Gallery 1988 LA was buzzing during last night’s (4.1) opening of Toys! The show celebrates childhood playthings before we all became addicted to video games. It’s really two-in-one, paintings featuring toys from our past and a custom show featuring Hot Wheels vans celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Hot Wheels.
In case you somehow got lost or just didn’t know where 1988 was… the gleaming metallic blue Hot Wheels car from the future parked in front was a definite clue. Inside, the simulated orange race car tracks on the walls brought back memories — though the idea of racing and loops always seemed cooler than the actual action.
Since this is a toy blog, let’s talk about the customized Hot Wheels Vans first. Lots of highlights here including the Purple old school Roller Skates van from Ken Keirns, Mark Bodnar’s Ice Pop van, The Chung!’s light-up ribbed Vibrator Vans, and Motorbot’s sleek green insectisoid.
As far as paintings, there was some really nice work spread throughout the gallery’s walls. The two by Erik Alos in particular including the Gumby one above were very cool. Great work. Casey Wheldon’s two muted yet dramatic pieces caught my eye precisely because they were subtle (is that a contradiction?). Quite a few nice paintings, check our photo gallery for more.
Rather than shoot everything, I focused on the pieces that caught my eye. For full info on the show check out the official show blog. Click through for plenty of art work.
The crowd varied throughout the night, but it was definitely a popular
show. Not completely insane (which is good if you like to stare at
pieces for awhile). Toys! runs through April 25th — go check it out.
Gallery 1988
7020 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90038
323.937.7088
