ROYAL/T PRESENTS
FACEMAKER
CURATED BY KATHY GRAYSON
OPENING APRIL 14th, 2011
On Thursday, April 14 2011, Royal/T—Culver City’s playful, visually stunning 10,000-square-foot space known for its changing program of rotating curatorial art exhibits from top artists and gallerists around the world—debuts FACEMAKER, a new exhibition curated by Kathy Grayson owner of The Hole NYC that will be displayed through June 2011. Featured in the show are works from contemporary young artists including the title piece by Ben Jones, in addition to Barry McGee, Kenny Scharf, Joe Grillo, assume vivid astro focus, Tomoo Gokita, Eric Yahnker, Jane Moseley, Olaf Breuning, KAWS, Ted Mineo, David Shrigley, Shepard Fairey, Eddie Martinez, Taylor McKimens, Francine Speigel, Avery Newman, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Robert Lazzarini, Aurel Schmidt, Kembra Pfahler, Rivas & Tullie, Aaron Johnson, Brian Belott, Matt Leines, SWOON, Allison Schulnik, Clare Rojas, Jules de Balincourt, Michael Williams, Takeshi Murata, Anders Oinonen, Justin Samson, Misaki Kawai, Andrew Jeffrey Wright, Dennis Tyfus, Katherine Bernhardt, Todd James, Matt Greene, Stefan Bondell, Spencer Sweeney, Nate Lowman, Mat Brinkman, Jakub Julian Ziolkowski, Billy Grant, Adam Tullie and FriendsWithYou. The show will explore interpretations of the most universal element of human perception: the face.
Each artist in this show finds a new way to imagine a face, whether in painting, drawing, sculpture, or video. “At Royal/T, we want to think of a different way to share the rising talents of undiscovered underground artists,” says owner Susan Hancock. “Our visitors look to us to share current art culture with them, and we feel it’s important to spotlight the cutting-edge work that Kathy Grayson is doing at The Hole in New York City and the work that these young artists are putting out.”
The forthcoming art installation at Royal/T will highlight the title piece, FACEMAKER by Ben Jones, playing on a large flat screen TV. A Los Angeles resident, Jones combines the vocabulary of video games and digital art to create playful works that blur the lines between media, and is currently working on his first television show that debuted on Cartoon Network this April 4th. The FACEMAKER exhibit will coincide with MoCA director Jeffrey Deitch’s Art in the Streets—the first major art museum survey of the history of street art and graffiti in America from the 1970s to the present—at the Geffen Contemporary in April 2011, and many of the artists from Art in the Streets will also have works at Royal/T.
“The FACEMAKER exhibit is particularly exciting and relevant because as people, we’re instinctively wired to see faces in everything,” adds Grayson. “Today’s young artists are approaching this simple concept in a way that challenges our assumptions and makes us consider the face in new ways.”
About Curator Kathy Grayson:
The former director of Deitch Projects in New York City, Kathy Grayson opened The Hole with fellow former Deitch Projects director Meghan Coleman, in June 2010 to “fill the hole” left by Deitch’s move to Los Angeles’ MoCA. Grayson brought a roster of contemporary artists to Deitch Projects, and The Hole’s opening exhibition, “Not Quite Open for Business” displayed works in various phases of completion with pieces by over 20 artists from the community. A curator, painter, and writer, Grayson is also the Arts Editor at i-D magazine. She can be found blogging about art and graffiti at http://artfrombehind.net.
About Royal/T:
Located in Culver City, Royal/T is a playful blending of café, concept shop, and art exhibition space. The 10,000-square-foot space reflects the interior realm of fantasy that strongly influences the artists included in Owner Susan Hancock’s art collection. The art space showcases curated exhibitions with a focus on Japanese contemporary art. FACEMAKER will be on display at Royal/T from Friday, April 1, 2011, through Thursday, June 30, 2011. The exhibit is free and open to the public from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. daily, with extended hours on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. For additional information, guests can call Royal/T at 310.559.6300 and visit www.royal-t.org. Royal/T is also on Facebook and Twitter.