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I’m sure color theory is something you consider when you’re doing curatorial work as well. You recently curated the aptly titled Vivisect Playset (Round 2). How was it?

I think the show was a success, considering the fact that the show ran through the month of December, an infamously slow month for the gallery scene. We packed the gallery and sold plenty of art. When comparing Round 1 to Round 2, the shows were completely different. Originally, the first was an experiment. Gallery Nineteen Eighty Eight had a two-week opening in their calendar, and they offered the slot to me. Knowing that I didn't have enough work or time to put together a solo show, I proposed to them what would become The Vivisect Playset (Round 1). So I invited my best friends Thomas Han and Joe Ledbetter (this was the first time either of them had shown in an actual art gallery), artist and toy sculptor Dave Pressler, and Oakland-based artist Peter Gronquist. Basically, the show functioned as a way to formally introduce and elevate a handful of relatively unknown but extremely talented artists from LA's underground art scene to LA's gallery scene. The show ended up becoming G1988's surprise success of the year, with each artist selling more than half -- if not all -- of their paintings and G1988 re-extending their invitation for me to curate Round 2.

For Round 2, I invited a slew of other like-minded artists of varying degrees of accomplishment. The final lineup featured 13 artists, including all five Vivisect alumni. I think it goes without saying that Round 2 was very different from Round 1, but that difference was more like an evolution and a step in the right direction.

Your involvement with Gallery Nineteen Eighty Eight is really cool and it sounds like you’re bridging some gaps in the LA art world. Do you do a lot of curatorial work?

I look forward to curating Round 3, which will also be hosted by G1988 this December. The Vivisect Playsets have been my only curatorial experiences, and though I'd be interested in curating other shows in the future, I really don't have the time. I would much rather focus on painting and being curated instead.

As both an artist and an art supporter, could you tell us more about the LA underground art scene, the gallery scene, and their relationship. Do they overlap with any other scenes?

The LA underground art scene seems to have some sort of connection to the long-gone rave scene. Many galleries don’t have permanent spaces and they move around from show to show. They often feature DJ’s, bands, and live art. They’re usually one-night affairs -- built around the fact that most art is seen and sold at the opening reception of gallery shows -- and run from the evening until two in the morning. They charge at the door in order to cover the costs of renting the space, sound systems, etc. Thanks to the relatively low overhead of producing these shows, they can feature artists who might otherwise never get to show due to gallery politics. I got my start through Cannibal Flower and I learned a lot. It’s very humbling when you see your painting next to other talented artists’ work.

When I first moved to Los Angeles in 2003, my initial impression was that LA had three major galleries dedicated to artwork of the underground genre. At that time, the relationship between the underground shows and the galleries was slim to nonexistent. But new galleries have been popping up all over the place: Gallery Nineteen Eighty Eight, GR2, Lab 101, Project, ThinkSpace, Nucleus, and Subliminal Projects, to name a few. These galleries brought underground artists into their spaces and fostered an atmosphere of respect and recognition for both artist and gallery.

Interesting. Getting back to the Vivisect Playset, why do you think animals, particularly cute ones, are fitting conveyances for “illustrating the human condition?”

The use of animals as metaphors is a communication tool humans of various societies have employed throughout human history. Thanks to mass media, the personification of animals is commonplace (complements of Hanna Barbera and Walt Disney). The reason why I think “cute” animals are easy for us to connect with is because most of us grew up with cute animals such as teddy bears or stuffed animals that comforted and protected us. In my paintings, I use cuteness to illustrate innocence, and when coupled with the dark scenarios I create, innocence lost. The pain of that experience is a regular theme… a theme I think all humans can relate to in one way or another.

Do you have a favorite animal? Any pets?

I'm down with dogs, but I don't have a pet. If I did, it would be a dog.

Let’s talk bears. Shitstorm is one of my favorite paintings. The pipes peeking out of the clouds are perfect. Could you tell us more about this painting?

I think the English language can be very illustrative, and “shitstorm” is one of those words/exclamations that always made me think. What would a shit-storm be like? What if shitstorms really occurred in nature? Would it be like the scene when the frogs were raining down at the end of Magnolia? I simply thought illustrating a shitstorm would be fun and funny. “Flying fuck” (as in “I don't give a flying fuck about...”) is another one that makes me think.

 

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