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Category Archives: Studio Visits

Studio Visits: James Jean

As we mentioned before, James Jean (interviewed) has a live and work space in West LA near Little Osaka. Called Hide Out, the house has already won multiple awards including the A+ Award from Architizer and the Honor Award for Residential Adaptive Reuse from AIA LA. The design of the remodel by Dan Brunn Architecture includes features like a 12′ x 14′ pivot door, a Japanese tea room inspired library, and wood stairs created by using an algorithm to calculate the most optimized curve based on a selection of […]

Studio Visits: Nick Walker x Crash x Bio – “The Collaborations”

AM recently had the pleasure of stopping by the studio of legendary graffiti writer & artist Crash (featured) at his Bronx work space. Crash was not alone as Bio (Tats Cru) & Nick Walker (interviewed) joined him in one of many work sessions as the three artists prepared for their group exhibition featuring newly created artwork. As the title of the show indicates, The Collaborations builds on a concept which started over two years ago on the Lower East Side where Nick, Crash & Bio created a mural on Elizabeth street, […]

Studio Visits: Zio Ziegler

Only six years since his graduation with a BFA in painting from RISD and five years since debut solo show in LA, Zio Ziegler has established himself as an important figure in contemporary and urban art world. Whether through his murals around San Francisco,  Tokyo, Los Angeles, London or Milan, or through paintings shown in galleries and fairs worldwide, he’s been steadily paving his way with prodigious dedication and unmistakable intricately patterned visual language. We recently talked with him about what he is working on these days and what stage his artistic […]

Studio Visit: Remi Rough

We stopped by the studio of Remi Rough while he prepared for his upcoming solo show entitled Post at the Speerstra Gallery in Switzerland. Since his first gallery exhibition in 1989, the British artist has successfully transitioned from his early graffiti style to create his own abstract geometrical language, recognisable regardless of its form, whether  large scale murals or gallery works. Opening on the 12th of November, the exhibition will feature nineteen new works on paper and canvas. Remi Rough will redefine the idea of space and invite the viewer […]

Previews: Jeff Soto – “The Sotofish Society” @ Jonathan LeVine Gallery

Coming up next weekend, Jeff Soto (interviewed) will be returning to Jonathan LeVine Gallery for his fifth solo with the New York showspace. The new exhibition is kind of a nostalgic look back at the imagery that the Southern California-based artist has been sharing with his fans throughout his career – iconic characters like yetis, reapers, robots, walkers, and the Sotofish. Soto further states – “I always feel like an artist’s entire body of work should be fair game to use. My cast of characters and the worlds I create are The Sotofish Society.” […]

Studio Visits: Tomoo Gokita

Only few weeks before opening his second solo show with Mary Boone Gallery in New York, Tomoo Gokita gave us a peek inside his Tokyo studio. Among all the new artworks ready to be shipped to the US, we were able to enjoy this stimulating place and all the various bits from which the Japanese artist is getting his inspiration. Out Of Sight will be Gokita’s second show with the gallery since his 2014 show (covered). For this exhibition he prepared a whole new series of monochromatic paintings that evoke a fictional world of vintage starlets […]

Studios Visits: Mike Dargas @ Opera Gallery (London)

We recently visited the studio of painter Mike Dargas as he prepares for his upcoming solo show at Opera Gallery in London from 6 – 20 July (curated by Jean-David Malat). Born in 1983 in Cologne, he started drawing and making paintings with oil paint from a very young age. In his early twenties, the German artist built himself a solid reputation in the tattoo scene and won numerous prizes and awards. Drawing his inspiration from masters like Dali, Caravaggio and HR Giger, Dargas studied various techniques […]

Studio Visits: Greg Simkins – “Beyond Shadows” @ KP Projects // MKG & Launch LA

Leading up to his show opening tomorrow night at KP Projects // MKG, we had a chance to take a peek at Greg “Craola” Simkins (featured) prepping for the show in his studio. Entitled Beyond Shadows, the new solo will include detailed works focused on his surreal characters, some “drip script” pieces, and some new paintings of his favorite switchblade Stab E. Mack. The exhibition will take over the entire West Hollywood Gallery as well as upstairs area where Launch LA is located. Photo credit: Birdman Photos. Discuss Greg Simkins here.

Studio Visits: Michael Kagan – “Lights Out” @ Joshua Liner Gallery

On February 11th, the Joshua Liner Gallery in New York will open a solo exhibition by Michael Kagan. Entitled Lights Out, this new body of work by the Brooklyn-based painter focuses on man’s moments of triumph over nature’s limits. As the name of the exhibition indicates, the Kagan pushes the boundaries of his amped up compositions to include situations in which there are nearly no margin for errors. One mistake/miscalculations would mean a literal end to the participant’s life. Expanding on his awe inspiring first show with the gallery (covered), Kagan […]

Studio Visits: Brian Viveros – “Matador” @ Thinkspace Gallery

Coming up on Saturday night (November 7th), Brian Viveros will be presenting a comprehensive new body of work at Thinkspace Gallery in Los Angeles. Entitled Matador, the exhibition sees the Riverside-based artist further refine his imagery with more time-intensive detailing, drawing ideas from Spanish tradition to infuse his work with a consistency referenced by the title of the show. Along with accenting the imagery with fresh palette choices, Viveros has also embellish his femme fatales with a cross-pollination of different concepts and themes seen throughout his oeuvre. The solo from the American […]