Curated by Nash Yoshii
Featuring work by Makoto, Mr. G, Rockin’ Jellybean, Sugisack, Widerange, Grimb

Opens Friday February 4th 6-10pm
With live music by Los Peligrosos - Pin striping demo with Makoto and Mr. G 7-9pm!

Roq la Rue opens for 2005 with a vibrant show featuring 6 Japanese artists who work within the “Kustom Kulture” movement.

Kustom Kulture is a uniquely American art form that began in the 1950s studio of legendary hot rod hero Ed "Big Daddy" Roth. Working with artists including Robert Williams, Von Dutch and Rick Griffin, his iconoclastic custom cars and lowbrow sensibilities reverberate to this day - from the fine art world's recognition of Robert Williams' paintings to the popularity of Kustom television shows such as the Discovery Channel's "Monster Garage." The renegade outsider status accorded to people who run is such circles has caused it to develop its own subculture, with a distinctive iconography, lifestyle, vocabulary and fashion sensibility.

A small group of Japanese artists took note of this subculture and were instantly entranced. Rather than viewing it as a passing fad, these artists immersed themselves in the “Hot Rod” lifestyle - customizing cars, learning to pinstripe, traveling to car shows, and creating street art using the subculture’s outlaw symbolism such as skulls, cars, monsters, and tattoo images. A thriving subculture now exists in Japan devoted to the scene,?which has?incorporated elements of Japanese pop culture, while remaining loyal to the American hot rod tradition.

This show features the work of several of these Japanese artists, and ranges from Rockin’ Jellybean’s exquisitely rendered rock vixens, to Sugisack’s photo realistic paintings of street rods, to Mr. G’s meticulous pin striping, to Makoto’s exceptional blend of traditional Japanese iconography with old school Americana. This show is curated by Nash Yoshii of “Burnout” magazine and Detroit Junk in Tokyo.

Roq La Rue will be taking over the neighboring art studio for this opening, to feature live music by Los Peligrosos, and a pin striping demo by Makoto and Mr. G. Got something you want striped up? Bring it down with some dough and they’ll take care of it!

Contact info: Kirsten Anderson kirsten@roqlarue.com
(206)374-8977
Roq La Rue 2316
2nd Ave Seattle WA 98121