldly remixing tradition to reflect the complexity of the present day.
Los Gatos Art & Wine Festival September 16-17th
We mobilized our gallery to a friend’s hair salon, The Studio Los Gatos . This weekend September 16th, and 17th …the two day event will be hosting artists, live music, beer and wine!
There will be a wonderful collection of original artworks on display inside featuring: Chad Hasegawa, Jason Arnold, Juan Carlos Araujo, Stephany Sanchez, Stephen Longoria, and Tyson Johnston. Additionally, there will also be artist merchandise such as books, totes, and more!
Come visit we look forward to seeing you, and having a great time!
"Enjoy Every Moment Together" a journey with Harumo Sato
Harumo Sato’s latest project was commissioned by a government agency executing a series of rebuilds and expansions of elementary schools and community centers in the Deanwood neighborhood of Washington DC. Harumo spent months planning with her operations team trying to decide how to travel and transport a work of art during a pandemic. Weeks before departure, restrictions on air travel to DC reassured the operations team that the master plan—driving a truck and towing an RV trailer across the country—would be the travel method of choice, providing shelter and transportation to get Harumo and team to the job on time.
Practicing social distancing during this trip was a must. Harumo and her husband Ian Farneth are expecting a baby boy this year. Harumo’s and the baby's health were the number one priority for Ian. Avoiding contact with COVID-19, and shipping art initiated a road trip, consciously thinking of the team’s mental and physical health while getting to a job site. Harumo was particularly excited about creating works of art that would live amongst students, and did not want to cancel due to the pandemic.
Submitting to the right proposals has led Harumo to being selected in the final rounds of several promising commissions while allowing her to explore new ideas. Artists who would present multi dimensional artworks and murals were encouraged to apply. An opportunity to work on a new concept that had been on her things to do aligned with the project.
One Harumo’s new works is titled "Cheer up for the Future,” and features a wolf standing on the top of a ridge, surrounded by neighbors living in a magical kingdom of nature. The wolf is accompanied by a relaxed cat on a branch and a grand elk cooling his hooves as he drinks from a teal green body of water. Two otters featured in the mural bathe in sunlight that shines through the windows of the school hallways. This mural directly faces another mosaic "Enjoy Every Moment Together." They are displayed down a long corridor of sunlit classrooms, where the outdoors are visible to the students throughout the day.
“Various Shapes of Relationships," another of Harumo’s murals, has a playful feel to it, and includes a mountain lion splashing in blue water. Bears, antelopes, foxes, owls, turtles, and bison all coexist in Harumo’s abstract landscape. This portrait of coexisting harmony faces the art department.
The twenty foot long mural was installed with seven feet tall paneling, offset, and centered on a brick wall. Harumo's team created a permanent private collection for the school by creating two tangible works of art, showcasing the importance of creating artwork and how it can be presented for preservation and value.
"Enjoy Every Moment Together" is a two dimensional mosaic assembled at her studio in Mountain View, California. This work of art took Harumo two months to create. She conceptualized her work with adaptive technology using CNC operators to fabricate her illustrations and assemble components. Seeing the concept evolve was a fun process for Harumo; it was like playing with a puzzle, except its pieces are adhered permanently.
Harumo’s illustrations become tangible this way as she physically assembles her squirrel illustrations. The reflective and neon colors transform into mushrooms in grass, deer, and a flying squirrel. Once assembled, she layers hand embellishments on top, adding another personal touch to the work. The mosaic was designed to be interactive and durable for children at play, with its highlighting contour lines and imagery shapes. The edge of the material is soft to the human touch and accessible for anyone with a macular or vision disability; this provides the opportunity to feel the artwork to define the contour of the illustrations. Harumo has a friend with a vision disability, and seeing her artwork is a big dream of his. That inspired her to look into what type of artwork she could create to give someone the ability to “read” illustrations.
Professionally packaged in an eight foot tall shipping crate, Harumo’s mosaic needed to arrive safely from California to DC. Carrying it on a flight was not feasible, even if flights were empty at the time. Shipping crates of artwork anywhere is expensive. Instead of paying art handlers, Harumo and her team rented a truck big enough to haul the crate across the country. The truck towed an RV trailer, which gave Harumo a safe, socially distant place to live while on the road. Planning took several months, and the trip lasted a total of sixteen days on the road, with three weeks spent living as temporary residents of DC.
Once at the work site, Harumo and her team worked cohesively with the architects and contractors to install the artwork for the students—kindergarten through fifth grade—to enjoy. The site's settings seemed similar to other projects Harumo has worked on in the Silicon Valley tech sector; the interior and exterior of campus came equipped with some special perks you’d find at a tech office building. Eco-conscious planning of the school grounds included filtered water refill stations to encourage students to reuse water bottles. Rooftop gardens provide lessons in gardening and an organic food source. There is also a fully equipped gym, digital monitors, and computers for every student.
Additionally, artwork depicting the planet's ecosystems, natural assets, and animals, showcase the earth’s habitat. Vibrant colors were requested to be maximized in her latest series of murals: primary color renderings from blues to reds give a glowing contrast that almost seems three dimensional. Viewing the artwork feels like it is jumping out from the walls.
The staff and the contractors, including Harumo’s team, kept saying how they wished this was their school when they were kids. Harumo’s works were very well received, and there could potentially be a second round of her art installation due the clients' satisfaction and admiration for her on time delivery and making the best of current difficult situations due to the pandemic.
There are many other projects in the works that Harumo cannot discuss at this time, but be on the lookout for more of her art in 2021. This fall, she’ll be focused on her new baby boy. Congratulations to Harumo and Ian!
Photos by JT - Web/ IG @freezeframe_43