The Push Project

June 03, 2003 :: No. 254

The PUSH PROJECT is an exhibition exploring the aesthetics of skateboarding culture within the context of contemporary art. Organized by veteran curator Larry Reid and artist Nin Truong, the show features the work of eight internationally recognized artists working in a variety of disciplines. This exhibition provides a lively examination of a movement that has become a permanent part of our cultural landscape.

Charles Krafft	Jim Woodring	Nin Truong	Shawn Wolfe

Each participating artist has designed a skateboard deck, which has been produced in a limited edition of 40, and will be displayed alongside a body of the artist's recent work. The installation will encourage viewers to draw parallels between the iconography of skateboard graphics and current trends in contemporary art.

PUSH will include new work by a stellar group of artists. Los Angeles photographer, filmmaker, and writer C. R. Stecyk is widely acknowledged as the founding father of the modern skateboarding counterculture. His contributions to the movement were chronicled in last year’s highly acclaimed documentary film Dogtown and Z-Boys (Sony Classic Pictures). Stecyk sets the tone for the exhibition with a series of hand-painted decks recalling his early work for Dogtown and Powell Peralta.

Painter and ceramic artist Charles Krafft gained international recognition with his “Porcelain War Museum” project, which has been exhibited in museums and galleries throughout North America and Europe. His work is currently on display at White Box @ The Annex in New York City. A new book, Charles Krafft’s Villa Delirium (Last Gasp) was published in December.

Alternative cartoonist and painter Jim Woodring has had his singular vision published in several volumes worldwide (Fantagraphics Books) and remains one of a handful of cartoonists to be embraced by fine art institutions. In recent years Woodring’s art has become increasingly popular in Japan.

Shawn Wolfe combines elements of Japanese anime, machine age motifs, and hip-hop graffiti to create his distinctive visual style. His work is documented in the book Uncanny (Ginko Press) and he is currently the subject of a cover feature in the prestigious graphic design journal Print Quarterly.

Metal sculptor Ries Niemi enjoys national recognition for his public works in cities across the country, among them the entry gates to Safeco Field, home of the Seattle Mariners. He is currently in the completion stages of a monumental public art project for a commuter rail station in the city of Pasadena, CA. His deck design, a satire of Microsoft mogul Bill Gates is one of many highlights in the PUSH exhibition.

Painter, cartoonist and writer Randy Wood is a regular contributor for the Tablet magazine, and exhibits his work frequently in galleries throughout the Northwest.

Graphic designer Jeff Kleinsmith is Art Director for Seattle’s famed Sub Pop record label and has created countless posters for concerts nationwide.

PUSH is organized by independent curator and freelance critic Larry Reid together with artist Nin Truong. Reid is the former director of Seattle’s Center on Contemporary Art (CoCA) and has produced hundreds of experimental contemporary art exhibitions and performances in the U.S., Canada and Europe throughout his 25-year career. He co-authored the aforementioned volume on the work of Charles Krafft, his longtime collaborator. Truong is an instructor in Design in the Department of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Washington as well as a visual artist. He is currently involved in a major public art project at the King County Juvenile Courthouse and Detention Center in Seattle in addition to his duties as head designer at Manik Skateboards, the primary sponsor of the PUSH exhibition. The show originated at Roq la Rue Gallery in Seattle and continues its national tour at Cal State Fullerton’s Grand Central Art Center in Santa Ana, California.

A selection of images in a variety of formats is available for publication by contacting Nin Truong at ninrock@yahoo.com. For additional information on the PUSH PROJECT please contact Andrea Harris at 714.567.7233 or e-mail at aharris@fullerton.edu.

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