I wish I could be there for this. Our good friend and artist, Gina Osterloh is presenting new work at thirtyninehotel in Honolulu, Hawaii, titled Los Angeles, California to Manila, Philippines : You Are My Blindspot (Part 1). Hawaii (situated between California and Philippines) is the first stop of this exhibition. Components of the show, which include photographs and a light installation, will then travel to exhibitions in Manila, Philippines and Los Angeles, California.

For those in Honolulu, Gina is giving an artist talk on Thursday, with the solo exhibition opening on Friday at thirtyninehotel. This is thirtyninehotel’s fourth installment of the artist residency program where they invite artists from outside of Hawaii to create art installations that consider and respond to the mixed-use aspects of the site as a gallery, bar, lounge, and event space.

thirtyninehotel
39 N. Hotel Street
Honolulu, Hawaii
Artist talk: Thursday, September 2, 6-8 pm
Opening reception: Friday, September 3, 5-9 pm
Exhibition dates: September 3, 2010 – November 27, 2010

See some of my favorites and more of Gina Osterloh’s work at GinaOsterloh.com

Mark your calendar. Our good friends at Origami Vinyl and a long time Poketo collaborator, Ashkahn are teaming up for a killer art show on Thursday, August 5th. Ash is killer and you’ll love his new work he’ll be exhibiting. Some goodies to preview below. He has also invited the bands Healamonster & Tarsier and D/Wolves to perform! Mark it for next Thursday, we’ll be there.

Ships With Lights from Healamonster & Tarsier on Vimeo.

The End Has No End
Origami Vinyl with Ashkahn
1816 West Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90026

Poketo is a lot of fun and games… when you think about it, our hardworking crew have a pretty fun job. How often can you say that your job entails cutting letters out of cardboard in to 3-D shapes and painting them bright colors? And then continue to brag by saying that we are taking a caravan road trip down to San Diego Comic Con, build a little booth with these letters and hang out with crazy fanatics. It’s all good.

Come say hi, we’ll be at booth #4634. Another year of crazy fans. Love it.

The Los Desperados x Bat Skates show at Hurley this weekend was insane. My brother Tom Vadakan curated the show and was all smiles witnessing the immense turnout. Over 700 people showed up to support the phenomenal art, bands, and food that kicked of the event. It was cool to see Southern California surf/skate culture continue to thrive at a show like this.

Visiting the Hurley HQ was a treat as well… their campus is pretty amazing, a 3 or 4 different building that were strictly designated as design, showroom, finance, and even an indoor skatepark! Damn. I couldn’t help but imagine a Poketo campus…. it would be art gallery, cafe, restaurant, work studio, film lab, an everything design lab, artist residency, concert and karaoke space…. one day my friends, one day.

Super stoked on this. My brother Tom Vadakan of Los Desperados Art Banditos (for short, Los Desperados) and Bat Skates is curating a show at Hurley Headquarters on July 10th. The show titled, “Transition” will include mix of artists with a deep connection to surf, skate, and old school punk rock culture. Los Desperados teamed up with Bat Skates and Hurley to have a killer show of hand painted skate decks, live music, and Hurley will be opening up their skate park, free to the public. Below is a killer video of some of the artists, art, and vibe from the show. We’ll be there, if you are in the area, don’t miss this.

Transition from roberto e lepe on Vimeo.

Los Desperados x Bat Skates presents “Transition”
July 10th, 2010, 6pm-10pm
Hurley HQ
1945 Placentia Ave.
Costa Mesa, CA 92627

This is going to be amazing! Tim Biskup and daughter, Tigerlily are having an art show at Portland’s famed, Grass Hut Gallery tonight, July 1st. We were over at Tim’s home and were super stoked by an impromptu preview of the drawings from Tigerlily. Her drawings are smart, funny, and really, really good. Her captions on the drawings are some of the best, a comic book in the making? Luckily, we are in Portland for this rad father/daughter event. If you are in Portland, see you tonight! Details below.

Grass Hut presents Tim Biskup and Tigerlily
July 1, 2010, 6-9pm
20 NW 5th Ave. #101
Portland, OR 97209

I first met Eric Trine while working on the “Los Angeles, I’m Yours” art market last month. First introduced as a space/experience designer, he was going to be THE ONE that was going to pull off the crazy vision for the show. Crates, tents, trucks, dj booth, and art in unpredictable places… the more and more Bobby (of Kitsune Noir) and I wanted and dreamed of, the more he calmly and confidently said, “yes, that’s possible”. Give him vision and free reign, Eric can make and do just about anything…. and he does it with his unique style. As I got to know him more, I found that Eric is not only a designer, but an artist, dj, husband, and a really, really down to earth guy. Meet Eric Trine.

Artist, dj, and Designer. In what order is Eric Trine today? What is your favorite?

Right now, I’d say Designer. Though wedding season is upon us, so I’m doing a hefty amount of dj’ing over the next couple of months. With regards to art and design – I see art as creating problems, and I see design as problem solving. I’m definitely more interested in problem solving these days. Even with my artwork, I see ways in which I sabotage a piece in order to resolve it again. I think that’s also why I love working with found materials – the objects already exist and I try to find a way to make them work together.

You were integral in making “Los Angeles, I’m Yours” art show have the look and feel of an eclectic art market with all of the crates, tents, and random objects. Tell us a little about your studio in Long Beach, how do you have so much stuff, do you have the tools to create just about anything? What are you favorite tools and why?

Working on the LA I’m yours show was a dream! For the most part, I just transported a good percentage of the stuff in my studio into the gallery. I collect a lot of stuff. I find a lot of stuff on the street, but I also spend a lot of time at thrift stores, antique malls, and the flea markets. I have a lot of tools, but there are some bigger ones that I really want, and I’m saving up for. My favorite tool right now is my 4 1/2 inch Angle Grinder. I usually have it fitted with a 36 grit sanding disc, and I can do some serious sanding damage with that tool. It’s so fast! I also just got a chainsaw which I’m really excited to start experimenting with.

Just as I imagined, you have life threatening tools! I imagine your studio to be machines, art, raw materials, computers, etc. What is the first thing you do when you step into the studio?

No computers in my studio. Everything in there is usually covered in about fair amount of saw dust, so I try to keep the delicate equipment out of there. When I’m in the studio myself I don’t even listen to music because I always have protective earplugs on, I wouldn’t even be able to hear the music. The first thing I do in the studio is clean and move stuff around. I’m fairly strategic when I’m in work mode, so I’ll take time to set up all my tools in a way that makes my work flow as efficient as possible. I don’t really have the luxury of just working on one clean project at a time. I’m constantly juggling the various projects I have going, making sure I’m not creating a bunch of sawdust just after painting another piece.

You create furniture, displays, etc for boutique and large scale commercial projects. Tell me about some of your favorites and why.

I really love working on retail and commercial fixtures and displays. I guess it fits in with my problem solving mindset – give me a budget, a deadline, and a vibe, and I’ll turn the space into something amazing. For the most part, I’ve worked with some really great clients who have given me a lot of creative freedom. When I have that level of trust with a client I always do my best work, and I end up making a new friend too! Recently, I worked on a project called Market Hall in the city of Hercules in the Bay area. I was hired to make some giant lamp shades to hang in an outdoor barn structure.

You have a strong belief in community, collaboration, and creating shared experiences. How do those beliefs inhabit your art and design? Is the art you make for you or do you think about your audience?

Gosh, I’m not sure if those beliefs manifest directly through the work I produce inasmuch as they do through the culture I promote around the work. Simply put, I really like making stuff, and I’ve noticed that I’m just in a better mood when I get to do that. I’ve also become increasingly more comfortable with just making work that I like. Not having to fit my work into a specific genre, or construct an intellectual artist statement, has given me the space I need to just create. I already think way too much, I can’t shut my mind down – Making stuff is a form of rest for me; my mind can’t wander if I’m attentive to the task at hand.

As for community, I feel like art should function fundamentally on a principle of inclusivity. Art is for everyone. Collaboration is important because it confronts my ideas of what I think looks best. It keeps me humble; reminding me that the relationship with my collaborator is in fact more important than the work itself. When we create space for others in the process of making art, we invite the viewer to be part of that creative space too, as they interact and interpret the work. I have much more to say on that, but I’ll save it for another post…

When you are not working on projects, where can we find you? What is your love outside of the studio?

You can find me with my wife, Heather, in or around our home in Long Beach. We love finding new things for our house and backyard, and we love entertaining. All of our friends live within a few blocks of us, and we feel quite fortunate to live in such a great community of artists and musicians. On any given night there is some sort of event, either in someone’s home or studio – ranging from film screenings to paint a self portrait night! It’s really great. Speaking of studio party’s, I’m having an open studio party on Friday, June 4th at 8pm. Come see for yourself!

Look forward to it Eric, it’s been a pleasure.
More on Eric Trine, his art, design, and philosophical blogging at etrine.com

You can meet Eric as he’ll be opening up his studio that he has named, Bingo Foxtrot, in Long Beach this Friday, June 4th, 8p. 2370 Walnut Ave., Signal Hill, CA.

Many of you asked for it and here they are. We just put up some of our favorite pieces from the “Los Angeles, I’m Yours” show online for sale.

The official “Los Angeles, I’m Yours” shirts in women’s and unisex styles.

Beautiful hand-painted and acid etched vintage glass vases by Chris Bettig

Jason Schwartzman’s Coconut Records Tote with limited edition 7″ white vinyl

Last but not least, Tim Biskup’s hand-painted vintage lamps.