Taking this into consideration, I felt that this show should feature something a little different from my regular paintings on canvas. After much deliberation, I decided it would be fun to have a show dedicated to the customization my trademark bear heads.
Toy "customization" has been around for as long as there have been toys, but it's a particularly important part of the designer/art toy culture. Entire art shows have revolved around the idea of taking a toy, treating it like a canvas, and imprinting ones signature style across it. It's also a discipline I regularly indulge in, and so I felt that a show featuring my own customs on my own sculpture in a gallery owned by a magazine that showcased the works of designer/art toy artists was only natural.
The heads was originally based on the head of my toy "Target". I handed Clutter one of these heads and asked if they could make an 8" in diameter version of the head. A couple months later, two big boxes of blank heads showed up, and the foundation of my show made.
Original
Acrylic on Rotocast Resin Bear Head
Approx 8" in diameter all the way around
2014
Original (Black)
Acrylic on Rotocast Resin Bear Head
Approx 8" in diameter all the way around
2014
Blackfaced
Acrylic on Rotocast Resin Bear Head
Approx 8" in diameter all the way around
2014
Gouged
Acrylic on Rotocast Resin Bear Head
Approx 8" in diameter all the way around
2014
Feeling Blue (Bear Head)
Acrylic on Rotocast Resin Bear Head
Approx 8" in diameter all the way around
2014
Seeing Red
Acrylic on Rotocast Resin Bear Head
Approx 8" in diameter all the way around
2014
Luke Chueh and the Psychedelic Experience
Acrylic on Rotocast Resin Bear Head
Approx 8" in diameter all the way around
2014
NOTE: As of the the posting of this article, I'm surprised to say that this is one of the two heads that hadn't sold yet. I'm surprised because this was probably the second most time consuming head I created. It has a vibrant presence, and if you know the story as to why I use the bear as a metaphor for myself, you'd know why I created a design inspired by the psychedelic experience.
Decapitated (White)
Acrylic on Rotocast Resin Bear Head
Approx 8" in diameter all the way around
2014
Decapitated (Black)
Acrylic on Rotocast Resin Bear Head
Approx 8" in diameter all the way around
2014
Skull
Acrylic on Rotocast Resin Bear Head
Approx 8" in diameter all the way around
2014
Pink
Acrylic on Rotocast Resin Bear Head
Approx 8" in diameter all the way around
2014
NOTE: After getting to know the people at Clutter Magazine, I learned that Pink is one of their signature colors. As such, I thought it was appropriate that I created a pink bear head for our show.
Asides for my own "Heads" show, my friend Scott Tolleson presented a sculpture line he named "Heavenus". Since we were going to share the same space, we thought it would be fun if we traded and customized each others work. From Tolleson, I was asked to customize one of his "Stuffed Idol" sculptures. From me, I asked him to customize one of my bear heads.
Asides the original artwork for the show, I thought it would be a good idea to have for sale a limited run of pink bear heads. (Pink is the Clutter Magazines signature color). We also produced a limited run of Decapitated Bear Heads. This particular bear head design has never had the decapitated treatment, and it seamed only fitting that we produced these for this show. Each heads facial features were hand drawn by myself for this event.
If you're interested in buying either of these items, please contact:
Finally, due to the interest expressed from other artists concerning the availability of the blank Bear Heads, Clutter will be making them available, directly through them. I'm not sure when they'll be available for sale, but they're definitely going to be made soon. I'll be sure to mention it through my social media sites when it happens.
