David Choe’s “Nothing To Declare”

David Choe’s LA solo show Nothing To Declare (with Lazarides Gallery) opened this week and it looks like Choe has outdone himself yet again. Fans of his work have got to love these new paintings. For me, Choe is kind of like Barry McGee; some of the images are interesting and others aren’t, but damn that technical ability never fails to amaze me. There are few who can use a spray can better.

The LA Times has a nice article about Choe and Nothing To Declare. Pretty cool that Choe’s gone from leaving LA when he could only get shows at hair salons to now being profiled in The LA Times for his return.

The show is taking place in a massive warehouse, so of course there are some installation bits. I love the giant whale.

Photos by Brandon Shigeta

David Choe LA solo show teaser

David Choe’s upcoming Nothing To Declare show takes place in LA but comes to you via London with Lazarides Gallery behind the affair. The show runs from April 23rd until May 23rd and is taking place at 320 North Beverly Drive. Choe is one artist whose I just can’t figure out. Is he a genius or a madman or both? One thing is for sure: man pours his heart and soul in his artwork. These teaser images from Lazarides show some of my favorite paintings that Choe has ever done. Can’t wait to see what else he has in store for this event.

Those images all capture David’s more refined side, but that’s not all that Choe is about. I recently came across this short documentary about David called Whales and Orgies. It’s described as the precursor to the documentary Dirty Hands: The Art and Crimes of David Choe (a film that I desperately want to see). Here’s Whales and Orgies:

Dirty Hands – The Art and Crimes of David Choe (Trailer)

A new documentary film focusing on the life and times of graffiti artist David Choe will be presented in Los Angeles and San Francisco over the coming months by Upper Playground. The film entitled Dirty Hands – The Art and Crimes of David Choe follows the Award winning artist and uncovers the artistic trials and tribulations he has endured.

Dirty Hands is set to start screening at the Sunset 5 in LA on April 30 – May 6, and then move on to SF for showings from May 21 – May 27.

Character Assassination show by David Choe at FIFTY24SF

This should be a really great show, I wish I was in town for it.

FIFTY24SF Gallery Presents “Character Assassination”
New Works by David Choe

One of the most diverse and prolific artists working today, David Choe combines American and Asian pop culture, graphic novels, and cityscapes to produce some of the most dynamic work and explosive work of his generation.

His often lewd expressions of the female form are honest appreciations of the male/female sexual interaction. Erratic brushwork and wild compositions convey a superficial sense of anarchy while the delicate and exotic portraits betray chaos, revealing a passionate love of women. In Choe’s work, discordance and serenity exist in impossible harmony. His paintings are testament to the fact that the gritty and the offensive are often necessary constituents of raw beauty.

David’s disinterest in social approval allows him to exist in a realm of indulgence. Whether painting murals, canvases, or quick street pieces, the raw honesty element drives deep into the psyche of the viewer.  A subliminal stirring of still waters, his paintings are engaging in a way that cannot always be justified as simply, aesthetically pleasing.

A seasoned globetrotter, David Choe’s murals cover walls from his native Los Angeles to Vietnam. His fine art has seen exhibitions in London, Beijing, Los Angeles, New York, and San Franciso. His intricate brush strokes and characters have made their way into commercial projects as well, working with Marvel Comics, Levis, and Nike. His art, photos, and writing have been featured in Giant Robot, Hustler, Juxtapoz, and Vice magazines. He also self-published three comic/journals: Bruised Fruit, Cursiv and Slow Jams. Most recently, he was featured in the documentary about his work “Dirty Hands.”

“Character Assassination” features new works on display at FIFTY24SF Gallery February 5 – March 24, 2010.  The opening reception will be on Friday, February 5th from 7:00PM – 9:30PM.

Lazarides ‘Grifters’ preview pics

The folks in town for the Lazarides’ Grifters show sure are busy. Ian Cox has been taking some great photos of their progress:

Lucy McLauchlan
Lucy McLauchlan
David Choe
David Choe
David Choe
David Choe
David Choe
David Choe

Yes, this post is a bit Choe heavy, but his pieces look really great even if you only see a segment of them, someone like Mode2, you really need to see the finished product. If your curious what else has been going on though, Ian’s flickr stream has more pics.

UPDATE: Even more David Choe:

Grifters at Laz and a David Choe video

The crew at Lazarides have been busy. December 4th is the opening of their next show in London, and it’s going to be a biggie. The Grifters will have indoor work from more than a dozen artists including Conor Harrington, Lucy McLauchlan, Faile, Charlie Isoe, Mark Jenkins and Todd James and outdoor work from almost as many artists including Zevs, Mark Jenkins, David Choe and Vhils. Luckily, for those such as myself who will be away for the holidays, the show lasts until mid January.

As a little preview, here’s a video of David Choe from Walrus TV:

Nuart: The reason to visit Stavanger

I don’t want to hype this up too much, but last weekend I had a really enjoyable time at Nuart in Stavanger and I can’t believe there aren’t more tourists flying out to see this festival. Here are a few pics.

This first pic is by me, the rest are by Ian Cox.

Skewville
Skewville
David Choe and DVS
David Choe and DVS

main gallery

Skewville and Chris Stain
Skewville and Chris Stain
David Choe
David Choe
Swoon
Swoon

And Logan Hicks made this cool time lapse animation of David Choe and DVS painting:

16 Obama Street Art and Graffiti Pieces

So I saw this article on Trendhunter, but their site is a bit disorganized, and I can’t even seem to find the correct photo gallery. So I went out looking for Obama street art pieces on my own. Here’s 16 of my favorite Obama pieces (in no particular order).

Only nine more days 🙂

Photo by EricaJoy
Photo by EricaJoy

Check out the rest of the images after the jump…

Continue reading “16 Obama Street Art and Graffiti Pieces”