Los Angeles artist Michael Hsiung’s graphic art would make the undies of chubby bear-chasers all dewy. Existing somewhere between a T-shirt graphic and the roughly drawn animation of Bob’s Burgers, his pen-and-ink illustrations of hirsute, beer-bellied fellows in flannels are homoerotic enough to excite gay fetishists and non-threatening enough to attract fans of skateboard-deck alternative art. The lightest of light entertainment, with just two women in the 30-plus framed illustrations—one of them the Chinese goddess Nüwa—his solo show “Autobiomythographical” at Artists Republic Gallery is a cross between a Brawny paper towel ad and an Old Spice commercial. It’s the gayest thing I’ve ever seen at a local gallery.
It’s also one of the silliest: In one picture, three shaggy Allman Brothers Band refugees—countrified clothing, long hair, BIG moustaches—have been chased up a desert cactus by a fivesome of adorable puppies; in another, a rotund biker does acrobatics on a motorcycle. One dude jousts with a pair of ball-and-chain flails while standing precariously on a motorbike’s handles; six rotund guys raise their arms in triumph as they finish a 25K beer run without breaking a sweat; two barely clad guys embrace as they sit on a mushroom island; a man sits in a tree, legs crossed comfortably, palms pressed together in meditation. And those are the “realistic” images (and I use that term lightly).
I haven’t even mentioned the Victorian mermen, blue-haired and blue-bearded cyclopses, and centaurs dressed as Hells Angels bikers. Tiny bearded mermen kept captive in corked flasks too long float like dead goldfish, pocket watch dangling from a vest pocket; other half-men, half-fish contemplate suicide, knotting seaweed around their necks or sitting like cell mates in a crowded glass prison; a bearded centaur pours out a malt liquor in honor of a dead homie; a pair of cyclopses rule a narrow kingdom that resembles an apple core, munching on passing butterflies.
The images are weird enough to get your attention and amusing enough to bring about a smile, but it’s the wry Lemony Snicket titles that offer some of the more ambiguous images enough of a barebones narrative that they had me chortling aloud. A few examples: There’s a well-dressed merman named Sid who lives in the mushroom mountain cove and he enjoys bird watching; Concerning Roberto and Gale’s first date on hallucinogenic hilltop, which ended in strange visions and a craving for endless potato chips; and On the harmony found in Bi-Cyclopean-ruled kingdoms, where mushrooms are plentiful and butterflies readily edible.
I don’t think anyone, let alone the artist, would say the images are intricate or even stellar examples of their genre. Easy on the eyes and mind, they’re nothing deep, just hand-drawn jokes passed among stoned friends, laughed at, then put away in a drawer, forgotten until they’re stumbled across years later, laughed at, then handed around again. I say this in no way to diminish the work. I can easily recommend the modest show for all the reasons I mentioned above, even the seemingly negative ones, but if you’re looking for fine art, this exhibition wouldn’t be your destination.
Artists Republic has only been open a couple of weeks in its new digs at the Anaheim GardenWalk, but it has hit the pavement sprinting. Surrounded by a dozen magnificent murals on the floors above it—all done by artists organized by owner/curator Torrey Cook and gallery manager Amanda Raynes—the new space is a huge step up from the tight Laguna Beach bungalow storefront it previously occupied. Colorful and low-price work aimed to catch the eye of mall passersby sits in the lobby, and there are two sizeable galleries behind that. Hsiung’s work is in one, while the second is a group show called “TEN,” featuring the work of 10 artists, including stupendously talented local painter Averi Endow. As if that’s not enough, several dressing rooms have been made over into intimate mini-galleries presenting a mix of local artists in a variety of mediums.
It’s a welcoming space, despite its size, with Cook and Raynes’ banter and stories behind the work inviting you in. As vanguards of the New Contemporary Movement in art, the gallery supports an easy blend of the airy and the thoughtful, flipping the bird to the pretentious and art school damaged, elevating the self-taught individuality of its best artists. Basically, it’s a happy place. Every time I’ve been in the gallery, whether in Anaheim or Laguna, I’ve left with a smile on my face and a lighter heart from the experience. Simply put: Never underestimate art’s capacity to offer you joy.
Cook and Raynes don’t.
“Michael Hsiung: Autobiomythographical” at Artists Republic Gallery, Anaheim GardenWalk, 400 W. Disney Way, Ste. 137, Anaheim, (949) 988-0603; artists-republic.com. Open Wed.-Sun., noon-8 p.m. & by appointment. Through March 25. Free.
Dave Barton has written for the OC Weekly for over twenty years, the last eight as their lead art critic. He has interviewed artists from punk rock photographer Edward Colver to monologist Mike Daisey, playwright Joe Penhall to culture jammer Ron English.
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