First of all are some photos from my solo show at Fredericks and Freiser in NYC. It was a lot of fun and there was a good turn out... Thank you to everyone who came out, it was nice to finally meet some of the people I've spoken to over the internet.
Here are a few images from the opening...
My friends Sean McCarthy and Shawn Cheng, who are great guys and two of my favourite artists:
Me trying to look deep into Jamiyla's eyes and creeping her out:
This is Maia, my best friend in NYC. In 2003 I went to NYC for the first time for a show and slept in a park because I only had enough money for the bus. We met at the show, and have kept in touch ever since... She's pretty much the nicest person ever, and a lot of fun to drink with. She is a really good artist, here is her blog: maiavalenzuela.blogspot.com
The afterparty was a lot of fun too. We got a lot of free pizza and drinks and a lot of people came out. I was a bit nervous at the opening, so we all just goofed off a lot at the party and acted like children... Example: Aaron trying to eat a slice of pizza without using his hands and entertaining the hell out of us:
Wait, this is better, here is a video of it, he gives up at the end though...
Andrew doing a creepy dance in the corner:
I always get a bit nervous before openings, and when I was getting dressed for this one, Yarek, Jamiyla, and Andrew kept saying: "Oh, you're not going to wear THAT are you?" They eventually made me so self conscious that I said: "Fine, what do you want me to wear?!" And they came up with this:
I sort of look like a wimpy art Terminator.
At the hostel we stayed at, every room is painted different. Aaron and Yarek shared a room, and it had this giant illuminated panel of people doing it that dominated most of the room... I thought it was a bit weird...
One of the coolest sign I've ever seen. The signpost is going through the sheep, and there is a little bit of blood dripping out...
Jams trying to look deep into my eyes:
At the last minute Jamiyla and I decided to stay an extra day so we switched our bus time... It turned out to be a big mistake. there was no heat on the bus, I had on long johns, winter boots, a hoodie, my wool winter coat, gloves, a scarf and a toque, an I was still freezing my ass off... The bus driver was really angry, he got into an argument with a girl on the bus and actually turned the bus around, drove back to the station, and had her arrested. I know that sounds like a lie, but it actually happened. An older guy stood up and asked why she was being arrested, and the police made him go with them too! If someones phone rang while on the bus, even if it was super quiet, he would come over the intercom and yell: "What part of turn off your phones don't you understand?!" What was more scary than thinking that this guy might stop the bus and kick your ass at any moment was realizing that he was clearly on the edge of some sort of breakdown, and that he was the one steering the bus we were all in. Anyway, it was way worse than I'm making it sound, it was the worst ever... So yeah, the trip was a lot of fun. The bus ride, not so much...
Here are a few images from the opening...
My friends Sean McCarthy and Shawn Cheng, who are great guys and two of my favourite artists:
Me trying to look deep into Jamiyla's eyes and creeping her out:
This is Maia, my best friend in NYC. In 2003 I went to NYC for the first time for a show and slept in a park because I only had enough money for the bus. We met at the show, and have kept in touch ever since... She's pretty much the nicest person ever, and a lot of fun to drink with. She is a really good artist, here is her blog: maiavalenzuela.blogspot.com
The afterparty was a lot of fun too. We got a lot of free pizza and drinks and a lot of people came out. I was a bit nervous at the opening, so we all just goofed off a lot at the party and acted like children... Example: Aaron trying to eat a slice of pizza without using his hands and entertaining the hell out of us:
Wait, this is better, here is a video of it, he gives up at the end though...Andrew doing a creepy dance in the corner:
I always get a bit nervous before openings, and when I was getting dressed for this one, Yarek, Jamiyla, and Andrew kept saying: "Oh, you're not going to wear THAT are you?" They eventually made me so self conscious that I said: "Fine, what do you want me to wear?!" And they came up with this:
I sort of look like a wimpy art Terminator.At the hostel we stayed at, every room is painted different. Aaron and Yarek shared a room, and it had this giant illuminated panel of people doing it that dominated most of the room... I thought it was a bit weird...
One of the coolest sign I've ever seen. The signpost is going through the sheep, and there is a little bit of blood dripping out...
Jams trying to look deep into my eyes:
At the last minute Jamiyla and I decided to stay an extra day so we switched our bus time... It turned out to be a big mistake. there was no heat on the bus, I had on long johns, winter boots, a hoodie, my wool winter coat, gloves, a scarf and a toque, an I was still freezing my ass off... The bus driver was really angry, he got into an argument with a girl on the bus and actually turned the bus around, drove back to the station, and had her arrested. I know that sounds like a lie, but it actually happened. An older guy stood up and asked why she was being arrested, and the police made him go with them too! If someones phone rang while on the bus, even if it was super quiet, he would come over the intercom and yell: "What part of turn off your phones don't you understand?!" What was more scary than thinking that this guy might stop the bus and kick your ass at any moment was realizing that he was clearly on the edge of some sort of breakdown, and that he was the one steering the bus we were all in. Anyway, it was way worse than I'm making it sound, it was the worst ever... So yeah, the trip was a lot of fun. The bus ride, not so much...
Here is a taxidermied frog that I bought from an antiques shop...
I've posted all of these before at separate times, but just to have them all in one place, here is all of the work I did for the show...
I've done a bit of new work since my solo show... it is for a drawing fair happening in Paris called Salon du Dessin Contemporain, here is the link:
http://www.salondudessincontemporain.com/
And here are a few of the pieces I've done. I'll be showing 10 in total:
The other big thing that happened recently is Jams and I took an apartment together, right beside my studio... Its pretty big and really close to work, so I love it. It's large enough for Jams to have a studio space in as well...
I'm currently rebuilding and soundproofing that long wall on the left, so the place is a complete disaster right now... It should be a pretty ok place to live after all of the construction is done... I'm not very good at building stuff or using tools, but I'm forcing myself to learn, and it's a lot of fun...
Jamiyla and I dog sat my sister's dog Archie for a little bit, when he lies down I think he looks like a dumpling with chicken wings sticking out the back...
He's really possessive. I think I remind him of my sister, because if he's around and I see a friend and give them a hug, he starts humping my leg to show them that I'm his... It's not a coincidence either, Jamiyla and I tested it out and it happens every time, it's pretty funny but it's a little embarrassing sometimes...
Ok, just a couple of more things... Andrew, Adrienne, Jamiyla, and I are all in the new issue of Free Drawings... You can pick up copies at a bunch of shops in Toronto, there are a lot of good drawings in it...
If you want to submit to the newspaper, you can send hi-res scans of your black and white drawings to Jesjit at freedrawingsnewspaper@gmail.com. Everyone who draws should submit, the more badass submissions, the better the newspaper.
Ok, just a couple of more things... Andrew, Adrienne, Jamiyla, and I are all in the new issue of Free Drawings... You can pick up copies at a bunch of shops in Toronto, there are a lot of good drawings in it...
If you want to submit to the newspaper, you can send hi-res scans of your black and white drawings to Jesjit at freedrawingsnewspaper@gmail.com. Everyone who draws should submit, the more badass submissions, the better the newspaper.
Also, I have work in a group show happening in the Bronx, curated by my friend Sean McCarthy. Below is the press release. The show has been up for awhile, but the reception is tomorrow.
Here is a link to the gallery's site, and here is the invite:
One last thing, I've posted the drawings I did for that RxArt colouring book on here... I just stumbled upon this on the internet, a young person named Erin coloured in my piece and it ended up on flickr... I think it's really cool!
Phew, I think that's about it for now... I know that was a lot of stuff, and some of it was a bit boring. I'm currently trying to get caught up with all of my emails, which isn't easy because I don't have much of a chance to get on someones computer lately... So again, I apologize if you have emailed me about something and I haven't replied to your email yet... I'm taking a bit of a break from the studio this month, I haven't taken a break in a few years, and I'm trying to distance myself a bit, so when I get back to serious studio work my next body of work should be a bit different than my current work.
Ok, thanks for reading all of this, have a nice day!
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