Summer is a time of relaxation and long, lazy days on the beach or floating in the pool. Unless you happen to be me, in which case summer seems to be the busiest time of the year. My work is in a record three gallery shows this August. That’s 2 more shows than I was in all last year.

1. For the first time since coming to Japan, my work will show in a gallery, and I will be there for the opening reception!

If you’re in Tokyo, I hope you can stop by to say HI! and take a look at some of my newest cut paper work. There are six other Japanese and American artists in the show, and I can’t wait to see the amazing work everyone has done. Here are the details:

Name: 「SPACE ＆ NATURE」(believe me, the name sounds much cooler in Japanese)
Place: Gallery kópis 
(near Kiyosumi-shirakawa station, Tokyo)
ph. 03-5639-2381
1-2-12 1F Shirakawa, Koto-ku, Tokyo 135-0021
Opening Reception: Saturday, August 30th from 6pm
Dates: August 30 - September 6, 2008 (Gallery closed on Tuesday, the 2nd)
Time: 11am to 7pm (from 1pm on the 8th, until 5pm on the 14th)
I will be there for the opening reception and all day Sunday the 31st (probably). I will likely be there at least one more day during the week, but I don’t know when just yet.
Gallery kopis site

some more info on my blog

2. “Paper Pushers”, an annual group show with all works on paper, is open until September 6, 2008 at Gallery 1988 San Francisco. Nearly 40 talented artists have produced 200 pieces of amazing and affordable art on paper for the show. A number of my pieces have already sold, so if you’re interested, get in touch with the gallery quick as you can.

You can read about the show here

See the online preview here

Thank you,
Patrick

みなさん、こんにちは！
 
夏と言えば、海辺やプールで長い１日を優雅に過ごす人が多いのでないでしょうか？私にとってはこの夏は例外だったようで、今年で一番忙しい季節になってしまいました。８月１ヶ月だけで３ヶ所のギャラリーにて（新記録！）出展することになり、この時点で既に昨年１年の展示記録を２件も上回りました。

「宇宙と自然展」（日本では初めてのギャラリー展示！）
外国人と日本人のアーティスト７名によるグループ・ショーです。展示期間中に東京にいらっしゃったらぜひお立ち寄り頂き、私の最新作品をご覧ください！私自身、その他６名の素晴らしいアーティストの作品を鑑賞できることを楽しみにしています。

テーマ：宇宙と自然展
場所：ギャラリー「コピス」　清澄白河駅から徒歩３分
期間：２００８年８月３０日（土）−９月６日（土）＊９月２日火曜日は定休日
時間：午前１１時　−　午後７時（初日は午後１時から開館、最終日は午後５時で閉館）
オープニング・パーティ：８月３０日（土）午後６時から　＊簡単なスナックと飲み物があります。
ギャラリーのウェブサイト

私のブログでも紹介しています（英語）

私は初日のオープニング・パーティと翌日８月３１日の日曜日（終日）ギャラリーにいます（翌週平日も１日もギャラリーにいると思います）。小規模なショーですが、お近くに来られる機会があれば（なくても）ぜひお立ち寄りください！
2.  「Paper Pushers（ペーパー・プッシャーズ）」
毎年開催される「紙」を基本とする作品のグループ・ショーです。サンフランシスコにある「Gallery 1988」にて２００８年９月6日まで展示中です。４０名の才能あふれるアーティストが本展示のために約２００点の作品を創出しました。私も作品を多数出展し、お陰様で既に数点お買い上げ頂きました。展示作品の中でご興味のある作品がありましたら、ギャラリーまでご連絡ください。

ブログにて本展示の紹介をしています

出展作品はこちらのURLからオンラインでご覧頂けます

Today…today is historic. Epoch-making. The universe quakes in antici…pation.

For the first time since coming to Japan, my work will show at a gallery, and I WILL BE THERE.

At the opening reception, you can chat with me and I will regale you with tales of paper and cutting. And maybe, if you’re really lucky, of my childhood on a farm. And, since I’ve been a bit of a teetotaler lately (not by intent, I assure you), you might get to see me bump into a wall or say something mind-numbingly inappropriate! Oh, the excitement!

Here are the details:

Name: 「SPACE ＆ NATURE」(believe me, the name sounds much cooler in Japanese)

Place: Kópis Gallery (http://www.g-kopis.com/)
near Kiyosumi-shirakawa station, Tokyo baby!
ph. 03-5639-2381
1-2-12 1F Shirakawa, Koto-ku, Tokyo 135-0021

Opening Reception: Saturday, August 30th from 6pm

Dates: August 30 - September 6, 2008 (Gallery closed on Tuesday, the 2nd)
Time: 11am to 7pm (from 1pm on the 8th, until 5pm on the 14th)

I will be there for the opening reception and all day Sunday the 31st (probably). I will likely be there at least one more day during the week, but I don’t know when just yet.

Here’s a link to the gallery (all in Japanese!)

And here’s a map (also in Japanese).

English directions from Kiyosumi-Shirakawa station: Just use exit A3, when you finish climbing the stairs take a left and then an another immediate left. When you hit the road, go right and the Kopis Gallery will be on the next corner. It’s like, a 3-minute walk.

Now, I have to get back to cutting paper, or the walls will be very blank. Space indeed.

They exist detached from society; a shadow people slipping silently through the darkness, nothing more than a fury glimpsed out the corner of the eye.

But in their quiet moments, their silent vigils, they blend into their surroundings, becoming more a part of their world than we could ever hope to be.

“A Black Moon Rises” is Japanese washi paper mounted on a shikishi calligraphy board. The gold of the moon is even shinier, and somehow more subtle in person (it seems like there’s a super-thin layer of paper on top of the foil…a really interesting, soft effect). To fit the theme, the frame is a traditional Japanese cloth frame, also in gold. You can see the framed image at the bottom of this post.

This piece was made for Gallery 1988 SF’s Paper Pushers group show. And what a magnificent show it is. I can’t even begin to say how impressed I am by the vast range of talent and imagination on display. I’m also thrilled that I’ve managed to sell a couple pieces on opening night. Here’s hoping the rest of the run continues this success.

The other pieces in the show are: Fierce Nekomata and the Skull of Goemon, We All Laugh Together, Now I Got Worry (StressMonkey), Flung Wide Open to the Snarl, Down On the Bottom Again, I Will Stitch Myself a New Fur Coat, Night Whistling, That Which is Always Missing, and And the Moon Was Held Prisoner in His Chest.

You can see the entire show online here. If you have the chance to see the work in person, you definitely should jump at it. Art is always so much more impressive in person.

Speaking of impressive, these are some of my faves (and it was hard to pick just a few):
David Habben
Julian Callos
Laura Laine
Roland Tamayo
and of course, Noferin

I just realized that it’s been a long, long time since I’ve worked on anything with this many pointy teeth. Thank goodness for ToyQube and their Sharky vinyl toy. Since ToyQube has lifted the embargo on showing art and custom toys for it’s 4th Anniversary Party and Sharky Show at the Sullivan Room in NYC on August 15th, I am now free to let my Shiny friend free on the world.

And he is shiny. Sparkly too, even though you need to see him in person to really appreciate the shimmering. In my personal life, I’m not a real big fan of gold (the color, I mean. I adore the element. Feel free to send me as much real gold as your heart desires). Recently, however, I’ve come into possession of a plethora of sharkly, shiny, luminescent, and just plain gold papers. And suddenly I feel the urge to use them. Could I be entering my “gold period”?

I can’t make the show (not until someone works out economical teleportation technology), but that’s no reason for all y’all not to have a great time. If you want to see some of the amazing custom Sharky vinyl toys, I highly recommend going to the Kidrobot forums.

Show details:
ToyQube’s 4th Anniversary Party (and Sharky Show!)
August 15th, 2008
RSVP only 7 - 10 PM
RSVP at rsvp[at]toyqube[dot]com
Open to the public after 10pm
Sullivan Room
218 Sullivan St.
New York, NY 10012-1354
212.252.2151

The first event is ToyQube’s 4th Anniversary Party and Sharky Show! That’s right, it’s a PARTY! At the Sullivan Room in NYC on August 15th! And I will, as usual, be sitting at home in Tokyo while everyone else in the world has fun at the extravaganza. But that’s alright. You go have fun. Don’t worry about me. I will comfort myself with sushi.

Chief amongst the festivities, ToyQube asked fifty-odd artists, including myself, to contribute customized Sharky vinyl toys (designed by Keith Poon)and/or Sharky-influenced artwork to the show. Since I still haven’t figured out how to wrap paper neatly around vinyl, my piece will hang nicely on a wall. Here is a sneak peak at the art:
Read on for details…

Online Toy design central, Vinyl Pulse, is an official sponsor of the event, and will likely have sneak peaks of the custom toys as August 15th draws closer. Keep in mind, the show is only a one-night event! Don’t miss the revelry! Event Info:

ToyQube’s 4th Anniversary Party (and Sharky Show!)
August 15th, 2008
RSVP only 7 - 10 PM
RSVP at rsvp[at]toyqube[dot]com
Open to the public after 10pm
Sullivan Room
218 Sullivan St.
New York, NY 10012-1354
212.252.2151

And here’s the artist roster:

I blame Global Warming for the lack of new, bizarre critters gracing this blog (and my apartment). And no, I’m not just complaining about the sudden and brutal onset of summer here in Tokyo (seriously, we went straight from rainy and clammy to hot and humid, shooting past all those nice days in between. Not fair!).

TIME (the magazine, not the slow grind of the ages), asked me to provide an illustration for their special report on the G-8 summit for the July 14 Asia edition, depicting what Japan can do to help stop global warming. You can see the final artwork above. Notice the Asia-centric globe. My brain kept trying to slide North America back into the center.

The first version is below. While I still hold the burning red planet dear to my heart, I completely understand why the magazine made the choice it did. Plus, it gave me the opportunity to introduce more color, which helps to define the sumo’s fundoshi (his pants). And I’ve got to admit, the torn paper glow around the planet worked out very nicely indeed.

I always find it interesting how a project develops conceptually. So, here are a couple of sketches along the way. Bits or ideas may find their way into my work at some other point:

The first idea was to use a samurai. While everyone liked the idea of slicing down the smokestacks, another illo in the same issue used a similar concept. Bummer.

Here, our intrepid sumo fights a fire creature. The other option was smashing a thermometer.

And finally, the samurai returns, doing battle with a creature born of car exhaust. While I like this one too, I think the sumo with the fan gets right to the heart of the struggle with global warming, rather than it’s various and nefarious symptoms.

“Hitching a Ride on the Breathe of Fortune”, “Koi Kihagaki”, “Gravity and the Rebellious Stone”, A Slothful Mind Wanders, and Heavy is the Head that Bears the Brain.

Get a pack of all five cards for $6 US (or ¥600). Or save a few bucks and get the 10 pack for $10 (¥1000), and get 2 of each card. One to mail, one to cherish for all time.

In a new twist on art sites, you can rate the artwork. Although quantifying something as personal and emotional as art is a little tough for me, I am intrigued. It’s one of the more bizarre quirks of the artist’s psyche that, while on the one hand we stand outside society in order to judge it and comment on it, we also yearn for its adoration. Or maybe that’s just me. I’m a complicated critter.

So Go! Feed my ego! Vote early, vote often! Vote so much that even Tammany would get a salty tear in his squinty little eye. I feed on your love!

In all seriousness (note: previous paragraph was attempt at humor), a huge, heartfelt thank you to everyone who takes the time to look at my work, vote for it (regardless of the number of stars), or leave me a comment. Without all of you, making art would be a whole lot less fun and interesting. Cheers.

The fiercely playful Nekomata (猫叉) joins my hoard of Yokai today. When I first came to Japan, I wondered why so many cats were completely lacking in tails. I guessed that they might be a strangely stubby local breed. It turns out that the owners cut off the tails when the cat is a kitten so it won’t turn into a nekomata, a “forked-cat”.

How a cat becomes a nekomata (or any kind of bake-neko / monster cat) is…odd. And downright ungrateful. If a cat is fed in the same place for a certain number of years, it turns evil. It then grows to rather unusual size, walks around on its hind legs, plays with dangerously magical fireballs (or dangerously fiery magic balls?), and can transform into a human. Most creepily, they are said to be able to re-animate the dead and control them like puppets. Big, ooky, used-to-be-your-best-friend puppets. (image details below the bump)

From a creative standpoint, this piece made me realize something very, very important. Thinking “For my next piece, I want to do something quick and fun!”, is the surest way to guarantee that I will be spending days and days wracking my brains on how to get that piece done. Nekomata fought me nearly every step of the way, particularly when it came to color. For some reason, I hit a massive wall when trying to pick the right color scheme. Ghostly, yet fun. Creepy, yet light and funky. I’m very happy with the way my kitty turned out, but, man, I got scratched alot. Thank goodness for the hours of amusement my bony friends provided. Poor Goemon, I think he’s getting dizzy, being batted around like that.

These are the three pieces I have hanging in the show, and I couldn’t be prouder of them, or the company which they are currently keeping. All three are available for purchase, so if you’re interested, give the gallery a call!
You can see the whole dang show online here! Or, better yet, mosey on down to SF to bask in their full glory.
Check out the individual blog entries:
The Electric Narwhal
The Plain One
All the Little Things Said