PO Box 7230
Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067
T (858) 756-4088
Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067
T (858) 756-4088
1-800 GadgetsAndGizmosArt.com
As seen at Melissa Morgan Fine Art
January 20 - April 30, 2009
January 20 - April 30, 2009
ARTIST STEVE MALONEY EXHIBITS 1-800-GADGETS
SERIES AT MELISSA MORGAN FINE ART
Found at "The Atrium" in Rancho Mirage, California, 69930 Highway 111. The perfect venue for the most engrossing examination of American consumerism and salesmanship yet, presented by Melissa Morgan Fine Art, pleae call 760.341.1056 for an appointment.
The mixed-media series of paintings and sculptural works, inspired by the raging consumerism and salesmanship that are so pervasive in American culture, will be on display for customers and art aficionados alike. Presented by Melissa Morgan Fine Art of Palm Desert, the 24-piece exhibition is on display January 20 through April 30, 2009
Maloney's "1-800GadgetsAndGizmosArt.Com" takes viewers beyond the fact that McDonald's outlets now neighbor ancient temples in China to reflect upon how America settled into the grip of consumerism, where our passion to purchase came from, and where we may end up. The artist enjoys making art that embraces and reflects the times in which he lives, creating dynamic, high-speed, non-static and textural works in the same vein as salesmen who use to hawk Veg-O-Matics under leaky tents at county fairs. "Those guys just amazed me," Maloney recalls. "I wish I could chop and talk like they did."
Drawing inspiration from Robert Rauschenberg, Jacques Villeglé and Andy Warhol, Maloney goes further with his series, transforming the point-of-sale shrink-wrapped primary-colored packaging into artistic "wildfire" through splashes of color, clipped media and graffiti commentary. Bigger-than-life Pop Art paintings rendered on board and canvas are combined with giant objects - a dented and defaced car door here, a blue-wigged mannequin there, and a lime green Go Duster, that staple of late-night television better known as the "Motorized Fun and Easy Way To Dust," placed in just in the right spot.
Like the "must-have" devices that "1-800GadgetsAndGizmosArt.Com" celebrates, Maloney's True Value show was quite a spectacle, indeed. Opening-night attendees followed a red carpet surrounded by sizable spotlights, visuals projected onto the building exterior, and faux paparazzi snapping and begging for a look. The entrance hallway to the store featured a gauntlet of large-screen TVs, each blasting current infomercials familiar to insomniacs or compulsive shoppers.
Once inside, attendees were greeted by "Won't you be my Grill Daddy," Maloney's installation of five Pop-painted and resin-covered nude mannequins, surrounded by the True Value store's usual barbeque display. Nudes and Weber Grills - now that sounds like a match made in heaven.
Meanwhile, up to ten pieces from the series were collaged into a major display within the store's center aisle, including "Blue Balls," an inkjet print on paper of an advertising photo of a Dryer Balls package along with painted torn paper, a dryer door, graffiti spray paint and more; "Doo Mop, Doo Mop Be My Baby," an inkjet on paper of Dust Mop Slippers with magazine clippings, paper and acrylic on board; and "Smoothie Pie," a blue-wigged and collaged mannequin seemingly soaked from a shower, with electric blue hair scattered about to play off a Ladies Infinity Razor.
If all that weren't enough - and, like the gadget hawkers who inspired Maloney's series, nothing is ever enough - the artist took the performance stage for "The All- American Huckster," an original work of word and phrases. Renee Cruz, a director and producer, filmed the exhibition's opening night with an eye toward creating a short film for submission to The Palm Springs International Short Film Festival in August 2009. It was quite a night.
In the realm of hardware, the Palm Springs True Value is a standout, with unique items for the desert and home. The "1-800GadgetsAndGizmosArt.Com" exhibition isn't the store's first foray into art: In 2005, it sponsored an exhibition of Tools As Art, the Hechinger Collection, at the Palm Springs Art Museum.
Melissa Morgan Fine Art specializes in cutting-edge international contemporary art in all media, with emphasis on California movements including Light and Space/Finish Fetish, as well as sculpture and Latin America art. The gallery strives to present museum-quality programs with visionary and distinguished painters and sculptors, as well as artists working in photography, video and installation art. Melissa Morgan Fine Art will represent Steve Maloney's work at the gallery's annex new space at The Atrium in Rancho Mirage, 69930 Highway 111.
SERIES AT MELISSA MORGAN FINE ART
Found at "The Atrium" in Rancho Mirage, California, 69930 Highway 111. The perfect venue for the most engrossing examination of American consumerism and salesmanship yet, presented by Melissa Morgan Fine Art, pleae call 760.341.1056 for an appointment.
The mixed-media series of paintings and sculptural works, inspired by the raging consumerism and salesmanship that are so pervasive in American culture, will be on display for customers and art aficionados alike. Presented by Melissa Morgan Fine Art of Palm Desert, the 24-piece exhibition is on display January 20 through April 30, 2009
Maloney's "1-800GadgetsAndGizmosArt.Com" takes viewers beyond the fact that McDonald's outlets now neighbor ancient temples in China to reflect upon how America settled into the grip of consumerism, where our passion to purchase came from, and where we may end up. The artist enjoys making art that embraces and reflects the times in which he lives, creating dynamic, high-speed, non-static and textural works in the same vein as salesmen who use to hawk Veg-O-Matics under leaky tents at county fairs. "Those guys just amazed me," Maloney recalls. "I wish I could chop and talk like they did."
Drawing inspiration from Robert Rauschenberg, Jacques Villeglé and Andy Warhol, Maloney goes further with his series, transforming the point-of-sale shrink-wrapped primary-colored packaging into artistic "wildfire" through splashes of color, clipped media and graffiti commentary. Bigger-than-life Pop Art paintings rendered on board and canvas are combined with giant objects - a dented and defaced car door here, a blue-wigged mannequin there, and a lime green Go Duster, that staple of late-night television better known as the "Motorized Fun and Easy Way To Dust," placed in just in the right spot.
Like the "must-have" devices that "1-800GadgetsAndGizmosArt.Com" celebrates, Maloney's True Value show was quite a spectacle, indeed. Opening-night attendees followed a red carpet surrounded by sizable spotlights, visuals projected onto the building exterior, and faux paparazzi snapping and begging for a look. The entrance hallway to the store featured a gauntlet of large-screen TVs, each blasting current infomercials familiar to insomniacs or compulsive shoppers.
Once inside, attendees were greeted by "Won't you be my Grill Daddy," Maloney's installation of five Pop-painted and resin-covered nude mannequins, surrounded by the True Value store's usual barbeque display. Nudes and Weber Grills - now that sounds like a match made in heaven.
Meanwhile, up to ten pieces from the series were collaged into a major display within the store's center aisle, including "Blue Balls," an inkjet print on paper of an advertising photo of a Dryer Balls package along with painted torn paper, a dryer door, graffiti spray paint and more; "Doo Mop, Doo Mop Be My Baby," an inkjet on paper of Dust Mop Slippers with magazine clippings, paper and acrylic on board; and "Smoothie Pie," a blue-wigged and collaged mannequin seemingly soaked from a shower, with electric blue hair scattered about to play off a Ladies Infinity Razor.
If all that weren't enough - and, like the gadget hawkers who inspired Maloney's series, nothing is ever enough - the artist took the performance stage for "The All- American Huckster," an original work of word and phrases. Renee Cruz, a director and producer, filmed the exhibition's opening night with an eye toward creating a short film for submission to The Palm Springs International Short Film Festival in August 2009. It was quite a night.
In the realm of hardware, the Palm Springs True Value is a standout, with unique items for the desert and home. The "1-800GadgetsAndGizmosArt.Com" exhibition isn't the store's first foray into art: In 2005, it sponsored an exhibition of Tools As Art, the Hechinger Collection, at the Palm Springs Art Museum.
Melissa Morgan Fine Art specializes in cutting-edge international contemporary art in all media, with emphasis on California movements including Light and Space/Finish Fetish, as well as sculpture and Latin America art. The gallery strives to present museum-quality programs with visionary and distinguished painters and sculptors, as well as artists working in photography, video and installation art. Melissa Morgan Fine Art will represent Steve Maloney's work at the gallery's annex new space at The Atrium in Rancho Mirage, 69930 Highway 111.