Carmichael Gallery of Contemporary Art Presents ‘Pour Me Some Smoke’ Charming Baker, Case, Guy Denning, Ian Strawn, TRXTR Also showing in the rear gallery Damon Ginandes and Pedro Matos 1257 N. La Brea Avenue West Hollywood CA, 90038 Opening reception: Thursday, November 6th, 2008 / 7:00PM – 10:00PM Exhibition Dates: November 6th – November 30th, 2008 Please RSVP to rsvp@carmichaelgallery.com

(West Hollywood, CA) Carmichael Gallery of Contemporary Art presents one of their most important exhibits to date: Pour Me Some Smoke, a group exhibition featuring the works of Charming Baker (UK), Case (Germany), Guy Denning (UK), Ian Strawn (USA), and TRXTR (UK). Artwork on display will include oil on canvas, linen, paper and wood, hand-touched and layered digital collage, and acrylic on birch panel. Artists featured in this show represent some of the strongest voices in contemporary figurative artwork and have surpassed the delineations of lowbrow or urban into a new fine art movement.

The Artists and Their Work

Charming Baker
	Charming Baker paints beautifully in oil; his pictures are deftly decanted concoctions of familiarity and unease. “I like it when something is not quite right. I like to take people along a path which leads to a place they don’t expect to be. They might discover a personal or political subtext…they might simply enjoy the view. The effect I’m aiming for in my work is that slightly unnerving feeling you get when you have your arse patted in public – but you’re not exactly sure who’s patting it”. His influences include: cheap books, heroes, Zulus, odd-looking women, suburbia, tea and the smell of cheap perfume.

Charming Baker (UK), The Universal Principle Accepts No Liability For Any Loss Or Damage Incurred
Oil on Linen on Wood, 3x4ft (100x120cm), 2008, $4,800.00

Charming Baker (UK), The Unfathomable Distance of Proximity
Oil on Linen on Wood, 3x4ft (100x120cm), 2008, $4,800.00

Charming Baker (UK), Intelligence Is No Match For Adaptability
Oil on Linen on Wood, 3x4ft (100x120cm), 2008, $4,800.00

Charming Baker (UK) Love Paves Its Way To Decay
Oil on Linen on Wood, 3x4ft (100x120cm), 2008, $4,800.00

Charming Baker (UK) Half Pint (the Panda Boy)
Silk-Screen Varnished Giclee on Somerset Velvet, Artist Proof
1 Available of 10, Framed, 27.5x19.5in (70x50cm), 2008, $400.00

10 Available from Edition of 85
Unframed, 27.5x19.5in (70x50cm), 2008, $250.00

Charming Baker (UK) Half Pint (the Panda Boy)
Hand-Finished in Acrylic over Silk-Screen Varnished Giclee on Somerset Velvet, Artist Proof
1 Available of 4, Framed 27.5x19.5in (70x50cm), 2008, SOLD

7 Available from Edition of 15
Unframed, 27.5x19.5in (70x50cm), 2008, $440.00

Charming Baker UK Duck Teddy Duck
Hand-Finished in Acrylic over Giclee on Somerset Velvet, Artist Proof
1 Available of 3, Framed, 29.5x23.5in (75x60cm), 2008, SOLD

6 Available from Edition of 12
Unframed, 29.5x23.5in (75x60cm), 2008, $470.00

Case

Case is one quarter of the sensationally talented German crew Ma’Claim. His photorealistic graffiti and fine art has set new standards and gained a following throughout the world. He painted his first piece when he was sixteen and "liked the blood I tasted while painting it. After that things came one after the other." Case has been featured in numerous leading publications and has exhibited his work internationally alongside fellow Ma’Claim members Akut, Tasso and Rusk.

Case (Germany), Rosemary
Mixed Media on Card with Wood Backing
35.5x23.75in unframed 38x26.25in framed (90x60cm unframed 96.5x66.5cm framed), $3,000.00

Case (Germany), Rosemary's Step Sister
Mixed Media on Card with Wood Backing
35.5x23.75in unframed 38x26.25in framed (90x60cm unframed 96.5x66.5cm framed), $3,000.00

Guy Denning

Hailing from Bristol, and now residing in France, Guy Denning has taken the urban art world by storm with his beautiful, often haunting works. His androgynous figures, with their strange and often ethereal beauty, form a statement about the modern obsession with the fantasy of youth, beauty and cosmetic surgery as a surreal substitute for real life. Denning is often viewed as an enigma. Sexual and temporal politics, objectification, and isolation are themes which are widely explored in his work, illuminated through the carefully honed juxtaposition of shape and shade to create a mood as well as a theme. The paintings blend the smoothness of classical form with harsh yet truthful statements about contemporary issues that plague Western Society.

Guy Denning (UK), In A Perfect World
Oil on Canvas, 31.75x15.75in (80x40cm), 2008, SOLD

Guy Denning (UK), Sideways
Oil on Canvas, 8x8in (20x20cm), 2008, $1,525.00

Guy Denning (UK), Palestinian
Oil on Canvas, 15.75x15.75in (40x40cm), 2008, $2,400.00

Guy Denning (UK), Take Me Home
Oil on Canvas, 15.75x15.75in (40x40cm), 2008, $2,400.00

Guy Denning (UK), Jus Ad Bellum
Oil on Newsprint and Canvas, 8x8in (20x20cm), 2008, $1,525.00

Ian Strawn

Born in San Bernardino, CA to parents who are both artists, Strawn pursued a nomadic life across the US and New Zealand, which fed his fascination with the people around him. Strawn’s paintings combine a deadpan photo-realistic sense with a graphic approach, offering an arresting visual analysis of the cross-section of humanity one encounters in the streets. His work has been shown in galleries in LA, Salt Lake City, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, New York and London.

Ian Strawn (USA), I Feel The Power Growing In My Hair
Oil, Acrylic, and Collaged Print on Birch Panel, 30x30in (76x76cm), 2008, $6,500.00

Ian Strawn (USA), I'm So Adjective I Verb Nouns
Oil and Acrylic on Birch Panel, 3x3ft (100x100cm), 2008, $7,000.00

TRXTR

After studying fine art, printmaking and sculpture with a focus on anti-war and anti-art art, TRXTR spent his time producing biodegradable natural sculptures in hidden landscapes across the UK and USA. Chemical based photographs were the only evidence of this work. This involvement with photography led him into alternative filmmaking with the Bristol Filmmakers Co-operative. During his three years of composing music for films with this organization, TRXTR became increasingly interested in the freedom and creative flexibility of digital imaging. His artwork displays a distinctive style that fuses layer upon layer of digital collage with hand-finished effects on archival canvas.

TRXTR (UK), Sub Wreck at Mills Rock
Mixed Media on Canvas, 31.5x23.5in (80x60cm), 2008, $1,000.00

TRXTR (UK), Bi-Polar Dive
Mixed Media on Canvas, 31.5x23.5in (80x60cm), 2008, SOLD

TRXTR (UK), Double Desert Disaster
Mixed Media on Canvas, 31.5x23.5in (80x60cm), 2008, $1,000.00

TRXTR (UK), Kate Escape
Mixed Media on Canvas, 31.5x23.5in (80x60cm), 2008, SOLD

TRXTR (UK), Kate Moss Twice
Mixed Media on Canvas, 31.5x23.5in (80x60cm), 2008, SOLD

TRXTR (UK), Limo
Mixed Media on Canvas, 31.5x23.5in (80x60cm), 2008 SOLD

About Carmichael Gallery Carmichael Gallery of Contemporary Art exhibits international, emerging artists, with an emphasis on underground, pop, outsider, lowbrow, street art and graffiti inspired work. In August 2007, co-curators Seth and Elisa Carmichael opened Carmichael Gallery of Contemporary Art as an exhibition space for presenting emerging art from around the world. Carmichael Gallery is located at 1257 N. La Brea Avenue, on the SW corner of La Brea and Fountain, West Hollywood, CA 90038. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., and by appointment. For more information, please visit our website www.carmichaelgallery.com, email art@carmichaelgallery.com, or call 323.969.0600.

Upcoming Exhibitions and Events DECEMBER December 4th - 7th Join us at the GenArt Vanguard Art Fair in Miami where we will be previewing our 2009 lineup with work from Alex Hornest, Charming Baker, Chris Stain, Dan Baldwin, Eine, Fefe, Flavio Samelo, Flip, Guy Denning, Hush, Ian Strawn, Know Hope, Labrona, London Police, Mark Jenkins, Sesper, Sixeart, Thais Beltrame, Will Barras and others TBA! 2009 DATABASE UPDATE: We will be cleaning our database in January of 2009, if you wish to continue to receive emails from Carmichael Gallery please take a moment to confirm your subscription here! We just need your email address, but please enter a mailing address if you would like to receive our postcards and other mailings! You will have a few more chances to complete this form, but if you haven't confirmed your subscription by 2009, your email will be removed from the list!