Lucha Squid Purple

ToyQube & Gallery is located in Flushing, New York, straight out of the Q borough. The big apple is right in the heart of the exploding toy scene. Many of the most sought after artist/designers originated from these very streets. You might notice that many of out products seem to be influenced by street culture, TQ represents this in the fullest. We bring you not only designer vinyl toys and other collectable figures, but we also carry kicks, clothing, and other gear that comes with the lifestyle. Most of our toys come directly from Japan, Hong Kong and other European countries - too many to name. And of course we carry a variety of figures by local designers in the states. We are just trying to satisfy everyone from the vinyl collectors to the sneaker heads. South Los Angeles native Jaime Zacarias aka GERMS is seemingly infected with an innate ability to channel the spirits of our surrealist predecessors, slapping our eyeballs with his grotesque yet amusing iconography and ameoba like characters while simultaneously referencing post-Chicano culture and imagery. He is known for cleverly stylized Luchador masks given life by their protruding tentacles, surrounded by floating amoebas that playfully flirt with their viewers' imaginations. Says GERMS, "I find myself mesmerized by the seemingly infinite details and borderline infectious behaviors of each character I create, while striving to transform and challenge the traditional interpretations of the icons we all know so well." The viewer is drawn into a complex layering of cultural references; comfortable and familiar, often times playful and childlike imagery, which may, however, mask the dark and sinister - but which is imbued with an innocent sense of "anything is possible" in the World of GERMS.