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NEWS

Kwangho Lee: Black Whale

July 28, 2010 – 2:51 pm

Set & Drift is honored to bring the work of Kwangho Lee out from Korea for Current — an exhibition of hand-crafted design — this September. For the upcoming exhibition, Kwangho is building a large scale lighting installation, a transformative and sculptural piece knitted with power cords as his unconventional medium. Though born and raised in rural Korea, Kwangho now lives and works in Seoul, and he’s been sending us some tantalizing shots of his studio and work in process.

Below: Kwangho uses this table with a circular hole surrounded by pegs to knit some of his pieces. He says he created it after coming across a similar smaller scale tool used in metal jewelry making.

The creation that he’s dreamed up for Current has acquired the name Black Whale, a 7 foot long knitted lighting installation that’s coming to life and being prepared for its migration to San Diego. Read more about Kwangho’s process here and be sure to make a date for The Opening at The Bakery. {Full event details here!}

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Kwangho Lee: transforming the ordinary

July 28, 2010 – 11:05 am

This September at Current – an exhibition of hand-crafted design, guests will experience the intriguing work and story of Korean designer Kwangho Lee. His rural upbringing inspired him to apply traditional hand-crafted techniques (knitting) to otherwise uninspired urban materials (power cables), to create transformative and sculptural lighting installations.

As a very young child, his grandparents looked after him on their farm in rural Korea, where the ability to transform everyday materials into useful tools and objects is a way of life. Lee’s grandfather worked stone, rope, wood, and clay into implements for growing vegetables, raising cattle, and supporting the family. His mother points out that from a very early age, Kwangho became adept at manipulating material with his hands, which led him to an interest in the arts.

When Lee moved to the city to begin primary school he continued to visit his grandparents in the country, splitting time between urban and rural environments, forming a pattern of duality that inspired his creative output. Prairie and parking-lot met and became his muse.

Between his grandfather’s farm tools and his mother’s habit of knitting (check out the sweater vest above), Lee started down a path with the thought that “works done by hands can bring new meanings and value to the ordinary things.”

We’re honored to present Kwangho Lee’s work at Current – an exhibition of hand-crafted design – with an Opening Reception on Saturday, September 4th, at The Bakery in Barrio Logan, San Diego, California USA. For details on the events, including the Patrons’ Night gathering September 1, click here.

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LOOK at Subtext: 07.30.10

July 28, 2010 – 10:05 am

LOOK: The work of Josh Higgins & Grant Brittain converge at Subtext this Friday, July 30th!

We’re so looking forward to this collaborative show featuring our fellow collaborator and San Diego based graphic designer Josh Higgins (you might recognize his posters from past Set & Drift events below!). He’s also the founder of The Haiti Poster Project, quite a monumental undertaking, which continues to raise funds for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti through sales of posters designed by artists and designers from around the world. He’s one insanely talented, hard-working, passionate, and wonderful guy! So come out:

Different artists, different mediums, different content. But the song remains the same (or at least similar). Friends and fellow artists Grant Brittain and Josh Higgins will grace the walls of Subtext. Brittain’s portraiture of some of skateboarding’s greatest names through the years features icons and underground heroes. Higgins’ poster-art focuses on his work with punkers, musical heros, and charitable causes.

The place will be packed, so get there early!


Josh Higgins Reinventing the WheelJosh Higgins CONSPIREJosh Higgins printsJosh Higgins

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Save the Date: CURRENT

July 26, 2010 – 9:37 am

Set & Drift Presents CURRENT:
An Exhibition of Hand-Crafted Design

Make a date now!

PATRONS’ NIGHT:
Wed. Sept 1, 2010 (7-10 pm, tickets required)
An intimate evening gathering at The Bakery, in celebration of hand-crafted design: offering a sneak preview of “Black Whale”, Kwangho Lee’s knitted lighting installation en route from Seoul, and first dibs on the goods at the exclusive pop up shop, featuring textiles, jewelry, and design objects by 8 American designers. Catered by the infamous MIHO Gastrotruck {hand-crafted street food} with enchanting live music and beverages. With surprises from generous patrons including Olive View Vineyards & Winery, Halcyon Tea, Caxao Chocolates, New Belgium Brewing, The Pearl Hotel, Temecula Olive Oil, and more. Tickets: $50 donation. Tickets are limited; reserve them here.

THE OPENING:
Sat. Sept 4, 2010 (7-10 pm, free)
Saturday night will be host to Artist Openings throughout the Barrio Logan neighborhood. Check out: the photography show across the street at Voz Alta and open artist studios throughout The Glashaus (a must-see re-purposed glass factory), including Device Gallery’s Creatures of Industry.

OPEN GALLERY:
Fri-Sun. Sept 3-5, 2010*
*open throughout ART SAN DIEGO Contemporary Art Fair (downtown)

View full event details and photos here!

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Tijuego Street Art Bike Tour

July 25, 2010 – 12:08 pm

Join Sezio, Set & Drift, and Turista Libre for a bicycle-powered street art tour of Tijuego (Tijuana + San Diego). The tour will be split into two rides and will visit urban art installations adorning both of our sister cities.

TJ Ride // Saturday, July 31 // 1:00 pm
Meet at the gates on the South side of the pedestrian border crossing in Colonia Federal. After-party at Pop Diner starting at 4pm

…SD Ride // Sunday, August 1 // 11:00 am
Meet at Urban Outfitters, Hillcrest by the OBEY mural
The ride will conclude at MCASD Downtown at 2pm
After-party at Super El Camino in Little Italy at 4pm

Photo Scavenger Hunt
We’re encouraging all participants to document this ride, and the art we’ll experience along the way. After the weekend, upload your photos to Flickr and email the set link to info@sezio.org. We’ll choose two winning albums, one based on quantity of photos and one based on quality photos. Each winner will be granted a one year membership to Sezio and to MCASD, along with gift certificates to El Camino and El Take It Easy, and some gear from Velo Cult.

Border Crossing Details
We recommend taking the trolley to the border. If you choose to drive, park at San Ysidro and cross through the first turnstile into Mexico. Walk down the promenade with a mural on the right and a row of official-looking teller windows on the left. Soon thereafter you’ll come to a fork where you can keep going straight or turn right. Turn right, go through the second turnstile, and we’ll be right there on the other side waiting for you.

Bike to the Museum Day @ MCASD
The SD Ride corresponds with Bike to the Museum Day at MCASD’s downtown location, and the Viva La Revolucion exhibit. A free bike valet will be provided at the TNT location (across from the museum). Your bike valet ticket will be good for 1/2 price museum entrance and for a 2 for 1 drink special at the El Camino after-party.

RSVP on Facebook

Check out the tour map

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Barrio Logan gets a bit of Dr. Lakra

July 16, 2010 – 8:16 pm

dr-lakra-mural-barrio-logan

Oaxaca based artist and tattooist Dr. Lakra just got into town for tomorrow’s opening at MCASD. He’s painting into the night on the West wall of the Miriello Grafico building at the edge of the infamous Barrio Logan neighborhood. Some of you might recall the art show we held at this building a couple years ago.

dr-lakra-mural-barrio-logan-02

Barrio Logan is an appropriate location for the artist with its rich tradition in Latin American street art including Chicano Park, one of the most densely concentrated areas of murals in the entire country and the site of a crucial show of civil disobedience by the local community.

dr-lakra-mural-barrio-logan-03

Dr. Lakra was a very nice, soft spoken dude. With our studio just around the corner from “The Logan” building, we couldn’t be happier having his art so close. The full shot below shows what’s left to paint tonight, and apparently he’ll keep painting toward the right (if he has time).

dr-lakra-mural-barrio-logan-04

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Survey Select Narrative Art Exhibition

July 16, 2010 – 3:32 pm

The Survey Select Narrative Art Exhibition is now up — taking place July 15 to September 5, 2010 at the Wonderbread Factory in San Diego. Mark Murphy has gathered a truly admirable group of 65+ artists, including the likes of Jeff Soto, Dalek, Kelsey Brookes, and Bonnie Marie Smith (a Set & Drift favorite, shown above). The exhibition examines “a new tradition of storytelling”, and we are thrilled that it’s here in San Diego. Catch the public reception tonight! (And keep an eye out for the clever display pieces by local design-build firm Bells & Whistles.) Find artist and event details here.

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Grandpa Grumpypants meets OBEY

July 16, 2010 – 12:55 pm

shepard-fairey-obey-mural-san-diego-03

There were plenty of onlookers during the second day of work on the OBEY GIANT mural in South Park (San Diego) by Shepard Fairey and his crew (day one here). The crowd was a good mix of photogs, hipsters, fixie riders, random curious ladies taking neighborhood walks…and along came a man who seemed to be plucked straight out of a Quentin Tarantino film.

He moaned some nonsense about how he “owned most of all this…” property next door to the mural, and whined, “I gotta look at this every day!?” The hipsters had some fun chatting with him as Grandpa Grumpypants kept staring up with fire in his eyes at the scissor-lift while Fairey & co. cut huge stencils of a cloaked figure.

shepard-fairey-obey-mural-san-diego-04

It was interesting to see the artists cutting their stencils directly on the cinderblock building. Seems like a mundane detail, simply a time-intensive task required to get a huge mural up on the side of a building – and indeed it is.

But it’s also a reminder that the patronage of a museum like MCASD (or for that matter, lending our own wall to Mike Maxwell) can make a world of difference for what an artist is able to do with a public work. Having several days to underpaint, create background patterns, wheat-paste in several layers, and overlay figurative images with enormous grid-based stencils is a lot different than showing up at 3am with a pre-cut stencil and a couple cans of aerosol.

Both modes of operation have their owns merits, but they are vastly different when it comes to decorative complexity or the context created by risking arrest.

We’re pretty happy about the freedoms granted to the artists of Viva La Revolucion, and hope the extra time they’re spending on these pieces will open more dialogue with Grandpa Grumpypants or anyone else who’s a stranger to street art.

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Street Art Disneyland

July 15, 2010 – 6:30 am

Shepard Fairey OBEY mural in South Park San Diego

After putting up an enormous mural in Hillcrest (check Carly Ealey’s beautiful photos for Sezio here), Shepard Fairey and his crew were back at it, this time in the South Park neighborhood of San Diego. They have the underpainting and some stenciling out of the way, and we’re excited to see the progress in the coming days.

Detail of Shepard Fairey OBEY mural in South Park San Diego

With MCASD commissioned works popping up all over town (officially or otherwise), it’s been like a street art Disneyland in San Diego over the past several weeks. Undoubtedly, the carpet-bombing from Space Invader, Barry McGee mural, Os Gemeos’ human step ladder, and the large-scale OBEY GIANT murals underway are creating tons of excitement leading up to the Viva La Revolucion exhibition opening this Saturday.

But the hype is a little uncomfortable, and immediately stirs up the dialogue that came out of the brilliant (mock or doc- umentary ?) Exit Through The Giftshop. But the excitement is also simply a good reminder that art should be a part of everyday life.

We also can’t help being stoked to live 4 blocks away from an in-process OBEY mural.

Stencils for Shepard Fairey OBEY mural in South Park San Diego

More updates from the field soon…

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July 12: Meetup at The Farm Proper

July 11, 2010 – 9:20 pm

We’re hosting a happy hour gathering at The Farm Proper at our Barrio Logan studio on Monday, July 12 – 6 pm. Drop on by!

Details here.

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