The Hand that Feeds

Born in Philadelphia, but raised in Fresno, Luke Chueh (pronounced CHU) studied graphic design at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obipso where he earned a BS in Art & Design (Graphic Design concentration). He was employed by the Ernie Ball Company, working in-house as designer/illustrator where he created several award winning designs and was featured in the design annuals of Communication Arts and Print Magazine. Meanwhile, he also created, produced, wrote, designed, edited and published "E.X.P.", a 'zine dedicated to the "Intelligent Dance Music (IDM)" genre. In 2003, Chueh moved to Los Angeles to further pursue a career in design. However, a lack of employment opportunities left him resorting to painting as a way to keep busy (a hobby he picked up while attending Cal Poly). He got his start when the Los Angeles underground art show, Cannibal Flower, invited him to show at their monthly events. Since then Chueh has quickly worked his way up the ranks of the LA art scene, establishing himself as an artist not to be ignored. Employing minimal color schemes, simple animal characters, and a seemingly endless list of ill-fated situations, Chueh stylistically balances cute with brute, walking the fine line between comedy and Mixed media tends to refer to a work of visual art that combines various traditionally distinct visual art media. For example, a work on canvas that combines paint, ink, and collage could properly be called a "mixed media" work. When creating a painted or photographed work using mixed media it is important to choose the layers carefully and allow enough drying time between the layers to ensure the final work will have integrity. If many different media are used it is equally important to choose a sturdy foundation upon which the different layers are imposed. Many interesting effects can be achieved by using mixed media. Often, found objects are used in conjunction with traditional artist media, such as paints and graphite, to express a meaning in the everyday life. In this manner, many different elements of art become more flexible than with traditional artist media. One year ago last March, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck Japan. It claimed the lives of more than 15,000 people, triggered nuclear accidents and moved earth on its axis. Just 3 months before it was even a seismic blip, 7 artists journeyed from Japan to San Francisco to be part of an art event called LOVE MOVEMENT. Shin Tanaka and Nao Shimojo conceived of the show, I curated it, and Cooper attended it. When the Japanese artists had to go home, we’d all become good friends. Nobody knew they were returning to one of the biggest natural disasters in history… EARTH MOVEMENT is a bridge between cultures, continents and generations… Dang, this is really too heavy. Maybe I just wanted to curate an art show with my friend, Super Cooper, and eat Betty Lou’s Cake Pops all night long?