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May 14, 2008
Nathan Jurevicius - Reformation
Nathan Jurevicius's Reformation solo opens tomorrow (5.15) @ Magic Pony in Toronto from 7 to 10 PM. His first solo in four years explores issues of spirituality and religion through the lens of Lithuanian folktales from his childhood. This new work presents the journey of his well-known Scary Girl character as she encounters organized religion and deals with the related existential questions. Reformation features Nathan's ink and watercolor drawings, a sculptural installation, and a new print. Additionally, he's produced a limited-edition of his Peleda owl figures (3") cast in bronze. These exquisite pieces are exclusive to Magic Pony and are available for $400 each.
MAGIC PONY : Concept Shop & Gallery
694 Queen Street West
Toronto, ON M6J 1E7
416.861.1684
Vinyl in Israel: Urbanix
Urbanix, the first designer toy store in Israel, offers 130 sqm dedicated to designer vinyl and urban lifestyle products as well as a gallery space. The store will celebrate their opening with their first exhibition, The wall: Know Hope, Klone & Zero Cents, with a reception on June 7th, 2008. The show will feature art from three well-known Israelli urban artists who have worked together over the last five years to bring their visions to life on and around Tel Aviv. Each artist has a signature style and set of imagery. Know Hope's signature character is a knight, with a heart shaped hole in his chest. Klone is known for his colorful fantastic images of heroes and anti-heroes. Zero Cents uses images of Christian iconography, combined with enigmatic texts written backwards, based on phrases from the bible. The show runs through July 17th.
Props to Urbanix for bringing designer vinyl to Israel. The market for 'new art' on vinyl toys and other forms continues to grow with new spots opening to suppy hungry collectors with their fix. If you're opening the first vinyl store in a region, city, or area -- drop us a line" info[at]vinylpulse[dot]com.
Urbanix Gallery
45 Sheinkin St.
Tel-Aviv, Israel
Tel: 972-3-5250601
Continue reading "Vinyl in Israel: Urbanix "
Brian Morris's Sqwert Up Close
Last week we reported on two new Sqwerts from Jamungo -- MAD's Slimeball and a chilling shrouded skull design from Brian Morris better known to toy fans as ooo000ooo. These will be dropping any day now so we thought you might like a close-up look at 'em. Today we're focusing on Brian's design available in both a black/white (500 pcs) and a black/gold (250 pcs) for $25 each.
First off -- Jamungo's pulled off Brian's intricate design. The printing is tight and the piece looks just like you expect it should. Thee mood of the piece is somber which matches Brian's art. While it may not have been clear from the original product shots, this is a skull covered in a shroud. This figure excels because it's a faithful translation of his art and because it takes the path less traveled in designer toys -- darkness.
The window box's two side panels feature art revealing the concept... One reads "From the First Breath One thing is Always Certain" and the other features a stylized side profile of the shrouded skull design with the caption 'The Certain'. Great stuff -- definitely a box to keep (though who would dare trash their toy boxes ?!?!). While we're on the subject... there's something strangely pleasurable about the rectangular flip-top Sqwert boxes. Maybe it just reminds me of an ammo container (hey, no analyzing the toy blogger!).
Finally, I really appreciate artists going the extra mile on their toys. It's what separates these toys as an extension of their art from regular mainstream figures and projects. In this case Brian's placed a skull bat on the bottom-side of his sqwert with his signature ooo000ooo across the forehead. Most people who see this toy on your shelf will never wonder if there's something on the under side. But you'll know and that's just rad. Reasonable price, low run, killer artist -- easy decision. Click through for more pics.
Continue reading "Brian Morris's Sqwert Up Close"
Taipei Toy Festival '08 (7.10 - 7.13)
Taipei Toy Festival is THE show in Asia for designer vinyl. While the official announcement for this year's show has been a little slow in coming -- it's now out. TTF '08 will go down on July 10th through the 13th at the MIRA department store. The theme for this years show, the fifth so far, is Toympics. Each year a different artist creates the branding imagery for the show -- for '08 it's Winson Ma.
We're excited... Vinyl Pulse has been to TTF for the past two years and it's alot of fun. Judging from last year's show, the hunger for vinyl in Taiwan is growing quite quickly. And it's not just guys -- at least half of last year's attendees were women (or so it seemed). Finally... wanna know what sells like hot cakes over there? Blank minis for artists to sign. They fly out of the booths.
