IN DREAMS - A solo exhibition by Jayde Fish

For all inquiries, please contact: indreams.fifty24SF@gmail.com

*Click here for show preview*

Fifty24SF Gallery in association with Upper Playground is pleased to announce the opening of "IN DREAMS" the first solo exhibition by Jayde Fish. Opening December 9th at 6:00pm at 218 Fillmore St. SF, CA 94117. Holiday refreshments courtesy of Naked Lunch. Artist in Attendance.

Jayde Fish is a San Francisco based designer and illustrator who takes inspiration from fashion, textiles, nature, and vintage children's books. Jayde's drawings were recently featured on clothing for GUCCI's SS 2017 runway show, after the celebrated creative director Alessandro Michele discovered her work on Instagram. Her work can also be found throughout Facebook in the form of animated characters, and in editorials including Elle, Vogue, and Vanity Fair.

This body of work is a personal exploration of the nature of dreams. How our dreams help us gain insight into our selves, our future, and our surroundings. The mystery of the mind is a powerful one. The Tarot is another common theme throughout this body of work, as Tarot cards have long been used to reveal truths. The artist translates the Major Arcana through her own lens, with densely ornate ink drawings, depicting romantic and classical forms of nature and the spiritual world. The artist hopes the viewer will feel a sense of discovery, resolve, and the inspiration to dream big. 

RUNE CHRISTENSEN - STILL LIFE

FIFTY24SF Gallery in association with Upper Playground is pleased to announce the opening of "STILL LIFE" Rune Christensen's first solo-exhibition in the Americas. Opening Friday October 21st at 7:00pm at 218 Fillmore St. SF, CA 94117. Refreshments courtesy of Fort Point. Artist in attendance. 

Hailing from Copenhagen, Denmark the artist has caught the eye of critics and collectors alike selling out recent shows at Art Copenhagen, Gallery Wolfsen in Aalborg, Helium Cowboy in Hamburg and Scope Miami. His work is also being featured at an exhibition entitled "Urban Dawn" in Beruit, Lebanon alongside world renowned artists El Mac, Swoon, Shepard Fairey and Retna  which opens October 15th.

Artist Statement:

This body of work is inspired by my observations of daily life and our modern society. After having spent significant amounts of time traveling the world and living off the grid, further introspection left me feeling confused, ambivalent and questioning our societal values as a whole.

Struggling with the duality of my own existence, I find myself constantly bouncing back and forth between cynicism and altruism. I see amazing advances in technology and culture but I feel like we are also simultaneously functioning as a brutal neo-feudalist society.

After experiencing a simpler existence abroad, I found myself returning to my country, missing friends and family while at the same time becoming acutely aware of the establishment ready to ensnare me. Could I stay the path or would I be consumed by an addiction to consumerism, obsessed with staying up to date on trends and the reinvention of a contrived identity before it’s expiration date was met? I found myself treading water through an endless stream of imagery until my brain lost its ability to see things clearly and I felt like I was becoming just another deer in the headlights. I find myself falling for the distractions, for this trap all the time. Through this work I’m trying to existentially explore modern society while not becoming marginalized by it at the same time.

-Rune Christensen

Sobekcis "CONTRAST" First Solo-Exhibition Opening Saturday, September 10th at 7pm

CLICK HERE FOR: EVENT LINK

FIFTY24SF in association with Upper Playground is please to announce the opening of "CONTRAST" Sobekci's first US Solo-Exhibition on Saturday, September 10th at 7pm.

"CONTRAST, for us, this word has multiple meanings and a deep resonance to it. In one way we look at it is as an homage to what we have worked on up until now and as an element which has held on through all of our creative transitions over time. Contrast also relates to the duality of our existence as brothers, humans and artists. The goal of CONTRAST is to exemplify the opposition or juxtaposition of different forms, lines and colors in a work of art, in order to intensify each element's properties. In parallel, we also intensify each other's artistic style through our process of collaboration, working together as do the contrasting colors and forms on the canvas. We see the experience of working together not only a rare opportunity, but one that also continuously pushes us forward to evolve our individual styles and skills within the constructs of a disciplined daily practice. " -Sobekcis

Having spent the last few years concentrating on developing their unique graffiti style outdoors, Sobekcis has again shifted their focus towards transmitting their outdoor experience into new studio work, primarily acrylic on canvas and works on paper. Finding themselves enjoying the longevity of fine art vs. the more transitory nature of graf, which in many cases ceases to exist the very next day or week. They have instead endeavored to focus their energies on creating within mediums that inherently have a longer life-cycle. This has enabled them to invest vast amounts of time on producing work that is not only remains as meticulous as possible but also becomes full of richness. Manipulating contrasting colors and forms to create work that seeks to initially catches the eye of the viewer in the moment, while also ensuring that it stands out from the surrounding clutter and background noise of the urban environment. 

Since moving back to Belgrade, Serbia in the beginning of 2015, after completing their design studies in Vienna, Austria at the Applied Arts University. They've switched from a focus on outlined figurative forms in previous shows, to a new body of work that has been in essence, a meditation on openness throughout the piece, which they feel brings more depth of feel and a subtler composition to the work. They have also been exploring increased optical contrast as well as an emphasis on philosophical contrast within the work. Resulting in a collaged landscape of abstract geometrical forms, which translates their extensive street and design experience as well as their current human perspective on to the canvas.

"By transitioning to abstraction we have been able to more efficiently reproduce the way we have worked in the past (outdoors), in which we were transmitting the graf aesthetic on to figurative elements into a new paradigm which we feel is much more balanced with the way we’d like to see our work gain relevance in the present moment and for the future ." - Sobekcis

By adopting a more fluxus-like approach, they have embarked on major works without a pre-determined destination, allowing the creative process to continually evolve throughout the production of each piece and then rolling forward to the next in the series. They seek to give the viewer an experience that leaves their interpretation open, all the while leaving breadcrumbs of subtle psychological cues, not always readily apparent at first glance.

'Swimmin' In The Playground' Opening Night

Swim Team: Interview with Auguste Somers and Yarrow Slaps

Longtime friends Yarrow Slaps and Auguste Somers may be young, but that hasn’t stopped them from making a splash on the west coast with their art collective SWIM, which already has two successful group shows under its belt at LA’s New Image Art Gallery.

'6th & Market' by Yarrow Slaps

This weekend, Yarrow, 25, and Auguste, 23, bring their eclectic vision of urban contemporary curation to FIFTY24SF with ‘Swimmin’ In The Playground’, a show hitting all the high notes with the aim to bring what Auguste calls ‘the now’ into a single space.

We wanted to pick these guys brains a little and learn some more about their background in the arts and how they go about deciding what’s fresh and what’s not.

SJ: Tell me about SWIM. What is it, and where did you come up with the concept?

AS: I had a friend who tried to do an art brand but it was too pretentious, and they just gave up right away. But then I was like, ‘let’s do an art organization that connects everything in an unpretentious way that puts art first and bridges the gaps in the industry. I contacted Yarrow, who I’ve known since I was like six years old, and the minute I told him about it, he was like, ‘oh shit, I had the same exact idea, and it’s called SWIM’.

Billy Kheel 'AD'

SJ: So you’ve been friends since were six years old? How were your backgrounds similar?

YS: Yeah, we grew up in a similar way, just always around the arts. I might have took like six years off for music, but yeah, like 19 years just being around art all the time.

AS: Well, art has always been mainly a hobby for me, but I was always passionate for the arts, and have always loved discovering new artists. I also listen to a ton of music, and leading up to all this I was listening to a ton of Tyler The Creator and Kendrick and they were all saying, ‘go get your shit done, you can do this,’ so it kind of inspired me.

SJ: You two are some of the youngest people to ever curate a show at Upper Playground. How do you think your age plays a factor in the end product of the show?

YS: Well, as a curator, you just want to do your research, because the more you know, the easier it is think of an artist that would fit with an idea you’re having for the show. Basically, being around art shows you what you like, and doing your research show’s you who you like. Then of course, being from a younger generation, your decisions are going to be more fresh.

AS: Yeah, we’re closer to the source, the life force.

YS: Right in the solar plex...

Ferris Plock 'Ebisu'

SJ: Yarrow, the paintings you’ve selected for this show represent a departure from some of your other work focusing mainly on depictions of hip hop and pop culture icons. What’s behind the recent shift in subject matter?

YS: Well, I used to do a lot of paintings of my favorite rappers, but you know, as an artist you grow. For me personally, it was becoming more of a thing like, ‘who’s gonna post me next, what rapper’s gonna see this?’ But now I’m trying to say something different.

SJ: Right on...and what are you both hoping to accomplish with this show? What’s this show about?

Well, this is our third show, and with all of our shows, it’s kind of all about getting the ‘now’ into the present in one space. Like I believe that everything connects, art, music, theatre, and everything in our show conveys stuff that’s going on right now, like Black Lives Matter, the kind of music that’s popular right now, the sports teams that are popular right now...it’s all connected. Every idea that’s in the zeitgeist, everything that’s on tv and the internet, it all kind of connects in this one space. We basically try to put the youth perspective into a room and the end result becomes something kind of powerful.

SJ: Tell me more about how you see elements in the arts specifically being connected.

YS: Well with music, the idea of storytelling is how they’re connected. For me, I think about art as an essay, like any piece I do I want to research it well, so I can tell a story. Then in rap, if you don’t know what you’re talking about, then you can’t rap.

AS: I’m also into filmmaking, and I see each art show we do as a film that we’re directing. We’re telling it where to go, we’re the directors. It’s very similar to making a movie...you have to edit stuff and cut stuff out and put stuff in. There’s a lot of crossover there. We put our hearts into it and go all out in order to make it something unique and special.We want to make you excited about art again.

Interview by Stephen Jackson

EVENT: "Swimmin In The Playground" Group Show Opening -Curated by SWIM TEAM-

FIFTY24SF Gallery is pleased to present ‘Swimmin’ In The Playground,’ the latest group exhibition from SWIM Team curated by its youthful duo, Yarrow Slaps and Auguste Somers. After two highly successful and critically acclaimed shows at New Image Art Gallery in Los Angeles, SWIM Team backstrokes into the Bay Area with an opening reception at FIFTY24SF GALLERY on Saturday, May 21st from 7 - 10pm in San Francisco’s Lower Haight. The exhibition features an unique array of dynamic and captivating artwork that, as the curators declare, "will make you excited for art again." The featured artists were chosen from a range of criteria prioritizing artist locality, subject matter and resonance within the collective subconscious of the group as a whole.

The show features an assortment of 24 Bay Area artists, six select LA-based artists and six SWIM Team all-stars from various locations to round things out. The group operates within a wide-range of mediums, techniques and career levels. From Tracey Snelling’s scale model neighborhoods to Matt Gonzales’ assembled collages. Justin Hager, Yarrow Slaps and Michelle Guintu’s often humorous interpretations of pop culture to Jason Jägel's mixed media paintings created from C-prints raided from his photographer wife’s studio trash bin.  Kristen Liu-Wong’s otherworldly erotic neon-pastel clad illustrations will certainly pique some eyebrows as will Sean Newport’s mesmerizing geometric wood assemblages. There are so many spectacular artists and so much great work to share with you, we barely know where to start. Guess you're going to have to come check it out for yourself.

Featured Artists:

Alex Hartong

Angela Dalinger

Anne Regan

Ace West

Auguste Somers

Billy Kheel

Chad Hasegawa

Don't Fret

Dave Schubert

Dustin Fosnot

Ferris Plock

Frohawk TwoFeathers

Jason Jägel

Jonathan Mannion

Justin Hager

Kristen Liu-Wong

Lucila Orengo

Marc Etherington

Marie Englesvold

Matt Gonzalez

Meegan Barnes

Michelle Guintu

Monica Canilao

Monica Kimgarza

Muzae Sesay

Nathan McKee

Nome Edonna

Rabbit Garcia

Rich Fonseca

Rich Jacobs

Rye Purvis

Sean Newport

Telopa Treloky

Tracey Snelling

Xara Thustra

Yarrow Slaps

EVENT: Vargas- Creator of the Pin-Up Girl and Lower Haight Art Walk Friday, April 1st From 6-10pm.

FIFTY24SF Is proud to announce our upcoming Lower Haight Art Walk featuring a selection of limited edition prints by Alberto Vargas.

Born 9 February 1896 in Peru, Alberto Vargas was the son of a renowned photographer, Max Vargas, who had taught him how to use an airbrush by the time he was thirteen. In 1911, while accompanying Max on a trip to Paris, Alberto came upon the famous magazine La Vie Parisienne, and its sensuous front covers by Raphael Kirchner made a lasting impression on him. He studied in Zurich and Geneva before leaving Europe because of the war and arriving on Ellis Island in October 1916. 

After moving to the US, Vargas' career took off during the Roaring Twenties with commissions pouring in from Harper's Bazaar, Paramount Studios, 20th Century Fox, Warner Brothers and MGM. In 1939 Vargas gained US citizenship, the same year that Esquire Magazine, shortly after Esquire introduced the "Varga Girl Calendar" which sold better than any other calendar published up to that time. During the WWII years, Vargas further gained notoriety from a series of patriotic pin-ups for Hearst's American Weekly Magazine and his accommodating special requests from soldiers for mascots illustrations.In the 1950's he judged the Miss Universe Pageant, freelanced for fashion labels and continued to paint Hollywood stars during this time as well including the likes of Betty Grable, Ava Gardner and Marilyn Monroe. For his dénouement in 1958 Hugh Hefner, publisher of Playboy Magazine invited Vargas to contribute to Playboy Magazine on a monthly basis resulting in the production of over 152 works during the 60's and 70's including two front cover images. The photo-realism achieved through his use of watercolor and airbrush that Vargas was able to attain over the course of his career is was unmatched at the time and resulted in the founding of the "Vargas Award", awarded annually by Airbrush Action Magazine. Past recipients of the award include notable artists such as Hajime Sorayama, Todd Schorr and Scott Jacobs among others.

Upon his wife's death in 1974, the artist sadly lost much of his interest in painting and life. However in In the late 70's he worked on an autobiography with Reid Austin entitled "Vargas". He also produced album covers for The Cars for their "Candy-O" Album and two covers for Bernadette Peters. He died in Los Angeles, CA in December 1982. 

 

Take it Acid Is by Mark McCloud

FIFTY24SF GALLERY in association with Upper Playground is proud to announce Mark Mc Cloud's "Take It Acid Is" exhibition featuring key examples of actual blotter paper from "The Institute of Illegal Images", the largest private collection of blotter art in the world and a selection of forensic photographic prints from BlotterBarn.com . Opening Friday June 26th at 7pm.  

"They are a wonderful testament to the age of acid"  -Terence McKenna

"This show focuses on the blotter art that I obtained or created through my 50 years of love for The Grateful Dead ." - Mark McCloud 

Recognized worldwide as the preeminent collector of LSD art and holding a Masters of Fine Art from UC Davis and two-time National Endowment for the Arts recipient, Mc Cloud has been celebrated, vilified, indicted, acquitted and ultimately conscripted to the annals of psychedelic art history. Mark and his collection have been featured in Vice, National Geographic, Juxtapoz, Beautiful Decay, Cabinet, Salon, SF Weekly, SFAQ and The Bold Italic among others. He continues to acquire and preserve pristine examples of this, both global and Bay Area-centric cultural history to this day from his home in the Mission neighborhood of San Francisco. The Golden Road Gallery will also be on hand the night of the opening with an extensive collection of Vanity Blotter for collectors to purchase.

"Playground Legends" at Fifty24SF Gallery & Upper Playground

We are pleased to announce our upcoming Holiday Print Show entitled "Playground Legends." The show includes limited edition prints from artists including Brian Flynn, Greg "Craola" Simkins, Dora Drimalas, Estevan Oriol, Herbert Baglione, Jayde Fish, Jeremy Fish, Mars-1, Miss Van, Morning Breath, Munk One, Nate Van Dyke, Pez, Sam Flores, Saner and Smithe.

Opening Saturday December 14th, 6pm

Die Antwoord Installation at Fifty24sf Gallery

13

Photos by Patrick Kawahara

N8 Van Dyke at Fifty24PDX Gallery

N8 Van Dyke from Ante UP on Vimeo.

Jason Jagel - (I'll Fly) Into Your Heart - Private Preview

JASON JAGEL “(I’LL FLY) INTO YOUR HEART” Jason Jägel has been featured in numerous solo and group shows for well over a decade, from Tokyo to Los Angeles. Recent solo exhibitions of Jason’s work have been featured at Galleri Christoffer Egelund in Copenhagen, Denmark, and AMT Gallery in Milan, Italy. His monograph, entitled, Seventy-Three Funshine (2008), was created with an accompanying ten-inch vinyl record with music by Madlib and published by Electric Works, San Francisco. He was recently featured in a 12-page interview in Juxtapoz Magazine. Jägel currently resides in San Francisco with his wife and two daughters.

Regarding the title Jägel says: “(I'll Fly) Into Your Heart reminds me of the style of certain ’60’s soul songs where the inserted parenthesis creates multiple, simultaneous titles from one. It also appears as a statement of first-person dialog, leading the questions: Who or what is flying? To whose heart? For good purposes or ill?” Evident in this statement and throughout Jason’s work is a preoccupation with slippery meanings and storytelling.

“(I’ll Fly) Into Your Heart”, features new works on display at FIFTY24SF Gallery April 1-May 26, 2010.

PLEASE CONTACT GALLERY DIRECTOR

AMANDA KRAMPF

AMANDA@UPPERPLAYGROUND.COM

FIFTY24Seattle Presents: Jonathan Wakuda Fischer, Jan. 9th, 2010

Upper Playground in Association with FIFTY 24SEA Gallery present the Opening Reception of: "ANACHRONISMS" by Jonathan Wakuda Fischer

Jonathan is fascinated with the role technology plays in the creation of art, as well as its obsolescence in the wake of human progress. This relationship between art and its process is well illustrated by the history of traditional Japanese woodblock; the printing technology integral to the popular rise of Ukiyo-e also contributed to its downfall. Coming from the cultures of both East and West, his life has revolved around the possibilities of creating something new from different origins. As such, he found the woodblock art form thematically appropriate to pair with the aesthetic of similarly outdated 20th century culture.  By combining antiquity with technology and past with (near) present, he creates a new context for the art that is seemingly transcendent of history. "Anachronisms" Japanese woodblock printing was concerned with the nature of image duplication, and his choice of a modern technique is based on similar strengths and limitations. Using a stencil means working within a defined space, but different applications of spray painting within the template allow for wildly different interpretations of the same image, and ‘play’ in the grey area between uniformity and singularity. Exploring a painting through its variations helps me address the nature of individuality within a system and the concept of originality amid repetition. To be  included on the preview list please contact upperplaygroundjen@gmail.com. Opening Reception will be held for "Anachronisms" on January 9th from 6:00 - 9:30pm. Beverages will be provided as well as music from The Ken.

Jeremy Fish "Nature Studies" at Upper Playground Mexico City

Jeremy Fish: "Nature Studies": Upper Playground, Mexico City. from Alejandro De La Cruz on Vimeo.

"Dream Beautiful and Unusual" MUNK ONE @ FIFTY24PDX

"Munk One" - the name should definitely ring a bell. He's the man responsible for some of Upper Playground's most controversial and amusing graphics this year. This is the man that brought us :

(all available @ upperplayground.com)

So,  without further ado Upper Playground and FIFTY24PDX bring you:

Fall is upon us, and with that, Upper Playground in association with FIFTY 24PDX Gallery proudly present,

“Dream Beautiful and Unusual”

-a collection of new works, some that glow in the dark, by the multifaceted artist and designer, Munk One.

Who is Munk one?

Munk One grew up in Southern California and studied Art History and Illustration at Pasadena Community College. However, his real education came through his work experience at a silk-screen and merchandise company while still in high school. Trained in traditional media, computer arts, and in the art of tattoo, Munk One’s work has taken on a variety of forms. His client list includes bands such as Avenged Sevenfold, Bullet for my Valentine, Korn, Red Hot Chili Peppers and No Doubt. Apparel companies that boast Munk One designs include Upper Playground, Tribal Gear, True Love, False Idols and more. Munk was also featured in Juxtapoz magazine earlier this year.

Music, popular culture, politics and personal experience make up the elements of Munk One’s inspiration. He pulls icons directly from what inspires him, communicating clearly and directly with his audience. Themes in his personal work have incredible range, from dark and grotesque, to bright and optimistic, to ironic and humorous- all while retaining a gorgeous aesthetic very specific to Munk’s innovative style.

An opening reception for “Dream Beautiful and Unusual” will be held on Thursday, October 1st from 6:00-9:30pm with Munk One in attendance.

Beverages will be provided by Widmer Brothers Brewing Company.

An encore reception will be held Thursday, November 5th from

6:00-9:30pm.

Show runs October 1st, 2009- November 21st, 2009

Web addresses of importance:

Munk One: http://www.munkone.com

Fifty 24PDX Gallery: http://www.fifty24pdxgallery.com

Upper Playground: http://www.upperplayground.com

FIFTY 24PDX Gallery / Upper Playground

23 NW 5th Ave, Portland, OR 97209

503.548.4835

FIFTY24SEA Presents: Redd Walitzki's "Decadent Decay"

It is quite obvious that Redd Walitzki, , takes pride in feminine indulgences and intricacies . The color pink unabashedly dominates her work while the delicate, vitorian-esk patterns of the background keep the energy light.  Check out Redd's new collection of mixed media paintings, "Decadent Decay" opening at FIFTY24SEA this Friday.

Join FIFT24SEA and Upper Playground for the opening reception of

"Decadent Decay" new works by Redd Walitzki

Friday Sept. 18th, 2009 from 5-9pm

For more information, please contact:

Jen Vertz at Fifty 24SEA Gallery, upperplaygroundjen@gmail.com,

El Mac Show fifty24SF Gallery