Heads

This May, Clutter Magazine & Gallery hosted a mini solo show featuring myself and my friend and colleague, Scott Tolleson. In case you're not familiar, Clutter Magazine is a quarterly journal that features artists from the designer/art toy scene.
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: 

Clutter Magazine or click on this link.

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.

IGNEUSGERO.blogspot.com is now LUKECHUEH.blogspot.com

When I first started blogging, I blogged under the URL lukechueh.blogspot.com. The name of my blog was "Luke-Brow" (a pun on Low-Brow), and I regularly posted show and project information. Unfortunately, because of some lifestyle choices, I began to totally neglected my blog. I don't recall when I last posted to Luke-Brwo, but come 3 years ago, I made another major lifestyle change (this time for the better), and felt that it was time to start blogging again. But rather than dust off Luke-Brow, I wanted to live Tabula Rasa (clean slate). For my new blogs name, I started by taking the latin from my logo (Igneus Gero - To Bear Fire) and used it for my newest blog's URL.
Come April 2014, after mulling over the words "Igneus" and "Gero", I finally decided that the name didn't suit me. I started by changing the Latin in my logo to Igneus Ursus, "The Fiery Bear" (a whole explanation about this change will be coming soon) and now it was time to take back my name.
I started by changing Luke-Brow's URL to lukebrow.blogspot.com, and then I gave lukechueh.blogspot.com to the blog you're currently reading. And now, all is right in my world.
I'm sorry if these actions might have caused you any problems.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you found my explanation acceptable.

-LukeChueh(.blogspot.com)

Clutter Gallery Presents "Heads"

This May, Clutter Gallery will be the hosting my upcoming mini solo show, "Heads". Clutter Magazine & Gallery are best known for their coverage of the Art/Designer toy scene. As such, we felt that this would be a good opportunity for me to do a show that was very different from my normal paintings-on-canvas shows. Starting with my bear's head, we sculpt and rotocast an 8" in diameter version of it. The end result is a unique platform for me to build this show on.
The show is also a two person show. I'll be sharing the gallery with my friend and colleague Scott Tolleson.
Finally, this is one of my first major exhibitions on the east coast (I've been in group shows out there, but I guess no major galleries in NYC are interested in doing a major show with me), but I'm definitely planning on being in attendance at the opening reception.

Opening Reception Saturday, May 10th, 2014 (6PM - 9PM)
Clutter Gallery 163 Main Street. Beacon, NY 12508

Boba

Boba

Acrylic on Wood Panel

18" x 24"

2014

For Corey Helford Gallery's final show in their original space, they chose to host "Pop-Eyeconic", a group show with a Pop/Icon theme. This was the perfect opportunity to bust out an idea I'd been sitting on for a couple years now: "Boba".
To me, "Boba" was a simple, almost obvious, visual pun. I was honestly surprised I hadn't seen it yet. Combine Boba Fett (the infamous bounty hunter from Star Wars) with Boba Milk Tea (a popular tea based drink featuring "boba" or tapioca balls).  Both of these things have played some kind of role in my life. As a child, the character Boba Fett and the Kenner action figure were hugely popular to me. And as a young asian american adult, I'd indulge in Boba Milk Tea whenever I visited my folks in the San Gabriel Valley. For the painting, I also added a hoodie because it's one of my favorite articles of clothing. 
"Boba" will be available as a limited edition print from my friends at 1xRun on April 11th, 2014.

Alcoholic's Anonymous

In December, 2013, my friend and colleague Michael Mararian curated a show called "Bound Requiem". Hosted by Last Rites Gallery, the idea behind the show was to have artists "reinterpret paper bound books into contemporary art pieces".
For this show, I chose to create a painting on the cover of an Alcoholics Anonymous.
This particular copy of AA was given to me while I was checked into a rehab for a substance abuse problem. Though I personally don't have an issue with alcohol in particular, many addicts are referred to the AA book because of the college level writing featured in its pages. (The NA book is written at an elementary school level)
The painting I created is essentially a revisit of my painting "Dirty Martini". The biggest difference being the crucifix toothpick that's impale the head/garnish in the cocktail. I chose to feature this kind of religious imagery because Alcoholics Anonymous (and Narcotics Anonymous) turn to religion as a tool to help addicts come to terms with their humility. Unfortunately, it's this religiousness that I find difficult to accept, and usually kept me from accepting their fellowship.

Milk & Cookies

Milk & Cookies

8" x 10"

Acrylic On Wood Panel 

2013

"Milk & Cookies" was created for a Krampus themed group show hosted by Copro Gallery in December 2013. In case you're not familiar, while Santa distributed gifts to the "good" children, Krampus distributed punishment to the "bad" ones.
Upon further consideration of this relationship, I wanted to believe that Krampus and Santa were truly partners/colleagues for Christmas. Of course these characters are opposites of each other, but at the end of the day, they also need each other. I perceive them as being two sides of the same coin, and as such, this would mean Krampus would share in the spoils of Christmas, ie. "Cookies & Milk".
This painting ended up being the first in a series I'm hoping to explore in the future. Where most of my paintings are built around a simple formula:"light" characters in "dark" situations, "Cookies & Milk" reverses the formula, inserting a "dark" character" in a "light" situation.