Upcoming UCSD Artist Book Lecture/Demo

Hey y'all, I'm giving a talk about my artist book practice and process at UCSD on Tuesday, March 5th, 2013. It's in the Visual Arts Department, Room 202, from 4:30-6:30pm. The event is FREE and open to the public! Please come by! 

"Fell, Falling, Fall" at Boehm Gallery, Palomar College

 I just finished installing a massive new solo show titled Fell, Falling, Fall at Boehm Gallery, on Palomar College's campus in San Marcos, CA. It features a new, immersive pattern environment (painstakingly drawn out then painted in by hand) into which a survey of recent drawing work was placed. I'm thrilled with the results! Please- go check it out!! It's open Tuesday-Saturday, through March 16, 2013! 

The view from the entrance:

View of the left and center walls:

View of the center and right wall:

View of the rear wall:

No One Gets Out Alive (Nobody Wins), Ink on paper, 22" x 30" each, 2010 

(First exhibited at Periscope Project in San Diego, CA):

The Distance Between Us, Ink and Conte on Paper, 156" W x 110" H, 2009

(First exhibited in GLAMFA 2009 at CSU Long Beach, as part of an immersive environment titled The Source of the Truth is Neither a Source Nor the Truth):

Ghosts, Ink on Paper, (Dimensions Variable), 2012

(The large drawing was first exhibited in a 2012 group show titled Do Anything, curated by Christopher Kardambikis at Space 4 Art in San Diego, CA. The smaller drawings are some of the pages of the Ghosts zine I made at the same time:

Facies Hippocratica and various works from Good Grief, all works Ink on Paper, (Dimensions Variable) 2012

(Facies Hippocratica (the cross-hatched, floating heads) were first exhibited in Collide, a one-night event in downtown San Diego, CA. The pattern pieces were first exhibited in a two-person show with Matt Coors, titled Good Grief, at Double Break in San Diego, CA.):

My three primary assistants (after MVP Lauren) rocking Nobody Wins tees... Mark, Sydney and Alex! Thanks, guys! :

The show definitely wouldn't have been possible without Boehm's rockstar preparator, Lauren Denning. She gets the MVP award, hands down. Thanks, again, Lauren! It wasn't that bad! :

Say cheese: 

Many thanks also go to Ingram Ober, chair of Palomar College's Art Department and director of the Boehm Gallery. Thanks so much for the invitation, and for allowing me to go completely over the top in your lovely gallery! 

LA Art Book Fair!

 My booth at the 2013 LA Art Book Fair, at MOCA Geffen! The absolute highlight of the fair (besides my lovely and amazing girlfriend flying in from NY to hang out with me) was definitely when DIANE KEATON bought a Nobody Wins t-shirt! The sweatshirts SOLD OUT, but stay tuned to the blog- I have another run coming down the line, and they'll be available in my (in the works) webstore next month, along with a TON of zines and prints! 

NEW BOOKS AND SHIRTS FOR THE LA ART BOOK FAIR!!

I'm releasing a TON of new stuff at the LA Art Book Fair, which opens TODAY!!  Five new books, a new t-shirt and sweatshirt, plus prints, re-issues, older zines, and SKULL STICKERS!! There will also be a brand new wallpaper on display... see the background of the blog for a little hint at what it will look like! 

Anyways, three of the books stem from material shot on my recent trip to Tokyo, and as such, I'm referring to them as the "Tokyo Triptych". 

Against Architecture, Volume One: Tokyo
(Limited edition of 50 hand-numbered copies) 

Tokyo Masks
(Limited edition of 50 hand-numbered copies) 

Tokyo Steps

(Limited edition of 50 hand-numbered copies) 

This next one was inspired by three of my favorite artists, one of which is a dear friend. (Limited edition of 10 hand-numbered copies). It's called THTMGR. I'll send a free copy to whoever correctly guesses the three artists that title refers to. (fat chance)

I made the drawings for the next book on the day of the Newtown shooting. It's titled 121412, and is also a limited edition of 50 hand-numbered copies. 

My second Nobody Wins shirt, and I'm REALLY excited about it! Limited to 50 white tees and 12 baby-soft grey sweatshirts. 

Lastly, don't forget about this dude: Untitled (Skull on Column). Limited edition of 10 signed and numbered archival inkjet prints. 

LA Art Book Fair February 1-3 at MOCA Geffen

I have a booth at the first annual LA Art Book Fair! 

Hosted by Printed Matter, at the Geffen Contemporary at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). I'll be releasing three new books from my recent trip to Japan, and (hopefully) I'll have second editions ready for the three books I made for last year's fairs in Tokyo and New York! 

Preview January 31, 2013

Open all day February 1-3, 2013

Free and open to the public!

Moving to Brooklyn Studio Sale! December 14-16 (11am-6pm)

For Immediate Release

Louis M Schmidt’s Moving to Brooklyn, NY Studio Sale

December 14-16 (11am-6pm each day)

(above)

Four drawings from a series of seven, from a 2010 show titled No One Gets Out Alive (Nobody Wins) at The Periscope Project in San Diego, CA.

(above)

Two drawings from a 2012 series titled Facies Hippocratica.

Please join artist and Double Break co-owner Louis M Schmidt at his Hillcrest, San Diego studio, as he prepares for an upcoming move to Brooklyn, NY! On display will be framed and unframed drawings from 2009-2012, including work from recent exhibitions at Double Break (SD), the NY Art Book Fair (at MoMA P.S.1), Park Life (SF), The Periscope Project (SD), Agitprop (SD) and more! Schmidt will be present throughout the course of the event and welcomes the curious and the conversant, the appreciator and the collector, friends and strangers alike. A passionate artist, curator and writer, Schmidt has dedicated five years of hard work to the cultural landscape of San Diego; this is an excellent opportunity to meet and talk with the artist, plus you might want to snap up some work to help him out with a big move to a big city!

This is a “pay and carry” event- if you’re interested in a piece, you can buy it and take it with you, on the spot! A PDF pricelist is available, upon request. Email me at the address listed below! 

December 13 (11am-6pm)

Private preview. Please RSVP via email.

December 14-16 (11am-6pm each day)

Free and open to the public!

The studio may also be seen by appointment, from December 13-20. Contact the artist at the email address provided below to schedule.

The studio is located behind the artist’s apartment complex- come to the below address, and follow the signage:

LMS STUDIO

1st and Pennsylvania Ave

San Diego, CA 92103

For more details and phone number, contact: louismschmidt (at) gmail        

http://cargocollective.com/bridgethevoid                

http://bridgethevoid.blogspot.com           

(above)

Two drawings from a 2012 exhibition titled Good Grief at Double Break in San Diego, CA.

(Untitled) Pyramid Wallpaper Project

Here are a few photos, courtesy of Tim King, of my PODS (Portable On Demand Storage) project I did recently to help kick off San Diego's "Fall for the Arts" October arts month. This is custom "wallpaper" I designed. The project began with an original ink drawing that became the basis for one single square unit in the wallpaper. From that drawing, I digitally created a repeating pattern, then composed a large format print that I had made at a local copy shop. The exact same method and materials one would use to make a zine. I consider this a sort-of large sketch for future installation possibilities, using patterned environments both as stand-alone installations, as backdrops that compliment and complicate smaller framed and unframed drawings, and as singular wall pieces to incorporate (as murals or wallpaper) into my exhibition designs. 

Dimensions of this room: 16'L x 8'H x 8'W

(click to expand the images)

TOKYO 2012: An Epic Trip Deserves an Epic Post!!

My recent trip to Tokyo (with my buddy CJ Coccia) was INCREDIBLE!! I've been wanting to participate in the Tokyo Art Book Fair for a few years now, and it was fantastic! we met so many amazing people and skateboarders, skated all over the city (stay tuned for the video proof) and got into some hijinx:

I DID take 2500 photos while I was there... lucky for you all, I edited them down to... less than that for this blog... Click on the first image and scroll through them as a slide show, or scroll down to read my occasional captions: 

On the plane:

on the train:

note the guy getting a shave, spotted from the train:

first look at our new neighborhood, Koenji. such a RAD place... staying there made the entire trip perfect:

the door to our place:

got off the plane, checked into the place, got a beer and went for a roll... we met this great dude Suga within our first hour:

easily my favorite stickers in Tokyo... I saw a number of variations all over the city:

this is raddest motorcycle safety ad I've ever seen: 

curbside coke break: 

one of my favorite moments of the trip... stumbling across a Travis Millard sticker on a random pole. cool skull sticker right there, too: 

I'm pretty bummed I didn't buy this shirt: 

lunch break spot...

maybe my favorite photo of the trip: 

stair cleaner: 

taking the elevator up to skate across the Rainbow Bridge and into an area called Odaiba:

that's the bridge we skated over... it was epic:

great expression:

sneak peak at a forthcoming project:

Visited the Mori Art Museum... here's a little Louise Bourgeois in the courtyard: 

bummed I didn't buy this rad (untranslated) Yuichi Yokoyama book- he's one of my favorite Japanese artists: 

Excellent book, critical reference for some of Tokyo's best art spaces:

the views from Mori tower are amazing:

we took the train to Yokohama just to go a bar called Thrash Zone... it promised craft beer and thrash metal! how could we NOT go? 

cute train lady:

great expression:

we went to Odaiba again to find another skate spot:

bone skirt:

sneak peek at ANOTHER forthcoming project:

Here's a few shots of a (permanent?) Barry McGee piece outside the Watari Museum, from a 2007 show he did there: 

those are actual painted panels behind the windows:

painted on the outside of the window:

oooo... rad little skull sticker in the mix!

Little Shepdog cover-up:

shirt at the Supreme store:

They're all reading manga:

lost looking for punk/graffiti/skate bar:

cab driver:

homeless:

met a random crew on the street, we rolled with them to a gallery opening:

mall grab:

cool little space called Amp Cafe:

dude with a rad Jay Howell board for Creature: 

my booth at the Tokyo Art Book Fair, with my recent wallpaper pattern and all the drawings from the new book Ghosts on the wall. 

Four new books, a new print, a pile of skull stickers and some older stuff:

Couldn't have had finer table-neighbors: Goteblud (super rad vintage-zine shop in SF) and Ed Luce (creator of Wuvable Oaf)

we're about to roll into an awesome party:

rooftop bbq:

random American, homeless gutter punk, pissing off of the roof:

DJ with a two-man freestyle battle going down in one room:

and the room right next door to the freestyle battle... 

there was an awesome metal band! 

the famous sink/urinal combo:

another day at the Tokyo Art Book Fair:

and back on the train:

um... this little street party our friends were into got... crazy: 

the police were real nice about it... no, seriously... they were actually VERY nice! 

back at the Tokyo Art Book Fair the next morning... I'm bummed I didn't buy this Gonz book:

visitors to the fair:

tight ass sneaks:

CJ snapped a few photos of me hard at work: 

reminded me of Geoff McFettridge: 

sweet ST hat, spotted on the subway:

our station:

in our hood... "Bad-Nice":

party's over... we're headed back to the airport:

pre-flight lunch... something like cheese pizza, and vitamin water: 

at least we had a GORGEOUS sunset: 

It was such an amazing trip... I have to extend my utmost gratitude to everyone who helped me out at the Tokyo Art Book Fair- Futoshi, Oliver, Naoko, Heather... THANK YOU!!!  I'm hoping to return next year, maybe put up a little show at the same time as the fair.. And to all the epic skateboarders and friends we met and hung out with... I couldn't have dreamed of a better trip! See you in a year?