Floating Seattle / Los Angeles ragamuffin, Joseph McSween, aka 2H, now has his solo show on display at the Ronin Gallery in Los Angeles. 2H has come a long way stylistically and technically since his days of striking but simplistic black and white drawings. While his new works still feature beautiful women as the primary objects of his affection, they are more immediately engaging, with more photo-real drawings of women juxtaposed on contrasting backgrounds. The upgraded pricing of his pieces also speaks loads to how much 2H’s name and art have grown within the past year.

But enough about the large-scale, colorful painted pieces; let’s get to some limited edition 2H screenprints which might strike a little closer to home to us Seattlites who have seen his work grow through the years.

The black on white print is limited to 25 copies, on 90 lb paper. $40.
The silver on black print is limited to 10 copies, on 90 lb paper. $50.

www.myspace.com/2hatred
www.theroningallery.com

I first stumbled across Jennifer Tong’s work at a recent 5-woman show at San Francisco’s 1988 Gallery. The show just ended yesterday, funny enough, but the works of two illustrators, Allison Torneros and Jennifer Tong, stood out above the rest. What those two ladies had that the other three did not have as firm a grasp of was solid technical ability coupled with inventive composition.

Jennifer Tong’s latest “Femme-Bot” series is like a child’s story book gone wrong through the infestation of half-clothed women. Mirror Mirror (above) features rich, contrasting colors, and Purple (below) is fascinating in its awkward fluidity. By using oil paints and watercolors in a way that makes them sometimes representative of crayons and colored pencil, Tong’s art provides a sense of familiar, juvenile comfort to even the most mature of adults.

www.nineteeneightyeight.com
www.jentong.com

There was a time back in the 1990′s, and hell, even the early 2000′s, when DeviantArt was the bee’s knees for artists — visual and literary — and was a significant platform for serious artists to perform their work. Since then, DA has lost a lot of its luster; while a few legitimate artists still reside on its webpages, the majority are amateurs who hash out standard anime character flair and mediocre photography.

DeviantArt’s Design Battle 2009 called for DA artists to create t-shirt designs; here are a couple of the Grand Prize-winning pieces. They are decent, but certainly no longer convey what a huge visual powerhouse DA once was.

www.deviantart.com

If you’ve nothing to do tonight, head on over RIGHT NOW to the Munky King to check out the DIY Pusher Show, which will be going on from 7:00pm to 11:00pm. For non-So-Cal-lites, the show will be online this evening.

The DIY Pusher Show is dedicated to different artists’ takes on Thomas Han‘s “Pusher” vinyl toy. Check out a couple examples below.

Dave Pressler‘s “The Death Of Whimsy.”

Nathan Spoor‘s “Candy Push.”

Drive to Los Angeles now, or hop online tonight to see more Pushers!!

www.munkyking.com
www.thomashan.com
www.davepresslerart.com
www.nathanspoor.com

I went to the Henry Art Gallery today with no expectations and was blown away by the William Kentridge exhibit. A South African native that has achieved world-class fame for his drawings, installations, performance arts, animations, and more, Kentridge currently has a body of work on display at the Henry until May 3rd. Included in the exhibit are dozens of black and white charcoal drawings, brilliant stereoscopic images, and mind-blowing animations based off of his charcoal drawings.

While the above bootlegged example (we do not condone bootlegging videos, however) is not one of the animations on display at the Henry, it essentially captures the spirit and gives you an idea of what you can expect. Go to the Henry and be prepared to be amazed by just what one man can do with charcoals.

www.henryart.org
www.williamkentridge.net

Bad ass.
Who’s as excited as I am?