Buff Monster

Opening Reception Saturday, April 14, 2012 from 7‑10pm
On View April 14 – May 5, 2012

On Saturday, April 14, Los Angeles street artist Buff Monster returns to Corey Helford Gallery to unveil the “Legend of the Pink Cherry,” his fifth solo exhibition at the gallery and his most ambitious to date.

Internationally known for his super bright, happy, and bold imagery, the paintings in the main gallery will celebrate the last eleven years of Buff Monster’s career, culminating in a timeless epic tale of good vs. evil. For the “Legend of the Pink Cherry,” the artist draws inspiration from Renaissance paintings. Buff Monster will introduce his latest creamy creation, a soft serve ice cream cone with human-like arms and legs. Each acrylic-on-wood panel piece in the show is delicately rendered with airbrush, a first for the artist.

Buff Monster’s narratives are more character and figure-based than before, and the series of paintings created for the exhibition will also reveal a new direction in Buff Monster’s career. “I’ve always thought of my work as inspired by and representative of Los Angeles—Hollywood more specifically. Los Angeles is the birthplace of Buff Monster. Part of why I feel compelled to tie everything together is that I feel that this chapter of my life and my work is coming to an end, and I’m looking to the future. It’s time to go East.”

The upstairs gallery will feature the second half of the exhibition, the debut of a project Buff Monster has been working towards his entire career: “The Melty Misfits,” a set of 60 collectible trading cards honoring the the Garbage Pail Kids. “I know more about Garbage Pail Kids than anyone you will ever meet,” Buff Monster adds, and in keeping true to the original form, each painting is 5”x7” on watercolor paper with acrylic and airbrush. The cards will be released on opening night, and the original paintings will be on display. Buff Monster notes, “I am going through a ton of work to make these as close to the vintage cards that we grew up with as possible. They’ll be printed offset using a custom paper stock and custom-mixed inks, and will come in wax packages just like cards from the 80s.”

The opening reception for the “Legend of the Pink Cherry” takes place Saturday, April 14 —Buff Monster’s birthday —at Corey Helford Gallery. The reception is open to the public, and the exhibition will be on view through May 5, 2012.

Buff Monster
Buff Monster lives in Hollywood and cites heavy metal music, ice cream and Japanese culture as major influences. The color pink, a symbol of confidence, individuality and happiness, is present in everything he creates. Buff Monster’s creative endeavors began by putting up thousands of hand-silkscreened posters across Los Angeles and in far-away places. His frequent poster missions developed into a productive street art career, and he now works on fine art paintings, collectible toys and select design projects. He paints on wood, taking great care to create his images as flat as possible. His work has been shown in galleries worldwide, often accompanied by large installations. Buff Monster has released numerous signature vinyl toys through leading vinyl toy companies, and has many other projects in the works. His art has been published in a variety of magazines, websites, newspapers and books, including Juxtapoz, Paper, Nylon, Cool Hunting, Angeleno, The Los Angeles Times, LA Weekly, The New York Times, and many more. He was recently featured in Banksy’s movie Exit Through the Gift Shop. And in January of this year he painted a mural on the exterior of The Standard Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles. Buff Monster works tirelessly day and night to spread happiness, joy and a love of pink. For more information about the artist, please visit buffmonster.com.

Corey Helford Gallery
Located in the Culver City Art District, Corey Helford Gallery was established in 2006 by Jan Corey Helford and her husband, television producer and creator, Bruce Helford (Anger Management, The Drew Carey Show, George Lopez, The Oblongs). Corey Helford Gallery represents a diverse collection of Contemporary artists influenced by today’s pop culture, encompassing the genres of New Figurative, Pop Surreal, Graffiti and Street Art. Artists include Josh Agle (Shag), Ray Caesar, D*Face, Chloe Early, EINE, Ron English, Natalia Fabia, HUSH, Kukula, Lola, The London Police, Sylvia Ji, Eric Joyner, Michael Mararian, Brandi Milne, Buff Monster, Risk, Amy Sol, TrustoCorp, Martin Wittfooth, and Nick Walker. Renowned for its notable exhibitions, the gallery has presented “Charity By Numbers,” which was co-curated by Gary Baseman and featured an unprecedented lineup of artists including Mark Ryden, Marion Peck, Shepard Fairey, Todd and Kathy Schorr, Camille Rose Garcia, and Michael Hussar, as well as “La Noche de la Fusion,” an epic Carnivalesque festival and solo exhibition for Pervasive artist Gary Baseman. In 2010, Corey Helford Gallery partnered with Bristol’s City Museum & Art Gallery for the transatlantic collaboration “Art From The New World,” a world-class United Kingdom museum exhibition showcasing work by a formidable group of 49 of the finest emerging and noted American artists. Corey Helford Gallery presents new exhibitions approximately every four weeks. For more information and an upcoming exhibition schedule, please visit coreyhelfordgallery.com.

Corey Helford Gallery
8522 Washington Boulevard
Culver City, CA  90232
T: 310-287-2340
www.coreyhelfordgallery.com
Open Tuesday – Saturday, Noon to 6:00pm

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