Girls! Girls! Girls!

Humboldt Park's Mahalo Club will be presenting, Welcome to Pussytown: An All Girl Review. Opening this coming Saturday, this art show will feature a wide range of work by Chicago artists including, Carol Guerra, Katy O'Day, Anna Cerniglia, Alina Vongsamart, and more. Erin Rembert, aka Miss Squirrley Gee, curated this extravaganza and will also show new paintings. Fun will be had by all.

Welcome to Pussytown: An All Girl Review
7 to 11pm Saturday, June 27th, 2009
at the Mahalo Club
1517 N California, 3rd floor
Chicago, IL

Afrika Bambaataa in Chicago

, originally uploaded by chicago streets & trains.

Alternatives in Uptown will be hosting Peace Fire, a hip-hop event by Connect Force and Universal Zulu Nation. Alternatives is a really great youth center, which offers a computer lab as well as classes in art, dj'ing, break dancing, and circus arts.

Peace Fire will feature a breakdance battle as well as DJ's Mental, Dishwasha, and Ron-Ron.

Akbar, Jam One, and NYC's Afrika Bambaataa will perform.

Peace Fire at Alternatives
3 to 10 pm
Saturday June 20, 2009
Donation at the door
4730 N Sheridan Rd (2 blks east of the CTA Red Line Lawrence station)
Chicago, IL

Get Bent

get bent, originally uploaded by UNCLE FUN.

Chicago's Uncle Fun is hosting a free circuit bending workshop Sunday. Conducted by Michael Una, you'll learn how to take apart electronic toys and adjust their innards to have 'em do other things and sounds. Make that lazy ass Speak n' Spell of yours do something new!

Uncle Fun will also be hosting artist Aitor creating "unflattering portraits" on the spot in their window tomorrow Saturday. Also, Becky, of Sweetie Pie Press, will be in the store's window display on Sunday making buttons.



Get Bent at Uncle Fun
5:30 pm, Sunday, June 21, 2009
1338 W Belmont
Chicago, IL

Sam Flores is the Dragon Boy

Upper Playground recently announced pre-orders for this dope 3-piece Dragon Boy figure by artist Sam Flores. Limited to an edition of 500, the run is already sold out and they won't even be done for a few months. You can find clothing and more that Flores has done for Upper Playground here.

Rebel8 living The Fast Life

S.F.'s Rebel8, which features design work by Mike Giant, will have a special event at The Fast Life in L.A. tomorrow. Featuring clothing and art (most limited to an edition of 88) created just for the event. There'll be an installation by Mike Giant in the store and free tacos too!



Rebel8 at The Fast Life
Beginning at 2pm, Saturday June 20, 2009
3rd & Crescent Heights
Los Angeles, CA

Midwestern BLAB!

BLAB! is an annual compendium of art and comics showcasing work by both established and up and coming artists. Published by Fantagraphics Books, and created and edited by Chicago-based Monte Beauchamp, BLAB! has been instrumental in introducing their work to a larger audience.

Midwestern BLAB! is a show featuring paintings and illustrations by midwest artists Teresa James, Tom Huck, Don Colley, CJ Pyle, and Fred Stonehouse, all of whom have been published in previous issues of BLAB!. Co-curated by Beauchamp and Anchor Graphics, the exhibition opens tonight at Columbia College's A + D Gallery.

I took a quick tour of the show last night as they were setting up and liked what I saw, especially the series of bat paintings by Fred Stonehouse. I highly recommend it.

Midwestern BLAB!
Opening reception 5 to 8 pm, Thursday, June 18
The exhibit runs through July 22, 2009
Columbia College A + D Gallery
619 S Wabash Ave
Chicago, IL

Fred Stonehouse at Columbia College, Chicago

Fred Stonehouse will be speaking about his artwork at Columbia College tonight. I've enjoyed his paintings ever since I first saw them at Carl Hammer Gallery in the early 90's. Ranging from Catholic imagery to natural and supernatural fauna, his work looks like something forbidden you'd find hiding in the walls of an old church.

There's a recent interview with him on the Accidental Mysteries blog, along with several of his recent paintings.

Fred's lecture is in conjunction with the Midwestern BLAB! exhibition opening this week at Columbia College's A + D Gallery.

Fred Stonehouse talk
6:30 pm - Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Columbia College Chicago
623 S Wabash Ave
Room 203
Chicago, IL

Iris Chacon on David Letterman

Puerto Rican TV star Iris Chacon on an early episode of Late Night with David Letterman.
pt. 1


pt. 2


I think he could've played along a little better.

The Chacon-Soto Show

Edra Soto's current 12 x 12 show at the MCA explores her fascination with 70's Puerto Rican television star Iris Chacon and what she represented to women of the time. Chacon starred in her own variety show, which also included dance numbers with gorilla-costumed backup dancers.



Edra recreates some of the fun tropical glamour of the period with a stage set featuring bright shapes and a huge striped pineapple. The set has benches attached to the backstage area which face a wall of drawings of the "Chacon-Soto dancers". These are by a wide range of artists including Edra, Miguel Cortez, Paul Nudd, Lilli Carre, Harold Mendez, Maria Gaspar, Deb Sokolow, Paola Cabal, Adelheid Mers, Albert Stabler, and many more, creating a de facto mini-exhibition of interesting Chicago artists. Check out all the drawings here.



Edra will speak about her installation at 6:30 pm tonight at the MCA. Admission to the museum is free on Tuesdays. This show will be up through June 28th, 2009.

12 x 12 Artist Talk: Edra Soto
6:30 pm, Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
220 E Chicago Ave
Chicago, IL

Jottobots at Giant Robot

Artist and children's book illustrator J. Otto Seibold has a show opening tonight of new paintings featuring videogame-like characters engaged in combat.



In conjunction with the show, game developer Kyle Pulver of Attract Mode has made a 5-minute game based on Seibold's characters. Visitors will be able to play it during the opening. It seems like it'll be a fun show.

Jottobots by J. Otto Seibold
Opening reception Saturday, June 13
6:30 to 10:00 pm
Giant Robot 2 - GR2
2062 Sawtelle Blvd
Los Angeles, CA

The show will be up through July 8, 2009

Hell Comes to Chicago - Frank Kozik at Rotofugi

Printmaker, painter, and toy designer Frank Kozik will be in Chicago tonight. He'll have a show of new oil paintings titled, "Hell Comes to Chicago" opening at Rotofugi's newly expanded gallery. Frank will also be signing his toys and prints from 7 to 8:30 pm tonight.

Frank Kozik - Hell Comes to Chicago
Friday, June 12, 2009 7 to 10 pm (signing from 7 to 8:30 pm)
Rotofugi
1953 W Chicago Ave
Chicago, IL

The show runs through June 30, 2009.

Middle Ground

Lloyd Dobler Gallery will open "Middle Ground" tonight with work by Jerome Acks, Dan Gunn, Michael Hunter, and Andrea Myers. Lloyd Dobler is one of favorite apartment galleries in the city.

Middle Ground at Lloyd Dobler
Opening reception Friday, June 12th from 6 to 10 pm
1545 W Division, 2nd floor (across the street from the CTA Blue Line Division station)
Chicago, IL

The show runs through July 25, 2009.

My News is Bad News

Roots and Culture presents "My News is Bad News" tomorrow night, featuring print-based work by Ryan Duggan, Alex Valentine of Pilsen's No Coast, and Carrie Vinarsky. Ryan and Alex were part of the sorely missed People Projects space in Logan Square. People Projects wasn't in existence for that long but I really enjoyed the art shows they had up. This should be a great show.

My News is Bad News
Opening reception Saturday June 13 from 6 to 9 pm.
Roots and Culture
1034 N Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL

The show runs through July 4th, 2009.

The Buff Monster

L.A.'s Buff Monster is releasing a new print this morning. This 4-color silkscreen (black, white, fluorescent pink, metallic silver), is in a signed and numbered edition of 100.

I also like these Miao's he put out last month through Zakkamono.

It's not the heat, it's the humility

Michael Genovese, who transplanted from Chicago to Miami last year, will have a solo show opening at Miami's O.H.W.O.W. gallery tomorrow night. Michael's work ranges from outdoor street art, and large-scale text-based canvases, to engravings on aluminum and tricked out elotes carts.

Here are some images I shot of his previous work...







Michael Genovese
It's Not The Heat, It's The Humility
June 13 - July 25, 2009
at O.H.W.O.W.
3100 NW 7 Avenue
Miami, Florida

Double Trubble is in the House

Chicago's Trubble Club is at it again, unleashing issue #3 of their cartoon collaborations. Meeting up on Sundays, cartoonists Nate Beaty, Thorn Brandt, Al Burian, Lilli Carré, Ezra Claytan Daniels, Joshua Cotter, Anya Davidson, Jose Garibaldi, Lucy Knisley, Corinne Mucha, Rachel Niffennegger, Bernie McGovern, Onsmith, Laura Park, Aaron Renier, Grant Reynolds, Becca Taylor, Jeremy Tinder, Marco Torres and more take turns drawing panels on comic storylines.

Always taking a turn for the absurd, the comics are not only entertaining but showcase the individual talents that work to produce each story.





These 4 panels are by Grant Reynolds, Aaron Renier, Jeremy Tinder, and Nate Beaty.

Available now at Quimby's for only $3.00.

Quimby's Books
1854 W North Ave
Chicago, IL

Se Cambian Cheques

Chris Silva, currently living the jungle life in the wilds of Puerto Rico, has a couple new t-shirts available. I really like this one based on his Se Cambia Que? piece. It's available in several different colors here.

Chris Uphues at the MCA

Detail of painting by Chris Uphues, originally uploaded by fotoflow / Oscar Arriola.

Former Chicago artist Chris Uphues is in town from Brooklyn. He'll be at the MCA all day today, from 11 to 7, making art in front of your eyes. There might even be a a lil' vending machine so that you can feed him cookies or a salad or something.

This is part of the MCA's Works in Progress series held on the first Tuesday of each month where they feature an artist creating artwork on site. It's meant to give people an insight into how artists work and even give you a glimpse of a studio-like setting.

Chris had a nice 12 x 12 show at the MCA several years back. The photo above is a close-up of one of the larger paintings from that show. You can see the amount of work he put into the details.


Chris has also been putting up a great series of hearts with cartoon faces on the streets of Chicago and New York over the past few years. Those are always fun to find.

Chris Uphues
11am to 7pm
Tuesday June 2, 2009
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
220 E Chicago Ave