My Skull Appreciation Sculpture Is Finished

Couldn't help, but post this before the exhibition. See it in person...

On First Friday, June 3rd
Public Opening of the Skull Appreciation Day Exhibition
7PM – 11PM
(Exhibition on display until July 8th)

At Gallery5
200 W. Marshall St
Richmond, VA 23220

More info here


3/4 view. (Click for slightly larger image.)


Side. (Click for slightly larger image.)


Back. (Click for slightly larger image.)


Detail. (Click for slightly larger image.) I realize that the statement is juvenile, but it made me laugh and is iconic of political graffiti.

Skull Appreciation Day at Gallery5

I am one of 100 artists chosen to participate in this show.

Below are some images of the beginning stages of my contribution. See the finished piece at Galery5 this upcoming First Friday.









More about the event taken from Skull-A-Day:
In honor of the first annual international Skull Appreciation Day, Gallery5 will host a series of events organized by Richmond’s own Noah Scalin and Philip Cheney.

The festivities will kick off on June, 3rd 2011 with an exhibition of over 100 artists who have reinterpreted a common skull. Skull Appreciation Day will take place on Saturday, June 4th 2011. Free workshops will be offered to the public on this day, followed by a special skeletal soirée at 7pm. Please help us celebrate the cranium on June 4th and throughout the month!

First Friday, June 3rd
Public Opening of the Skull Appreciation Day Exhibition
7PM – 11PM
(Exhibition on display until July 8th)

100+ artists share their interpretation of the skull.
Using a plain papier-mâché skull provided by curators, over 100 local, national, and international artists are sharing their personal take on a universal symbol. Artists include Stefan Boucher, creator of the The Daily Monster project, Bent Objects artist Terry Border, designer James Victore, painter Ryan E. Cronin, and skull aficionados Jud Turner & Mike Eagan.

A portion of all sales will be donated to the local nonviolence organization Richmond Peace Education Center: http://www.RPEC.org/

Also on display:

Skull Quilts:
Curated by Skull-A-Day editor Abby Davis
These quilts, made from pieces submitted via a call for submissions at Skull-A-Day, will be auctioned off and all proceeds will be donated to DC charity Becky’s Fund, which helps survivors of domestic violence: http://www.beckysfund.org/

Skull Mail Art
Artist Mim Golub put out the call for mail artists across the globe to create and send skulls through the post to celebrate Skull Appreciation Day.


Saturday, June 4th
June 4th is Skull Appreciation Day!!!

DIY Skulls:
12 – 4pm, FREE!
Bring the family and celebrate the love for the bone in your head by spending the afternoon making skull-themed crafts! Materials and directions provided.

Our friends from local nonprofit Art180 will be on hand to help you get motivated: http://www.art180.org/

Skull Dance Party
7 – 11pm, $5 donation to RPEC
Wear you favorite skeletal costume or skeleton mask and celebrate your cranium in style. DJs, drummers, and special guest performers, including Deepa de Jour & All Saints Theater Company, will get your bones shaking. There will also be a best costume & make-up contest with special prizes from Skull-A-Day.


Gallery 5
200 West Marshall St.
Richmond, VA
804.644.0005

Wednesday-Friday: 11-6PM
Saturday: By Appointment Only

My students comment on the "Right To Education"

Work by my students using the prompt of the "Right To Education" from Poster For Tomorrow. Some of them need some polishing, but given the time constraints - and the difficult prompt - I think that they did well.

By Hoyle Wang


By Maya Shaw


By Kelli Moore
A question mark created by to figures overlapped. One studying (figure in white) and one working (figure in black).


By Melissa Lewis
Unfinished, but a cool concept. Helping people understand the feeling of illiteracy. She intended for the entire poster to look scrambled.


By Peter Farrow



By Claire Sulivan


By Sidney Tighlman


By Christopher Poupore


By Cristina Peters

Richmond Illustrators Club show.

My Illustration for Lobo Marino and Fuzzy Baby was accepted in the annual Richmond Illustrators Club show.

I would post some of the other artists' names, but I have yet to be informed of them. More soon...

Opening Reception
June 3rd from 7-10pm
at Ghostprint Gallery
220 West Broad St.
Richmond, VA 23220

Grade 6 Richmond AIGA Awards.

I was fortunate enough to receive "Best In Show" for my Repressed IV, screen-printed poster. More info about the poster here.



I was also awarded a "Certificate of Merit" for my illustration of Nong Toom for a film showing of Beautiful Boxer.

Robert Megank won the illustration "Best In Show" for his piece about "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." I found it to be an interesting coincidence that both of our illustration pieces dealt with LGBTQ issues.

Also two neighbors of mine, Noah Scalin and Meena Khalili-Clifford, were awarded "Best In Show" for Book Design and Exhibition Design respectively. Noah Scalin also won a Judges Choice Award.

Besties for Breasties: Art for the Cure

Local Artists come together to raise money and awareness for the Susan
G. Komen Race For The Cure.

10PM April, 29 2011
at Sprout
1 N. Morris St.
Richmond, VA

Local artists throughout the Richmond community are uniting for the fight against breast cancer. An evening auction will be held at Sprout (1 N. Morris St.) to benefit Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure. The show will consist of single pieces donated by area artists in every medium. 100% of profits go directly to the Susan G. Komen foundation under the Besties for Breasties fundraising team, so please join us and support a great cause.

Artists are as follows:
Chris Anderson
Josh Autrey
Keith Michael Browne
Nick Bryant
Mary Chiaramonte
Liz Frias
Beth Gorley
Heather Kenman
Bizhan Khodabandeh
Matthew Leuttger
Mike Moses
Kevin Orlosky
Mo Sontos
Ross Trimmer
Lauren Vincelli
Jimbo Wilmer
Brad Douglas
Beth Stratton
Bexx

More Artists TBA.

For more info about Besties for Breasties click here.
To learn more about this team or joing click here

Emergence art show opens this Friday.

Friday, April 29th from 6:30 – 8:30PM
at Hope Gallery
12445 Patterson Ave
Richmond, VA 23220


Artists include
Eric Collins
Casey Templeton
Hyunyoo Cho
Gary Garbett
Maria Fabrizio
Lindsey Koerner
Matthew Mallory
Meena Khalili C.
Nicole Gomez
Bizhan Khodabandeh
Emma Lalumandier
Kate Joyce
Dian Jaine
Katy Pumphrey
Cheri Wolff

Music by
Jonathan Vassar & the Speckled Bird.

I have 3 stenciled prints in the show. C
Come on by for art, music, food, and drink.

"The Little Black Fish" Kickstarter page launched!

During the course of two years, I've dedicated some free time to working on a comic adaptation of Samad Behrangi's The Little Black Fish.

More about the project and ways to support can be found here.

Below are select pages from Samad Behrangi's "The Little BLack Fish" artwork by Bizhan Khodabandeh












Above: Cover for "The Little Black Fish" with custom logo type referencing Persian calligraphy and comic lettering.

Gallery5 Presents: DISROBED III: Cause/Effect

Poster by Bizhan Khodabandeh (click for larger image)

DISROBED III : Cause/Effect will present performative installation that incorporates the living figure.

7PM, May 6th, 2011 FREE
At Gallery5
200 W. Marshall St
Richmond, VA 23220

About
Through recontextualizion, alternating vignettes will generate a critical dialog about the public body and relational aesthetics.

Become a Gallery5 Member by Friday, April 29th and receive 2 tickets to the Private Opening Reception of DisrobedIII to take place from 5PM-7PM on Friday, May 6th. Complimentary food and drinks and a special sneak peak performance will be provided during this time. Reserve your tickets by becoming a member today!


ABOUT
Disrobed III highlights the living figure both as a primary material and as a viable means of communication within art. Clothed, naked, scarred, or freckled, the human body has provided a critical terrain within all media. Cultures continue frequent debates over how anatomies should or should not be expressed with an unending fervor. It is paradoxical that this universal physique, quoted for its canonical beauty by the Greeks and Romans, quickly become a hotbed of controversy. Gawky and goose-pimpled at times, the baring of skin elicits a rash of responses, especially where sexuality, gender, and nakedness commingle. To strip these realities from the body is a tragic denial of our shared humanity. It is the purpose of Disrobed3 to challenge these limitations and to encourage a vital discourse about the exposed human form.

Unauthorized photography and video recording is STRICTLY prohibited.
All minors under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
Disrobed III is a free, one-night-only event
Donations will be accepted.

Featuring Live Musical Performances By
Miramar
Todd Matthews

Gallery5 After 5: Do you believe in ... magic?

FREE
This month’s guest speaker:
David Olli of the Science Museum of Virginia discusses "Do You Believe...in Magic?"

With music by
Todd Matthews

Doors 5:30PM
Wednesday, April 13th
at Gallery5
200 W. Marshall Street
Richmond, VA 23220

An an extra special Talent Contest
After our wonderful guest speaker we will turn Gallery5 into a bizzaro talent show.

$100 cash first place prize by www.myglassesrule.com and a gift pack from Gallery5 and various community businesses. Every participant will get a gift pack and a chance to show off their super powers on stage!

More info here.