Rotofugi - Exhibition Trifold

rotofugi gallery TM

rotofugi gallery TM

2780 N Lincoln Avenue

Presents

1 1 a m - 7 p m , 7 D ay s a We e k

Charles Burns & Joshua Smith

7 7 3 - 8 6 8 - 3 3 0 8 rotofugi@rotofugi.com

Oct. 25th - Dec. 25th rotofugi@rotofugi.com

Born in Washington D. C., Burns was only a young tyke when he moved with his family to Seattle in 1965 (not so coincidentally the eventual locale of his semi-autobiographical magnum opus, Black Hole). Burns’ childhood was steeped in Mad magazine, Roger Corman horror flicks and the television culture of that time. After attending high school in the mid-’70s and discovering underground comics artists such as R. Crumb, Burns went to Evergreen College, where he would meet such soon-to-be famous cartoonists as Matt Groening and Lynda Barry. He subsequently attended graduate school at the University of California, Davis. It was while Burns was living in Philadephia in 1981 that, flipping through channels on his TV, he stumbled across a wrestling show; his fascination with a huge wrestler with a tiny mask and many tattoos led to the creation of “El Borbah” — so named in honor of the Mecxican wrestlers Burns admired, and his friend John Borba. He drew his first El Borbah story, “Robot Love,” in 1982 and placed it with Heavy Metal; the character also made an appearance in RAW magazine, where Burns became a regular. Burns would later create a “RAW one-shot,” Curse of the Molemen, starring his Big Baby character, which was published as a 32-page hardcover in 1986. Moving to Italy in the mid-’80s with his wife, he became influenced by the Italian comics scene, joining the “Valvoline” group of artists founded by Lorenzo Mattotti, and began publishing his work there. Upon his return to the U.S. in 1986, he experimented with a weekly strip (“Big Baby,” 1989-1991), collaborated with Gary Panter on Pixie Meat and worked on stories for various horror anthologies. In 1994, he began the most ambitious and best work of his career, Black Hole, for Kitchen Sink. Upon Kitchen Sink’s collapse, he moved the series to Fantagraphics in 1998, finishing it in 2004. This tale of modern horror focuses on a plague that can only be transmitted between sexually active teenagers. Since its debut, Black Hole has been a multiple Harvey, Eisner and Ignatz Award winner, and made The Comics Journal’s list of the “Top 100 English-Language Comics of the Century.”

It was collected as a hardcover by Pantheon in 2005. The “El Borbah” stories were published as Thrilling Defective Stories by Pantheon in 1988. The “Big Baby” strip material was published as Blood Club, a full-color comic, by Kitchen Sink in 1991 and a graphic novel from Penguin called Skin Deep in 1992. Fantagraphics subsequently collected all this material in three hardcover books: El Borbah, Big Baby and Skin Deep. A prolific and highly-sought magazine illustrator, Burns has done covers for such magazines as Time and The New Yorker, and is the regular cover artist for The Believer.

He’s designed the sets for a New York production of The Nutcracker called The Hard Nut and produced album covers, including the spectacular fold-out that graced Iggy Pop’s “Brick by Brick.” His advertising gigs include the ill-fated O.K. Cola brand (alongside fellow Fantagraphics cartoonist Daniel Clowes) and a huge campaign for Altoids in 2003 which included several comics pages. Burns lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with his wife, painter Susan Moore and their two daughters. http://www.fantagraphics.com/artist-bios/artist-bio-charles-burns.html Photo By Renoud Monfourny - http://blogs.lesinrocks.com/photos/2011/01/

Type Treaments & Branding Typography is far more than just a simple addition to a product or brand, it is what sets the tone for the entire piece. Each letter has a way of reacting and uniting to form meaningful, powerful words that embrace a sense of emotion or power.With that knowledge, producing pieces that best represent the needs is what Hydro74 prides itself on to help other brands find their identity and voice, philosophically and aesthetically. Apparel Development Apparel is a amazing medium that is widely embraced by masses to best symbolize one’s individuality while conforming to various cliques.

This is something I fully understand and appreciate. Even to the point that a close friend & I put on a T-Shirt Gallery Show that grows in attendence and online with each new version that is produced.

Apparel is everything that is meaningful in design because it is a common bond everyone shares and voices our most inner feelings without having to openly state it each and every time we speak. It is the true cog in the wheel of conformity that allows us the illusion of individuality and our own personal choice to be unique in this very common world.

Illustration Complexity and a fluid organic approach is what is highly valued in each and every piece. A Illustration to me is something that tells a story with out words needed. It builds a bond with the viewer who will either get it, or find it horrible, yet, the interaction is what is desired when doing a piece. Some Illustrations are trend based iconic structures meant to embrace the masses to encourage sales, while others are explorations turned to symbolic ideas on paper or fabric.

Illustration is something I find deep meaning in.

The Purveyor of Sin What does it mean? Well, the basics are simple. Purveyor means in the simplest form, ‘provider’ and the sin is the hours I work to define my skills and offer them to those willing to pay for it. It is the best representation of my personal vision for Hydro74.

Hydro74 | MCMLXXIV Hydro74 is a Orlando based designer, otherwise known as Joshua M. Smith. The soul purpose of my career is to push the boundries in doing what I feel is relevant to the market as well as extract various elements and trends to be able to offer them up in my own personal work. But let’s be honest. I do what I love because I love it. Not because I have to do it, nor am forced to do it, but rather passionate about doing what I do. I firmly believe in having set style tones, yet a sense of diversity to make any various project unique to the demands that are set forth. http://www.hydro74.com/