Attaboy redirects fear and anxiety into his art. But there's much more to his work as in the painting Fungus is imbued with a gleeful seductive melange of shapes and colors. Before striking out on his own with The Yum Factory, Attaboy spent years inventing and designing award-winning and best-selling toys for companies including Milton Bradley. His work has been featured internationally in galleries, museums, art books, magazine and boutiques all over the world. His first animated short "Too Many Robots" will be presented on the Disney Channel in the summer of 2006.
Chris Mars is interested in why a villain is villainized and a victim is martyred. To Mars, all art is political in some sense, be it through conformity, reflection, propaganda or rebellion. He thinks of his paintings as rallies and trials. "I have great empathy toward Monsters, or more accurately, perceived monsters. To me, Monsters are more like misfits, people who are physically deformed, or rather, uniquely formed (as indeed we all are, each of us). I am sympathetic toward perceived monsters, because I have known and loved perceived monsters, and have felt this way myself." This is Chris Mars first show in San Francisco!
Dave Chung spent most of his childhood in Asia. His work is heavily influenced by the snack packages that he used to sneak and eat in his room after receiving brutal beatings from his mother. Dave currently resides in Detroit, finishing his BFA at the College for Creative Studies with his pet bee, Snuggles. Chung has exhibited in Portland, Connecticut, Detroit, and Buffalo. His particular style appealed to the folks at Fisher Price who commissioned custom artwork from him.
Kevin Peterson's paintings were termed "grotesque expressionism" by a critic reviewing his recent San Diego show. With a lineage that extends to pop art and the graphic novel---both mainstream and marginal---they often contain characters that seem damaged by some accident of DNA, or cataclysm that leaves them looking Keane-eyed at the viewer.
Sean Christopher "...was born at a very early age. As time went on...I grew older. I learned many things, but forgot much more. I never had a magic hairy stick, much less time to find them. I've spent most of my life dreaming. Dreaming about what might have been or what should be. I walk through this world of ours with humble thought and an open heart. I care about meaning not obvious to the naked eye."
KRK Ryden's art is a record of mongrel pop culture. His aesthetic is informed by comic books, punk rock, and cartoons, while his worldview is stricly DEVO. KRK's work embraces everyday absurdity with a cartoon-y view of reality. His paintings are colorful and visually appealing reflections on discarded icons, and his graphics are well-realized snapshots of cartoon life. For over 30 years KRK has been creating illustrations and paintings for underground bands, publishers, and institutions.
