DesignerCon 2020 Be@rbrick Artist Set (5 pack)

Born and raised in Connecticut, childhood trips to NYC in the mid-’80s exposed "Greg Mike" Mensching to the creative potential of reinventing public spaces through art and design. Always obsessed with the boundless energy and crisp line work of iconic American mid-century cartoons, by his early teens Greg began using the walls on the streets to fuse these two passions together. Further inspired by his deep involvement with skate culture and his intersections with the design world, he has become known for pieces that incorporate vivid explosions of incandescent color filtered through a Surrealist Pop Art perspective. Populated by gleefully twisted characters, his world is unsettling, mischievous and uniquely captivating. Greg Mike has painted murals in Atlanta, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, and the Swiss Alps, to name a few. His studio work is currently on view in galleries and museums in Atlanta, Paris, Saint-Tropez, Taipei, Shanghai, New York City, and Los Angeles and more. Currently based in Atlanta, Greg Mike is the founder and creative director of ABV AGENCY + GALLERY, a multi-platform creative studio specializing in graphic design, street art, mural installations, art direction and more. A hub for innovators, ABV also functions as a contemporary gallery space Bearbrick (rendered Be@rbrick) is a collectible toy designed and produced by the Japanese company MediCom Toy Incorporated. The name is derived from the fact that the figure is a cartoon-style representation of a bear and that it is a variation of MediCom's Kubrick design. The at sign in the place of the letter a is a visual device that is a part of the Bearbrick brand, and as such, a trademark of MediCom Toy. The first figure was released 27 May 2001 as a free gift to visitors of the World Character Convention 12 in Tokyo. Since then Bearbricks have been released in several different sizes using a variety of materials, including wood, felt, and glow-in-the-dark plastic. The standard size is seven centimeters high, and these figures are referred to as 100% Bearbricks. Other Bearbricks are named for their size relative to the standard: 50% are four centimeters high, 70% are five centimeters high, 400% are 28 centimeters high, and 1000% are 70 centimeters high. A 200% size chogokin Bearbrick has also been produced standing 14 centimeters tall. A 150% size "Bearbrick Light" has also been produced in 2012, standing 10.5 centimeters tall with a key chain on its head. Medicom Toy is a Japanese brand specializing in the creation of collection toys and figurines since 1996. It has been founded by Tatsuhiko Akashi. It all started with the Kubrick, a so -called standard figurine at the Lego and Playmobil border, a figurine made up of 9 blocks (in Japanese 九 (Kyū) means 9). This new format quickly was very successful and the kubricks will quickly take many licenses from Star Wars to the Planet of the Apes. In parallel Medicom Toy Produced toys of collecting art, sold in limited quantities and very quickly develops many ranges with the RAH (Real Action Heroes), the Mafex (Magical Action Figures Ex), the VCD (Vinyl Collectible Dolls) or even UDF (Ultra Detail Figure). But the planetary success will come with the Be@rbrick, an adaptation of the kubrick in a small bear version with a small plump belly. These figurines in the form of printed bear with different drawings and patterns will make the success of Medicom Toy putting the BE@RBRICK At the Pantheon of designer toy. Many artists and Brands have collaborated on this line of products, in particular Nike, Keith Haring or Kaws, but we also find characters from Movie theater from universes such Up until I was 21 years old, I didn’t care about the Internet. But now, 15 years later, I can pretty much credit the Internet with everything leading up to this article. I tried traditional routes of applying for art jobs back in the mid 90’s. I sent out portfolios and made multiple attempts at getting my comics published, but those only led to rejection. Around that time I started blindly experimenting with the Internet out of boredom and realized immediately that I could anonymously spread around my art on every message board and social networking site without having to face the fear of rejection because I wasn’t trying to really DO anything with my art. I just wanted people to see it in hopes of getting some feedback, even if that feedback was critical and hateful…which it was. But it was helpful. Continuing to jump on as many social networking sites as they appeared, and disciplining myself to actually UTILIZE them was, for me, the most important thing I did in establishing the art career that I have now. So when I got asked by Juxtapoz to curate this Halloween issue, and to additionally be featured and interviewed for it, Jermaine Rogers is most widely known as one of the leaders in the field of modern rock poster art. This involves the creating and production of promotional poster artwork featuring concerts, musical events, and musical releases by certain rock and roll artists. Jermaine Rogers has created these pieces of advertising since the year 1994. By 1996, due to growing workloads and collectible popularity in this field, Rogers abandoned his secular job to pursue the creation of poster art on a full-time basis. For the last few years, Jermaine has chosen to concentrate more on fine art, design, and other personal pursuits. Louis De Guzman is a Chicago-based visual artist and designer who creates artwork that merges his past with his present. De Guzman’s geometric abstraction style often blends together images and stories that evoke his family’s immigrant journey, and his own experience as a second generation Filipino American. Over the last decade De Guzman has proved himself as a prominent designer and creative director. De Guzman has been able to blend both traditional and experimental techniques in his work, which has attracted attention from corporate clients and culturally relevant figures alike.