Fantastic Reception, Device Inception

Saturday night marked the opening reception of the Fantastic Contraption exhibit I’ve been blustering about. Curated by Device Gallery owners Greg and Amy Brotherton, this show focuses on man, machine and the fusion of the two.


A very happy Greg Brotherton with his work.You may have seen Greg on Coilhouse before – read Nadya’s writeup here.

Device is nestled comfortably among dozens of galleries near the ocean. The touristy neighborhood is full of art, boutiques and eateries but there’s nothing quite like Device here! The gallery has plenty going for it besides its location, too – its spacious interior is overflowing with art I’d only dreamed of seeing in one place. Where else can you see H.R. Giger hanging alongside the huge canvases of Eduard Anikonov, wander beneath the shadow of Brotherton‘s Mercury 5000 and hover over the several enhanced insects on display before getting lost in Halleux’s menagerie of characters! I even spied work by Kazuhiko Nakamura of Mechanical Mirage – one of my earliest mentions here on Coilhouse. The exhibit has a distinct zeitgeist feel, this much I tell you with complete certainty.


Sculpture by Stephane Halleux

After some time spent exploring I had the pleasure of chatting with Greg and Amy along with Nemo Gould and Stephane Halleux, whose work is approximately 98% more impressive in person. I also took tons of photos some of which are below the jump while the rest are being uploaded here, as time allows.

It will be interesting to see how a space like this does among galleries specializing in friendly still life, idyllic beach scenes and the like. Considering Saturday’s turnout, my prognosis is “just fine”. Fantastic Contraption is Device Gallery’s inaugural show and runs through September 2. Go now.


Missile grip chair by Zoran Milvojevic


Mecha-beetle by Insect Lab Studio


Mechanical Mirage


Nemo Gould’s nightmare reindeer


with Stephane Halleux

10 Responses to “Fantastic Reception, Device Inception”

  1. Terra Trouvé Says:

    This looks fantastic. hopefully some of these artists will come across the pond so us over here can appreciate them fully.

  2. Skerror Says:

    I’m so glad this happened. The future just got a lot cooler.

  3. Zoetica Says:

    Terra – I’m sure it won’t be long. At the very least you can count on a Giger or two hanging someplace, right?

    Skerror – my sentiments, yes!

  4. Terra Trouvé Says:

    That’s true. There’s a lot of Giger floating around. I’ve got a couple of prints myself. It’s just that the new blood in the mechanical art world has so much potential i’m postively atwitter to see it in the shiny chrome-finish flesh.

  5. Zoetica Says:

    I think this means you must make it down here while the show is up! Though I’m sure Device has plenty more goodness up its sleeve.

  6. Merveilluse Says:

    damn! I’m definitely not in California. How sad. Love that first sculpture, too.

  7. Vivacious G Says:

    Device sounds like a wonderful place. Thank you.

  8. Robert Weller Says:

    It was a beautiful opening. Amy and Greg are great. The future of Device will be interesting, hopefully they get some local work up. San Diego artists need a lot of help.

  9. D Says:

    Oh my god – if the top one was an espresso machine…the stuff that dreams are made of suddenly feels like steel.

  10. DAWK Says:

    DEVICE HAS BURST ONTO THE NEW IDEAS SCENE WITH AN AWSOME SHOW. LIVING NOT-FAR, HALF DAY DRIVE,WILL NOW SUBMIT MY ‘ROBO ART’ CHARACTERS,AN SEE IF AM IN THEIR ‘VISION’. THE ‘MIGRAINE HEAD ‘….SCUPLTURE WAS MY FAV,AS IT REMINDED ME OF THE MEN IN BLACK CHARACTER,INSIDE THE SKULL OF THAT ALIEN.WHAT A GREAT VISION THIS COUPLE HAVE,AND A VERY BRAVE VENTURE IN NEW ART CONCEPTS,WISH THEM THE BEST, CHEERZ FROM DAWK