Karma and Voodoo (as told by Danny Kass)

Acrylic paint is fast drying paint containing pigment suspension in acrylic polymer emulsion. Acrylic paints can be diluted with water, but become water-resistant when dry. Depending on how much the paint is diluted (with water) or modified with acrylic gels, media, or pastes, the finished acrylic painting can resemble a watercolor or an oil painting, or have its own unique characteristics not attainable with other media. Joshua Liner Gallery is pleased to present Listen and Learn, an exhibition of new works by the San Francisco-based artist Jeremy Fish. This is Fish’s second solo show with the gallery. With its graphic style of bold lines, bizarro characters, and cartoon colors, Jeremy Fish’s art naturally lends itself to storytelling. In an unabashed celebration of this folk art form, Listen and Learn puts stories and storytellers front and center as Fish demonstrates the enduring appeal of storytelling in popular culture. The exhibition features assorted tales from a wide swath of contemporary life—including from artists, skateboarders, rappers, athletes, a stripper, a cop, and a historian—which Fish has reinterpreted in lovingly realized painted works. Rendered in acrylic on hand-cut wood panels, these thirty “story paintings” are accompanied by audio recordings of the source tales recounted by the original storytellers, available to gallery visitors on MP3 players and headphones mounted next to each work. For this impressive project, Fish gathered a selection of friends and acquaintances whose rich lives have engendered no end of interesting tales. Most prominent among them is rapper/producer/actor Snoop Dogg, who recounts a story from childhood. In the tale, Snoop is among a select group of neighborhood kids to be Jeremy Fish lives and works in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood. His artwork deals with the relationship of all things cute and creepy, and the balance between the two. The work tends to be narrative stories designed with a library of symbols and characters. In the last few years Fish has exhibited his work in Japan, Germany, Switzerland, Taiwan, Poland, Hungary, Denmark, Canada, Holland, Austria, Slovakia, Italy and all over the United States. Jeremy's education and work experience has lead to a career as a fine artist and as a commercial illustrator. Finding a balance between exhibiting his work both across the U.S., and internationally in galleries and museums. while maintaining a presence designing skateboards, tee shirts, vinyl toys, album covers, periodical illustrations, murals and sneakers. The artwork is mainly about story-telling and communication, told through a library of characters and symbols. With an emphasis on finding a balance with the imagery somewhere between all things cute and creepy. Jeremy has lived and worked in San Francisco for the past 15 years.