2525 Michigan Ave. A5 Santa Monica, CA 90404
Tuesday - Saturday 11:30 - 6:30 | 310.828.0211

CHRIS BLUM
i HEART LA
SEPTEMBER 16 - NOVEMBER 10, 2012


2400 Cappuccinos, paper & coffee grounds, 30" x 40"


Anna Nicola Warhola, paper, 32" x 32"


Bad Match, wooden matches, paper, 13" x 33"


Gastronomic Society, wood & plaster, 34" x 21"


Mother and Sun, paper & steel, 13.5" x 17"


Hairball Museum, wood, cat hair & plastic, 8" x 15" x 5"


Hairstream, synthetic hair & aluminum, 14.25" x 10" x 6.25"


Five Senses Hear, paper, metal & plastic, 18" x 12"


Animal Farm, paper, metal, plastic & plaster, 42" x 60"


Lady Guagua, wood, plastic, plaster & paper, 24" x 27"


Manhattan Project, wood & plaster, 19" x 11.5" x 13"


Weight of the World, wood, plaster & paper, 9" x 9" x 18"


Oh No! Another Frank Gehry Building, blowfish, paper & plastic, 38" x 16"


Dubai/Do Buy, sand, metal & plastic, 7" x 32" x 9"


I Fall to Pieces, plaster, 12" x 15"


Five Senses See, paper, metal & plastic, 18" x 12"


Five Senses Smell, paper, metal & plastic, 18" x 12"


Five Senses Taste, paper, metal & plastic, 18" x 12"


The Eye is Never Full, everything, 68" x 51"


Five Senses Touch, paper, metal & plastic, 18" x 12"


Word Mill, wood, metal & vinyl, 9.5" x 8.5" x 35"


Pierre La Toke, paper & ash, 24" x 24"

Statement
I believe pop culture to be one of the best decoders of the cultural values of the times. In my work, I juxtapose and connect the dots the way I see them and hope to share a cosmic giggle with the viewer. Throughout my life and long before the internet, I voraciously fed my eyes with images from nearly 100 magazines subscriptions from multiple countries, ranging from American rural life, Italian Architecture, New Zealand Cuisine, French Fashion, Automobiles, Mad Magazine, Japanese Anime and everything in between. From Museums to the bright images of Walt Disney, the fantasy presentation of celebrity, the idolatry of politicians, or the lingering messages of commercials - all inspired me and gave me my visual appetite. I was awarded a scholarship to The San Francisco Academy of Art. From there, I started in the media establishment and my career took off quickly. Among the many visuals I created were for Apple Computers, Levi Strauss, Harley Davidson, Rolling Stone Magazine and numerous others. Eventually, I moved to film and music videos (i.e. U2, Billy Joel's We Didn't Start The Fire) to feature film (Tom Waits' Big Time).

In 1998 I started working with existing objects. I recycle existing things that I have collected over the years, objects from garage sales and flea markets, even objects I find on the street. I like to believe they get a second life in my work by representing my anthropological views of the 24/7 news cycle onslaught, whether it's Michael Jackson's color evolution or the pop tartiness of Anna Nicole Smith, the burdens of a president or the sheepishness of swayed crowds. I am happy when I see the obvious reveal the unexpected.

I am proud to have my work in the permanent graphics collections of the Smithsonian as well as in the MOMA in New York and the Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco, as well as many private collections.

Comments
“Blum’s work defies classification outside of its consistent excellence. His newest work humorously crosses the boundaries of convention in their biting take on hot topics of the day: food, politics, romance and sex, though not necessarily in that order. He uses his far-reaching creative imagination to give his ideas full expression; creating detailed, saturated artwork with esoteric twists.”
Candace Baron, AZ/NY Gallery

“Like a good court Jester, Chris’s carefully crafted puns amuse us. The vivid images grab our attention immediately; the shrewd observations provide an instant giggle. We feel clever, and then later as we ponder Chris’s irreverence, we wonder whom the joke is on. Only the truth will set us free, they say.” Maryna Hrushetska Art Curator, former Museum Director

“Blum is never sure if he wants to be funny or satirical, so he often ends up being both. That opens the door for almost anything, as long as it’s paradoxical, the kind of ledge he likes working on. One of his box art pieces—a grand mandala of a thing—is called ‘The Eye Is Never Full.’ For Chris Blum, this is true indeed.”
Larry Levinger, Journalist/Critic

Chris Blum’s box art demonstrates a clever ability to juxtapose an assortment of objects within a defined container to create a new aesthetic relationship from the detritus of civilization. In Blum’s boxes there is a sureness of a carefully arranged message gained from viewing the box and the title of the box simultaneously. When one looks at the dried-out puffer fish resting gracefully in the foreground of an architectural landscape and then reads the title “Oh No-Another Frank Gehry Building,” one is amused by the visual joke. What I like most about Chris Blum’s work is the combined evidence of a skilled artist and a curiously clever mind who seems to have a lot of fun provoking the viewer to look and think at the same time.
J ennifer Garden, Curator, Napa Valley Museum

EXHIBITS:

2003 Roshambo Gallery, Healdsburg, CA

2005 H2, Healdsburg, CA

2007 Barn Diva Gallery, Healdsburg, CA

2009 Taylor & Co., San Francisco, CA

2011 Napa Valley Museum, Yountville, CA

PERMANENT COLLECTIONS:

New York MOMA - Permanent Collection

Smithsonian - Permanent Graphics Collection

Achenbach Foundation/Legion of Honor, San Francisco

Djerassi Foundation, Woodside, CA

INSTITUTIONAL COLLECTIONS:

"Blivert" MOMA Graphics Collection 1970

"Plugfoot" 20th Century American Poster Collection, Smithsonian, 1979

"Writers in the West" Achenbach Foundation / Legion of Honor San Francisco

"Eagle Beak" Djerassi Foundation Woodside, CA

Recieved Honorary Doctorate in 2003 from the Academy of Art University, San Francisco, CA

PRIVATE COLLECTIONS:

John and Tina Keker, San Francisco, CA
Steve and Lori Taylor, Piedmont Ca
Richard and Judy Guggenheim San Francisco Ca
Susie Tompkins Buell, San Francisco
David Fechheimer, San Francisco Ca.
Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan, Sonoma CO. CA.
Stephan Singer, Berkeley Ca
Gunella Goren, Sweden
Dr Mats Hagstrom, Palo Alto Ca
Jil Hales, Healdsburg, Ca.
Robin Ridder, Healdsburg Ca.
Al and Margo Merck, Healdsburg Ca.
Ross Stromberg, San Francisco
Marla Bloom, Nyack NY.

 

 


 

 

 

©2011 All Rights Reserved. Frank Pictures Gallery.