All posts tagged: JOSHUA CLAY

Posterboy! Posterboy! Oh and there were four other artists next door.

April 5, 2009 , , ,

April showers only slightly dampened the mood in Bushwick Brooklyn

at two openings Friday night. AdHoc featured 4 fine artists from outside New York in their various gallery spaces, while Eastern District devoted their room entirely to the first solo show of Posterboy that drew an excited inquisitive crowd.

Ekundayo & Joshua Clay shared the front gallery, where their complimentary illustration styles and sordid-themed murals easily took over and called the space home.

Hawaiin born L.A. native Ekundayo’s contorted curmugeons and malformed miscreants sang a song of sixpence, saliva, and silly – in a well formed cast of characters that could be called a family (but you may want to pack a crucifix in your picnic basket on reunion day). In fact one looks kind of like my Aunt Marge.

Lookout, Cannonball! (Ekundayo at AdHoc Art) (photo Steven P. Harrington)
Lookout, Cannonball! (Ekundayo courtesy AdHoc Art) (photo Steven P. Harrington)

A well regarded talent in the current post-pop L.A. scene, Joshua Clay, easily opens the door to dark dens of iniquity with playful flair.

Ekundayo
Whisky and wayward women are a sure way to run afoul of the church. One of the murals in the gallery (Joshua Clay courtesy AdHoc Art) (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Elisabeth Timpone held down the alcove with her own mini-show called “Tails of the North”. The collection of finely inked animals and creatures read like shaker drawings, but closer my dear pretty, come closer, and see friendship, fear, and feral savagery.

Timpone
Elizabeth Timpone courtesy of AdHoc Gallery (photo Steven P. Harrington)
Timpone

Elizabeth Timpone courtesy of AdHoc Gallery (photo Steven P. Harrington)

To curvaceously round out the show with 60’s pop poster colors and buxom babes was TheDirtyFabulous. A sort of cherry on top, you might say.

TheDirtyFabulous courtesy Ad Hoc Art (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Peter Max, the Grateful Dead, & Juggs Magazine all Come Together Over Me (TheDirtyFabulous courtesy Ad Hoc Art) (photo Steven P. Harrington)

And just steps away, the subway slicing superhero/s stirred the minions of inquisitive fans into Eastern District Gallery for Posterboy‘s first solo show.

Adbusters all (courtesy Eastern District) (photo Steven P. Harrington)
Adbusters all (courtesy Eastern District) (photo Steven P. Harrington)

The show consisted of two very large expanses of billboard grade vinyl stretched along facing long walls and loosely affixed pieces creating a new story with the same material.

From the vinal were cut familiar shapes from Picasso paintings and a troubled-looking Obama under the lettered banner “Hype?”. Tongues wagged about meanings, motives, and make-believe, as gallery goers read into the wall pieces and donated $5 for a sticker stencilled with “Posterboy ?”.

Don't believe it (Posterboy courtesy of Eastern District) (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Don’t Believe It (Posterboy courtesy Eastern District) (photo Steven P. Harrington)

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EKUNDAYO & JOSHUA CLAY at Ad Hoc

February 10, 2009

EKUNDAYO & JOSHUA CLAY

“Duality”

April 3rd through May 3rd 2009

Opening Reception: Friday, April 3rd, 7pm-10pm

EKUNDAYO

Ekundayo was born in Honolulu, HI, but spent most of his childhood moving from place to place with his father, living a life on the run. At the age of 13 Ekundayo discovered one of his uncle’s black books, which completely changed his life. Ekundayo became obsessed with drawing and copied every single page of that little book.

Ekundayo combines both subversive graffiti aesthetics in combination with art-historical erudition using acrylic, gouache, watercolor, ink and various carving techniques. Ekundayo’s work expresses the struggle of life and how those struggles and burdens can either inspire us to change in a constructive way or weigh us down by our own inability to change.

JOSHUA CLAY

Joshua Clay was always destined to become an artist, choosing pencil and paper over toys and technology. Throughout his high school years Clay found himself consumed by the act of painting creating over fifty original works and several large scale murals. Following college Joshua relocated to Los Angeles where he apprenticed under artist Blaine Fontana. In under 2 years of living and working as a fulltime fine artist Clay found himself immersed in the emerging Los Angeles new contemporary art movement.

With four successful solo exhibits and dozens of group exhibits under his belt, Clay has been busy making quite a name for himself. In addition to having his work featured in several books and magazines in recent years, Clay has also caught the attention of the music industry creating artwork for bands including Nine Inch Nails, Linkin Park, Gym Class Heroes and Fall Out Boy. Joshua Clay is sure to be a name you’ll be seeing again.

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