Yoko: Touring Designer Toy Show
Touring Designer Art Toy Show at HOWL Gallery
May 7th to May 21st
HOWL Gallery has partnered with DKE Toys and adFunture Workshop to bring the Custom Yoka Touring Show to downtown Fort Myers. The exhibition at HOWL Gallery will open Friday, May 7th, with an Art Walk Reception from 6 to 10pm. The show will be display at HOWL Gallery through May 21st. The Custom Yoka Show premiered at Designer Con in Pasadena, California in November of 2009. adFunture Workshop provided their 3" blank Yoka panda bear vinyl figures to DKE Toys, which distributed them to over 200 artists selected from around the world, including HOWL Gallery co-owner, Andy Howl. The show includes: Anthony Ausgang, Jophen Stein, Heidi Kenney, Steven Daily, Snaggs, Arbito, Chris Ryniak, kaNO, Itokin Park, Dan Goodsell, olive47, Dacosta!, Chino and literally hundreds more.
Featuring work from 20 countries, the show turns the quirky little panda into everything from a dirty thug to a sweet snail in this tremendous exhibition. Pieces are priced from $25 to $800 and will be available for immediate purchase through HOWL Gallery. The Custom Yoka Show coincides with the release of Yoka Series One, a blind boxed collectible figurine now available. The show's tour began in Los Angeles, California, and includes exhibits in Ohio, Florida, Arizona, and New York.
DKE Toys is one of the largest designer vinyl and art-toy distributors in the world, exclusively representing over 100 companies, artists, and designers.
adFunture Workshop creates designer vinyl figures in Hong Kong and maintains an irreplaceable role within the international designer figure movement.
The Opening Reception on Friday, May 7th, from 6-10pm is hosted in conjunction with the monthly Art Walk in downtown Fort Myers. All ages are welcome and light refreshments will be provided. The evening also features live music by Cosmic Mountain from 8-10pm on the HOWL Gallery back patio. An additional daylight reception on Saturday May 8th from 12-4pm is also scheduled in conjunction with the Art Walk Saturday Art Fair.
HOWL GALLERY/TATTOO PRESENTS GALAXIES UNITED
OPENING RECEPTION APRIL 1st DURING FORT MYERS ART WALK
HOWL Gallery/Tattoo presents “Galaxies United”, a new exhibit featuring the artwork of Stephen Hayford and Robert Hendrickson, both Lucasfilm artists living in Southwest Florida. The show features photographs of hand-crafted dioramas by Stephen Hayford and the graphically bold watercolor works of Robert Hendrickson.
Stephen Hayford is an award-winning photographer, working in photojournalism for more than 20 years. His journalistic work influences his art, which is approached from the perspective of a documentarian. Hayford creates elaborately detailed dioramas which he populates with customized action figures which are less than four inches tall. He then photographs these unique scenes with great attention to light, subtle gestures, and compositional storytelling. Thus he creates realistic, and sometimes exaggerated, portraits of human behavior in plastic.Hayford’s interest in plastics grew out of his childhood fascination for toys and passion for Star Wars. He channels this youthful passion as an official artist for Lucasfilm. His personal work reflects the peculiarities he encounters as a Florida resident.
Robert Hendrickson was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. At a young age he showed an interest in the arts that eventually lead him to the Art Center College of Design. Since launching his career as a freelance illustrator, Robert has created artwork for the entertainment, advertising, book and magazine industries. Past and current clients include Lucasfilm, The Jim Henson Company, Time Inc, Topps, IDG Entertainment and more. In 2005, Robert began officially creating artwork for the Star Wars universe. His work can be seen in the pages of Star Wars Insider to limited edition prints for Star Wars Celebration IV, V and Star Wars Celebration Japan.
The opening reception for “Galaxies United” will be held Friday, April 1st, in conjunction with the downtown Fort Myers Art Walk, from 6-10pm. The evening will also be a celebration of HOWL Gallery/Tattoo’s 2 Year Anniversary, and will feature a raffle with a portion of the proceeds benefitting the Animal Refuge Center in North Fort Myers. The exhibit continues through April. For more information, please visit www.howlgallery.com, www.stephenhayford.com, or www.roberthendrickson.net.
