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
July 22nd, 2008 at 10:04 am
This looks fantastic. hopefully some of these artists will come across the pond so us over here can appreciate them fully.
July 22nd, 2008 at 1:12 pm
I’m so glad this happened. The future just got a lot cooler.
July 22nd, 2008 at 2:27 pm
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!
July 22nd, 2008 at 5:01 pm
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.
July 22nd, 2008 at 6:04 pm
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.
July 22nd, 2008 at 7:49 pm
damn! I’m definitely not in California. How sad. Love that first sculpture, too.
July 22nd, 2008 at 7:58 pm
Device sounds like a wonderful place. Thank you.
July 23rd, 2008 at 7:16 am
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.
July 29th, 2008 at 2:58 am
Oh my god – if the top one was an espresso machine…the stuff that dreams are made of suddenly feels like steel.
July 29th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
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