![]() Cloth-spined and case-bound, this full-color compendium heralds not only the birth of a wild and woolly nation, but also the arrival of a major new force in the art world. The thoughtful and provocative design, by Tokyo wunderkind Ian Lynam, elevates Spoons’ opus beyond a “mere” collection of jaw-dropping artwork to a true coffee table gem. Rendered in swaths of psychedelic fluorescents in a flurry of wild yet delicate brushwork, the explosive pages of Welcome to Forest Island establish Bwana Spoons as the cuddliest art-monster around, whose furious imagination is matched only by the intimacy of his handskills. The denizens of this mind-bending island include sweet whale-gators, boozy super-cicadas, arrow-slinging, basket-weaving bearded love tribes, an ex-hobo mushroom farmer, and one brutally intense bat who plays drums in a proto-metal band and would do just about anything to make a bagel relinquish its jelly filling! Top Shelf presents Welcome to Forest Island, the flagship monograph by Bwana Spoons, a painter, designer, screenprinter, zine rocker, and toymaker whose work has been featured on a dizzying array of shoes, skateboards, apparel, baby strollers, art toys, and gallery walls throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia.Īll 144 full-color pages - including paintings, maps, sketches, comics, and more - are dedicated to Forest Island: the wild, hyperchromatic paradise Spoons has been constructing with his art for several years. Otto Seibold, illustrator of Olive, the Other Reindeer Over the years CUPCO!? has expanded into all kinds of media: exhibitions, illustration, animation, exquisite hand-made artworks and more."Bwana Spoons' art puts me in the mind of secure expansion, perfect days sculpting in seaweed and driftwood, forgetting about clocks, and unknowingly impressing your best friend." - J. Born on the streets of Tokyo, CUPCO!? began as a street art project mixed with a proficiency in hand-made dolls and skateboarding. We'll be back shortly though with another exhibit this month that will have a reception - stay tuned.ĬUPCO!? (aka XUPXO) is the brainchild of Australian artist Luke Temby. We're not entirely sure yet if we'll get a "preview" out before this exhibit opens Saturday but we're working on it - stay tuned! The results are equal parts impressive and bizarre, but always interesting and we're so happy to bring you this new show.īe sure to sign up for the Gallery Previews List at for first online access to this and future exhibits. In the years since we last showed him, Luke has branched out from his handmade plush dolls and has recently been exploring both soft sculpture like the mannequin style head seen here, but also beading on non-traditional materials. So when Luke reached out again when we were in the middle of setting our 2023 exhibit schedule and inquired about putting on another exhibit, we immediately said yes. But for whatever reason we never reconnected, despite remaining big fans of what he did. Luke continued to evolve as an artist over the years, making some amazing work in plush, but also exploring other handmade styles - always with a cool pop sensibility. The hammerhead-shark-shaped board shows the sharks body full of ocean trash. Not too long after that, Luke collaborated with Red Magic and produced a really stellar set of CI Boys, one of the early blind box series to come out of Hong Kong (2007) - but the last time he graced our wall's was another Shawnimals production, 2008's Plushform show. PangeaSeed skateboard deck created in collaboration with Bwana Spoons. His work always had a sort of a punk rock meets meticulous arts and crafts vibe (mixed with a bit of cute) that we absolutely adored. CUPCO made super clean and super clever stuff that drew on pop culture and Luke's sometimes twisted (in a good way) sensibilities. One of the coolest people we got to work with back then was CUPCO.an Australian artist living in Tokyo that made the sweetest plush art dolls. Back in 2005 we were just a baby store and gallery, and we did some pretty cool handmade plush art shows, one curated by Bwana Spoons□, and another that was curated by Shawnimals❤️.
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