"Happy Food" and LA Adventures

I'm back from another jam packed trip to the West Coast and boy am I tired! Ed and I just love it out there and always have the best time. We started with a lovely morning at the LACMA. I was especially excited to see their special exhibition, Nature and the American Vision: The Hudson River School (no photos allowed, but it was amazing and so moving in person). We were also greeted by the genius "Urban Light" by Chris Burden:

And just around through the entrance was the amazing "Levitated Mass" by Michael Heizer. So powerful in person!

By the way, all these photos are by my husband, Ed Mironiuk. He has such a better eye for framing than I do :)

At this point in the trip, the clouds thickened and the wind picked up and it seemed like we were back in Jersey. Just as we were headed to the line of food trucks for some lunch the heavens opened up and we rushed to our car to have some delicious mexican food. It seems that it always rains when we go to the coast and boy, do they need every drop they can get!

We finished up at the museum and met up with friends at a coffee shop nearby. The rain tapered off at that point and the sun even came out. It turned into another beautiful day in Los Angeles.

Later on, we stopped by Gallery 1988 to see my show all hung. It's always such a thrill to see months of work filling up a room as I'm usually worried that it won't fill a closet. The great folks over there always do such a wonderful job, I can't thank them enough for all that they do.

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The morning of the show, we woke up to some more rain and wind. Not a problem! Ed and I wanted to venture out to the ocean, grabbing a sushi burrito from the Jogasaki food truck. We took it over to the beach and once again, the clouds parted and the sun came out. It turned into another perfect California day overlooking the Santa Monica Pier.

We jumped into our car and headed up the PCH, passing all the surfers and beautiful homes along the coast. Then a trip through Malibu Canyon, to head to the Hollywood Hills to try and find the iconic Chemosphere House. Built in 1960 by John Lautner it's an amazing structure.

Now, I must admit, I'm not a fan of driving through the hills. The twisting turns and tiny road (with two way traffic) makes my stomach turn. But the views and the homes more than make up for it! Our gps said that we had arrived at the address but alas, no Chemosphere. We drove a bit further to the end of the street and turned around to head back to the hotel. Then we looked up...

Success!! So gosh darn cool!

Back to the hotel to try and relax for an hour or so before dinner with friends at MudHen Tavern.

It was such a great meal of little tapas style plates. Definitely recommended if you're in the Melrose/Highland area of LA.

Dun dun dun!! The big opening. Jitters, sweating a bit and wondering if anyone would show up. From the moment we walked in around 7:30 till 10pm the gallery was just about full. I met so many wonderful people (a couple from Australia even!), old friends and new, I was overwhelmed by the kind words and smiles. I'm getting choked up a bit just thinking about it again. Thank you so very much. And darn it - we totally forgot/didn't even have a chance to take any photos! You can see the whole show online at Gallery 1988. We ended the evening at the iconic Pink's around the corner for a hot dog.

The next day we spent with one of our favorite people, walking around Los Angeles which we had never done before. We went to the Bradbury Building (think "Blade Runner"):

Past some really spectacular buildings like the Grand Central Square Apartments:

Look at the fascade! Never saw cow skulls with horns on a building before.

Had some lunch at the Grand Central Market which has been there since 1917! We even went to the Los Angeles Public Library and saw the most amazing lobby:

Surrounded by murals depicting the history of California it was truly breathtaking.

Whew! Back in the car and then off to the airport for our red eye to NJ.

I hope that you enjoyed my tale as much as we enjoyed experiencing it. Coming back home is lovely, but it doesn't beat the excitement and love of friends + art + architecture.

Thank you.

-Kris



Happy Food Solo at Gallery 1988

Happy Food is coming!

I am humbled and honored to once again be showing my work with Gallery 1988. When asked to do another solo with them, I had a couple ideas for themes, but kept coming back to happy food.

Mr. Good Morning Waffle along with 29 of his tasty friends will be on display from May 15th through June 6th at their East location. As with all their shows, there will not be an advance preview so if you can't make it to the opening, all remaining art (including limited edition prints) will go on sale the next day in their online shop. But since Ed and I will be flying out for the opening, we hope that we can see lots of you there!

What? You'd like another sneak peek? Here's "Salud":

I'll be showing a few more complete paintings over the next week, so stay tuned. ARe you still itching to buy some artwork now? Gallery 1988 is having a spring sale until May 17th on most inventory. Use the code 2015 for 15% off! I've got a handful of items that are eligible for the sale which you can peruse here.

Never Nudes and Puppy Dogs

Hey everybody!

I wanted to share my latest painting which is for Idiot Box 2 at Gallery 1988. The theme is everyone's favorite television show and I just couldn't help myself, I had to do an homage to Arrested Development. Now why I chose to do Tobias in his never-nude shorts, licking a frozen banana with nuts as a fuzzy blue monster, I can't readily say, other than it made me laugh.

I hope he brings a smile to your sweet faces as well!

"Mr. Gay" acrylic on maple, 8.5" x 8.5"

If you're interested in purchasing him, he's available over at Gallery 1988.

Now for the puppy dogs! I recently had the pleasure of showing my work at Baker+Hesseldenz Gallery in Tuscon, AZ for their spring group show. I painted two new "I'm Not Hungry" pieces (both originals sold), "Maple" and "Winslow".

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           I was thrilled that "Maple" was even shown in an article about the show in American Art Collector Magazine alongside some amazing artists like Van Arno, Fabio D'Aroma and Fay Helfer.

If you're interested in these two little pups, I have prints as well as mounted prints in my shop and just because you guys are so special to me (seriously), use the code SPECIAL and get 10% off everything you buy until May 10th. Visit shop.cuddlyrigormortis.com and have fun!

Three Shows = New Originals

First up, is the long awaited Joss Whedon x Gallery 1988 show which opens next Friday at their West location. They're really keeping the lid on everyone's pieces but if you look closely you might see a bit of my piece below. Since I'll be in town for my solo, I'll get to attend this show as well! Be sure to say hi :)

Opening the next night in San Francisco is Spoke Art's KUBRICK: an art show tribute. I just love "The Shining" (sorry Mr. King) and came up with "I'm Not Gonna Hurt Ya" acrylic on maple, 11" x 11" x .75". To inquire about this piece or to be put on the advance collectors preview list, simply email spokeartgallery(at)gmail

Also opening Saturday, September 6th at 7pm is Happy As Kings, my solo exhibition at Gallery Nucleus. Scott C is showing the work from his latest children's book Hug Machine in the main gallery and there will be lots of fun things to do, including giveaways throughout the night. And pizza! And ice cream! So bring the little ones and spend the evening looking at art that makes you smile. If you can't make it to the opening (or if you want a shot at buying my artwork before anyone else make sure to sign up for the advance online preview here)."King Pepi"

"King Klondike"

Ghostbusters 30th Anniversary

Tonight's the night! Opening in NYC for the first of a 4 city tour is the official Ghostbusters 30th Anniversary Art Show presented by Gallery 1988.

Ghostbusters! I couldn't get the dvd in my computer fast enough (for work purposes, of course) to watch it again and again. Classic. But how to commemorate such a classic movie? I was always partial to the demon dogs, Rick Moranis' character, Louis and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. I decided to start there and after playing around with some compositions this image just popped in my head. Clean, simple and it just made me laugh every time I looked at it.

"There's Something You Don't See Everyday"
7" x 10.5" x .75" Acrylic on maple
4 city tour:
Chicago: June 20 - 22
San Diego: Comic-Con

I also made 50 limited edition prints (signed and numbered) that will only be available for purchase at the actual shows. This is true for all the artwork, except a small selection of prints. Meaning, if you want something from this show, you might want to mark your calendars and get to one of the above locations!

Dooooodddyyyy!!!!

Ten years ago Katie Cromwell and Jensen Karp opened Gallery 1988 on Melrose Ave in Los Angeles. Tomorrow they celebrate the gallery's anniversary by throwing one heck of a show. It's called "The Subtle Art of Pop-Culture" and the line up for this one is truly amazing. I'm honored to have made the cut and was challenged to create a pop culture piece on the...well, subtle side. Something that would take people a second to figure out.

Picture a country club with lots of beautiful people swimming serenely in the pool. Sipping drinks and sunning themselves.

Add a healthy dose of rowdy caddies and one candy bar.

Ring a bell?

I present, "Doody". Enjoy and congratulations to Katie and Jensen for creating Gallery 1988.

Snow Golem and Fire Wolf Pup

Coming up this Thursday is the opening of the Adventure Time group art show presented by Gallery 1988, Cartoon Network and Rook. The show will only be at their West location for 4 days! So RSVP is required for the opening - just email RSVPgallery1988@gmail.com

I decided to do a piece based off one of my favorite episodes, "Thank You". It's a sweet story of the Snow Golem and a lost Fire Wolf Pup and their unorthodox friendship. I call it

"Wooooo" 10" x 13" x .75" acrylic on maple

Besides the original there will be a small edition of prints available for a limited amount of time. This means, grab them while you can or they're gone forever! 

If you can't make the opening all remaining artwork will be posted online Friday at nineteeneightyeight.com

Enjoy!

 

 

Who wants a Lemur?

My show, I'm Not Hungry, at Gallery 1988 (East) comes to an end tomorrow. I painted my heart out for months and there are 30 originals hanging on those walls.

29 of those originals have sold. I'm flabbergasted, speechless. I couldn't have predicted this outcome in a million years. So much love for everyone who came out and bought one to support me. I hope they bring you smiles for years to come!

But hey...what about that last one? That Black and White Ruffed Lemur with his favorite fruit dancing on his head?

It's "Lee"!

He was one of the most fun to paint (love that fur!) and I'm sure he'll find a good home. You can see all the pieces from my show, purchase prints and maybe even good ol' "Lee" over at Gallery 1988.

Thanks everyone!