The CALIFORNIA LOCOS art show

Two Spectacular Events – West Coast and East Coast

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VENICE BEACH, CA
JUNE 25-JULY 2, 2016 Venice Beach, CA
JUICE MAGAZINE, 319 Ocean Front Walk, Venice, CA 90291
The ROSE ROOM, 6 Rose Ave, Venice, CA 90291
Opening reception: Both locations, Saturday, June 25, 2016, 7pm

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA
AUGUST 13-20, 2016 Virginia Beach, VA.  STUDIO 17, 536 Virginia Beach Blvd, Virginia Beach, VA 23451.   Opening reception: Saturday, August 13, 2016, 7pm.   RSVP: ari@californialocos.com

For more info:  www.californialocos.com

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#CaliforniaLocos  #ChazBojorquez #GaryWong #DaveTourje #NortonWisdom #JohnVanHamersveld.  Photo Credit: #AllisonStewart

CALIFORNIA LOCOS:

Chaz Bojórquez, known as the “godfather of graffiti art”, is considered one of the first artists who successfully made the transition from street to gallery, and is credited with bringing the West Coast style of graffiti into prominence, evolving it from a Northeast L.A. gang-oriented form, into an extremely fluid calligraphic style of international importance. His iconic street image, a stylized skull called “Senor Suerte” (Mr. Luck), has become a seminal icon in graffiti art, becoming known as the first stencil tag- a full 20 years before Banksy made the stencil his iconic form. Bojórquez’s paintings are in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian, Laguna Museum of Art, M.O.C.A. and L.A.C.M.A. and many more. Bojórquez, a Chouinard alum, was prominently featured in the renowned Art in the Streets exhibit at MOCA in 2011, as well as numerous international exhibitions and is known as a primary influence on many contemporary graffiti artists such as Retna, Banksy and Shepard Fairey.

Dave Tourjé was born and raised in the culturally eclectic Northeast L.A. of the 1970s and his upbringing amongst the skaters, gangs, and the area’s tribal friction plays heavily in his work – his presence as an original vertical skater showing through in the attitude and energy of his iconography. Also a musician, Tourjé was involved in the important L.A. Punk and Post Punk scene of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. As a member of the influential band the Dissidents, he played shows with Camper Van Beethoven, Saccharine Trust and The Minutemen as well as many others. Tourjé’s complex, mainly large-scale reverse-paintings on acrylic glass, oscillate between high and low, punk and institutional hegemony and combine elements through many disciplines, having also attended Art Center and UCSB’s College of Creative Studies during the late ‘70s. He was the subject of a one-man exhibition covering 15 years of his paintings at the Riverside Art Museum in 2002. His work has been featured at the Oceanside Museum of Art, the Orange County Museum of Art, and Laguna Art Museum, as well as numerous galleries since 1985.

John Van Hamersveld, John Van Hamersveld is an American graphic artist and illustrator. He created “The Endless Summer” poster in 1966, and designed record jackets for pop and psychedelic bands, since the 1960s. Albums include Hotter Than Hell by Kiss, Magical Mystery Tour by The Beatles,Crown of Creation by Jefferson Airplane and Exile on Main Street by The Rolling Stones. He created the 1984 LA Olympics poster and 360 foot mural, the identity for Jimmy’Z surf brand, and the brand identity of Fatburger. Van Hamersveld’s work is in the collections of the LACMA, MoMA, Cooper Hewitt, and Smithsonian museums. His psychedelic renderings, whether for posters or albums, are widely regarded as some of the best of the form. Yet, what the public may be surprised to discover is just how dynamic the rest of his work is; his output as a draftsman, designer and photographer continues to be impressive and compelling.

Norton Wisdom has been collaborating with musical ensembles for live art painting performances since 1979. His collaborations with renowned artists include The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nels Cline (Wilco), Bernard Fowler (Rolling Stones), Ivan Neville, Stephen Perkins (Jane’s Addiction), Llyn Foulkes, National Bamboo Orchestra of Bali, the Disney Hall with Christoph Bull, and the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. His live painting performances have touched off a growing international movement of the same type, which he has been forwarding since the ‘70s, and he is known as a prime mover in this growing genre. His formal studio painting practice includes a meditative dialogue with trapezoidal shapes and gestural elements, which he returns to as a formal and continuous response in his evolution as a renowned third generation abstract painter. His early influences at Chouinard included John Altoon and Emerson Woelffer.

Gary Wong studied under Emerson Woelffer and Matsumi Kanemitsu at Chouinard and was a vital part of the shifting dialogue integral to the formation of West Coast postmodernism as well as surf/skate/rock culture as we know it today, being part of the legendary underground collective the Jook Savages with Rick Griffin, as well as tight associations with the likes of Boyd Elder (Eagles), Ivan Hosoi (Hosoi Skates) and Jim Ganzer (Jimmy Z). His visual language is a sophisticated collage-based paint/draw process that often uses photography, and reflects his involvement in music as well as wider social and political concerns. His process combines his formal approach as well as a folk-like primal style. Known in the L.A. Blues scene as “Charlie Chan”, he is a legendary presence as a well-known bandleader, gigging regularly throughout L.A. Close friends and associates have included artists as diverse as Al Ruppersberg, Doug Wheeler and Terry Allen.

EVENT PARTNERS:

Dusters California – Dusters’ roots lie in the cradle of surf & skate culture in the golden haze of California. Bred from the same spirit that was born in the 60’s and 70’s when skateboarding, surfing, and music defined themselves against establishment. Dusters California is built by a team that understands, in and out, the functionality of these boards with more than 25 years of experience in the industry. Dusters has learned the importance of the fit and finishes of a skateboard and you can see that by analyzing every single detail on Dusters boards. Dusters California – originating from the heart and soul of skateboarding. For more information, visit dusterscalifornia.com

Juice Magazine – Since 1993, Juice Magazine has been dedicated to the core of skateboarding, surfing and punk rock with a focus on in-depth interviews by the icons of skate, surf and punk rock culture. The Juice Magazine crew includes a line-up of surf and skate legends, and the honest approach of their stories and photos make Juice Magazine more than just a magazine. Juice Magazine is committed to giving credit to the true pioneers and innovators of skateboarding, surfing and music and keeping it punk. For more information, visit juicemagazine.com

California Locos 2016 – California Locos 2016 is a multi-media exhibition of art, skate, music and film that brings together the work of five of the most compelling visual artists working in Los Angeles today. Chaz Bojórquez, Dave Tourjé, John Van Hamersveld, Norton Wisdom and Gary Wong, together and separately, embody the innovative, lively and rebellious spirit of Los Angeles. As diverse as the city itself, the methods and materials these reputed West Coast artists use vary widely, from Wisdom’s loose and spontaneous abstractions and performance painting to Van Hamersveld’s deliberate, psychedelic graphics, and from Wong’s sophisticated paint/draw paintings to Tourjé’s reverse-painted diatribes and Bojórquez’s painterly street graffiti.

Their works speak to broader, more universal human experiences, resulting in both a local and global resonance – a connection to both L.A’s high-art sensibilities and the origins of rebellion.

For more information, visit californialocos.com