JOYENGINE: cause sharing is cool

Nice profile on our good friend Shannon Bonatakis at the Egotist. Read it – and look at the pretty pictures.

Beyond the Page opened about a week ago at Gallery 1988, San Francisco. It featured a solid mix of artists and illustrators, all reimagining their favorite children’s books. Our own Shannon Bonatakis was a participant, taking on childhood staples Goodnight Moon, and Where the Wild Things Are. Her homage to Maurice Sendak is still available amazingly. I’m hoping it will adorn my wall one day, but I wouldn’t hold it against you if you can’t live without it either.

Here are some highlights from the show. Enjoy!

Last week Gallery 1988 opened their latest thematic endeavor, Idiot Box, featuring all television-flavored artwork. The show included the usual eclectic mix of artists, including our own Shannon Bonatakis (whose brilliant take on “My So-Called Life” got snatched up early).

The show can be seen online in its entirety HERE.

The following are some highlights of my favorite pieces from this show. Enjoy.

Shannon recently showed opposite Luke Feldman at Rivet Gallery in Columbus, Ohio (a very cool little vinyl toy shop/gallery). Shannon’s new pieces felt like little treasures, unearthed from some long forgotten attic space. It was her biggest and best showing to date, as her fine art works are progressing beautifully. The gallery was packed all night, and most of the work got snatched up fast, but there are still a couple of pieces available HERE. Shannon is currently working on some new stuff for some group shows at Gallery 1988, so we’ll keep you posted. Nice job Shanny!

Shannon’s latest for Rivet Gallery

Our pal, Shanny, or Shannon Bonatakis as most folks know her, doesnt’ mess around when it comes to her paintings.  She tucks herself away in her little studio, surrounded by pics of her favorite kitty, tiny brushes, lots of paints, and really just gets after it… night, after night, after night… until everything is just right.

Watching Shannon paint is totally intimidating, kind of nerve wracking, sort of scary, and most certainly magical.  On March 7th at 7pm at Columbus Ohio’s Rivet Gallery, Shannon’s latest round of what I equate to complete and utter self-torture turned amazing – goes on display for all to see.  And, people are going to be impressed.  Shannon’s seemingly painful process is a labor of love, that only she and maybe Josh can really wrap their heads around.  I’ve got a feeling that this body of work is gonna put Shanny a little closer to where she belongs, regarded as one of the leading young ladies in the world of contemporary/surreal painters.  I certainly hope so.

Shannon is painting a lot.

Last week Gallery 1988 opened their latest thematic endeavor, aptly titled titled “Cover Band”. The concept is simple, the gallery chose from some of the most beloved albums of all-time and handed them off to an eclectic grouping of artists for defacing. The results were mixed, but overall an interesting experiment. Some notable participants include Alex Pardee, Krista Huot, McBess, Jim Mahfood and Shannon Bonatakis.

The show can be seen online in its entirety HERE.

The following are some snippets of my favorite pieces from this show. Check out the original artwork if you’re unfamiliar, there’s some really clever stuff in there.

On Friday night Gallery 1988 opened the second annual “Crazy 4 Cult” show, hosted by infamous film director Kevin Smith. The show’s theme centers around a list of films affectionately known as cult classics, and features artists as varied as the films they represented. Some notable participants include Shepard Fairey, Jim Mahfood, Chet Zar, Plasticgod, Reuben Rude, Camilla D’Errico and Shannon Bonatakis. I did not have the pleasure of attending, but the show can be seen online in its entirety HERE.

Smith made sure to snatch up every single piece that featured his film alter ego Silent Bob, hopefully not to look at himself, but to support those artists that have supported his film career all these years… Yup, that’s what I’m going with. Love me some smodcast. Rumor has it that Weird Al will be hosting next year, look for UHF to dominate.

The following are some snippets of my favorite pieces from this show. Enjoy!

The dynamic duo that is Josh Holland and Shannon Bonatakis activated their collective creative energy to manifest their contribution to Denver’s Manifest Hope Gallery exhibition.  These two can do no wrong when it comes to paint and brushes and the below piece, provoking a sense of both awe and discovery is a testament to their powers.  Having been in and out of the gallery a great deal over the past week, and witnessing all sorts of all-star art activity,  it’s been pretty amazing to see not only how well represented, but how high the level of execution is amongst our local Colorado contingent is.  The force is strong with us.

Shannon Bonatakis just put the finishing touches on her piece for Gallery 1988’s “Crazy for Cult” show in LA, and you’re getting a first look at it! The show is hosted by film making duo Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier, of Clerks and Mallrats fame. We’re all big fans of Smith’s and Shannon’s work, and super excited to see the two names in a single sentence. Her contribution is a beautiful little painting of a Tim Burton cult classic that’s near and dear to her heart. The rest of the group show is looking promising thusfar, check it out! We’ll keep you posted on news and a final recap of the best pieces in the show. Snoogens!

We’ve dropped various photos of our close friend Shannon Bonatakis’s recent “Princess of Power” painting (acrylic on 24″ x 26″ canvas), but none of this quality.  Shanny repeatedly blows our minds and we can’t push her painting prowess enough.  Being regular guests of the Bonatakis/Holland household we’re privy to some extra-ceptional artwork.  For those of you that have never been… imagine a studio filled with paintings of this caliber – if you can…