36″ x 36″, Alkyd oil on wood panel
For a number of months now, I’ve been pretty busy. In fact, my catchphrase (for what seems like a longtime now) has been “I’m busy working on my show”. Well, that show is done. It’s finished, archived, and it’s at the gallery. And what a gallery. My solo show will take place at none other than The Outsiders, owned and operated by the one and only, Steve Lazarides (past spokesperson and gallery dealer to street artist, Banksy). Steve also shows a number of artists who are my friends and others whom I have also been in group shows with. I’ve never been to The Outsiders and I’m excited to go there for the first time next week to attend the private viewing reception of my show.
My show, entitled, “My Feelings Like You”, consists of 38 brand new works. Included in this show are some of my biggest works to date, including “Skunk Electrical Soap” (60 x 80 inches) and “Shanti” (42 x 72″). The show consists mainly of mixed media works that I am best known for. I also have paintings in there as well as some screen printed on handmade paper works. This show means a lot to me. Instead of randomly creating various works and piecing them together ad hoc, I carefully plotted out the pictures with a definite connecting theme in mind. Here is an excerpt from a recent interview I did for for Lust and Found that explains what those connections are:
“The themes explored are just as much about introspection as well as searching. There are a lot of assertions in the works I make about states of being and status of place. Yet there are also inquisitive, questioning and curious follies regarding various emotions and relationship dynamics. These are realized through my constant exploration of angst, happiness and catharsis that I hope is evident in the characters I draw and paint. A common character I am known for, The Toy Monkey, makes a few appearances in these new works. He’s a guide, if you will. Many people may surmise that he’s taking the viewer to a past time, in particular the 1920s or 1930s, but I’d like think that the place is just a byproduct and the real journey is in conveying the emotions through narratives.”
My show runs from May 3rd – June 2nd. The gallery is located in Soho, in beautiful Covent Garden, London. The private viewing is on Thursday, May 3rd from 6 – 9 pm. The gallery will be selling my book, “I Love You, OK?”, so I’ll also be there doing some signing.
Here’s some recent press so far where you can also see more works from the show:
HI-FRUCTOSE Blog post about my show
Creative Review Blog post about my show
© Gary Taxali 2012 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED