On Saturday, April 14, Los Angeles street artist Buff Monster returns to Corey Helford Gallery to unveil the “Legend of the Pink Cherry,” his fifth solo exhibition at the gallery and his most ambitious to date.
Internationally known for his super bright, happy, and bold imagery, the paintings in the main gallery will celebrate the last eleven years of Buff Monster’s career, culminating in a timeless epic tale of good vs. evil. For the “Legend of the Pink Cherry,” the artist draws inspiration from Renaissance paintings. Buff Monster will introduce his latest creamy creation, a soft serve ice cream cone with human-like arms and legs. Each acrylic-on-wood panel piece in the show is delicately rendered with airbrush, a first for the artist.
Buff Monster’s narratives are more character and figure-based than before, and the series of paintings created for the exhibition will also reveal a new direction in Buff Monster’s career. “I’ve always thought of my work as inspired by and representative of Los Angeles—Hollywood more specifically. Los Angeles is the birthplace of Buff Monster. Part of why I feel compelled to tie everything together is that I feel that this chapter of my life and my work is coming to an end, and I’m looking to the future. It’s time to go East.”
The upstairs gallery will feature the second half of the exhibition, the debut of a project Buff Monster has been working towards his entire career: “The Melty Misfits,” a set of 60 collectible trading cards honoring the the Garbage Pail Kids. “I know more about Garbage Pail Kids than anyone you will ever meet,” Buff Monster adds, and in keeping true to the original form, each painting is 5”x7” on watercolor paper with acrylic and airbrush. The cards will be released on opening night, and the original paintings will be on display. Buff Monster notes, “I am going through a ton of work to make these as close to the vintage cards that we grew up with as possible. They’ll be printed offset using a custom paper stock and custom-mixed inks, and will come in wax packages just like cards from the 80s.”
The opening reception for the “Legend of the Pink Cherry” takes place Saturday, April 14 —Buff Monster’s birthday —at Corey Helford Gallery. The reception is open to the public, and the exhibition will be on view through May 5, 2012.
