La Noche de la Fusión solo art show by Gary Baseman (May 2nd)

PRESS: Gary Baseman's colorful and climactic solo exhibition of new works, La Noche de la Fusión, opens on Saturday, May 2nd at Corey Helford Gallery in Culver City. This is Baseman's first solo show in his hometown in two years! His new works, featuring 32 paintings and 18 drawings on ephemera, celebrate the blending of cultures, the fusing of ideas, the blurring of lines, and the melting of barriers that keep us from being our true selves. In addition, the opening culminates in a synergetic event fusing visual art and a pan-cultural celebration.

WHERE: Corey Helford Gallery: 8522 Washington Blvd Culver City 90232 [www]
WHEN: May 2nd / 6:30pm - 10:00pm Festival; 7:00 - 10:00pm Gallery
RSVP at jch@coreyhelfordgallery.com
For collector inquiries, please contact Corey Helford Gallery (310) 287-2340 or jch@coreyhelfordgallery.com


/// CLICK THRU for a preview of artworks, further details on Baseman-inspired Carnival Costumes, the introduction of the Enlightened Chou, as well as the full press release for the event.


Come celebrate with us! at the one-of-a-kind festival for La Noche de la Fusión! Join in the manifestation of Baseman's desire to create a holiday celebrating the beauty of the bittersweetness of life! DJs House Sound of LA spin us into other worlds, fire performers delight our senses, Brazilian samba dancers and drummers bring back the global beat, Baseman characters come to life and play, carnival games test our skills, jugglers entertain us, video projection of Toby's travels unites the world, sculptor Delong Wei molds Baseman's characters, Rony's Photobooth provides photo keepsakes, a "Metamorphosis" ritual finale, and you can burn away your fears and insecurities ... all in one night!


Baseman-inspired Carnival Costumes!

La Noche de la Fusión also features incredible Carnival style costumes inspired by Baseman and designed by Emmy-award winning Costume Designer Wendy Benbrook! Ten beautiful women in fantastic costumes that are unique works of art will parade through and interact with the audience. Baseman was inspired by his travels to Brazil last year, and his amazing experiences attending Carnival for the first time. Guests are encouraged to follow suit! Please come dressed as you perceive your True Self. . .in whatever form that may be!

[Shown above is one of 200 Vacu-form masks created for La Noche de la Fusion]


[Above-left: Enlightened Chou sculpture made by a Brazilian Indian tribe /
above-right: Enlightened Chou sculpture made by a Thai Buddha artists for the shrine]
Introducing the Enlightened Chou!

In La Noche de la Fusión, Baseman breathes life into his characters, but most notably introduces the Enlightened Chou to the world. This new character breaks down the arbitrary walls imposed by societal convention that often prevent happiness and a true sense of self. The Enlightened Chou is an all-seeing, all-knowing deity born of Baseman's world travels and his experiences in different cultures, and is also a permutation of his existing character the ChouChou (who takes one's negative energy, transforms it, and oozes it out of his belly in the form of creamy, gooey love).

A remarkable creature, the Enlightened Chou will be spotlighted in a four foot sculpture, and situated amidst his very own shrine that is adorned with smaller versions of the Enlightened Chou, created by artists from Brazil, India, Mexico, Russia, Spain, Thailand, and the U.S. Baseman blends all of these cultural influences in homage to his latest character creation.


PRESS RELEASE (Full):

Corey Helford Gallery is proud to present “La Noche de la Fusión”, a colorful and climactic solo exhibition of new works by Pervasive Los Angeles artist Gary Baseman. Joining Corey Helford for the fi rst time, Baseman will transform the gallery into a Carnivalesque festival celebrating the beauty of the bittersweetness of life. His new works of paintings and sculptures culminate in a synergetic event fusing visual art and a pan-cultural celebration. Open to the public, “La Noche de la Fusión” kicks off with an outdoor festival at 6:30pm followed by a gallery reception from 7 to 10pm on Saturday, May 2. Guests are encouraged to come in costume as their TRUE FANTASTIC SELF to the opening, and the exhibition will be on view until May 23, 2009.


For “La Noche de la Fusión”, Baseman breathes life into his characters in this latest collection of work, notably introducing his Carnivale Girls, inspired by Brazil’s Carnivale, and the Enlightened Chou to the world. The Enlightened Chou breaks down the arbitrary walls imposed by societal convention that often prevent happiness and a true sense of self. While the globe is full of immense uncertainty, insecurity, and fear, Baseman’s work encourages us to destroy those negative forces in a ceremonial ritual, celebrating the madness of our lives.

In addition to Baseman’s paintings and sculptures, a series of Enlightened Chous as interpreted by artisans from Thailand, India, Mexico, Brazil, Russia and the US will highlight the blending of Baseman’s various cultural infl uences as well as the craftsmanship found throughout the world. The exhibition will also feature new drawings rendered inside vintage books that Baseman acquired during his world travels last year. He transforms these found “ephemera” that are written in Hebrew, Russian, Japanese, and Chinese into the language of visual art.


A unique celebration, A unique celebration, A the opening reception will be a one-of-a-kind live art experience featuring live performers, live music, beautiful women in Baseman-inspired Carnivale costumes, come-to-life Baseman characters, and a ritual transformation ceremony. An experience not to be missed, the opening for “La Noche de la Fusión” will be a night of fusing and melting cultures, of blurring lines of reality, and of melting the walls and forces that hold one back.

This past year, Baseman obliterated the boundaries of geography through his workshops, lecture series, and exhibitions in Russia, Brazil, Argentina, Barcelona, Italy, Cyprus, Thailand, Japan, and Israel. He observed the alarming rate at which the world is shrinking as a result of the accessibility of technology and discovered how closely fused so many different countries and cultures have become. During his travels, he fi lled sketchbook after sketchbook with characters infl uenced by the locales he visited. “Eventually I discovered a deity creature who can melt all the arbitrary boundaries away. He is formed from the same origin of one of my other creatures named ChouChou (the little fellow that takes away all the negative energy from girls and oozes out creamy, gooey love from his belly button). This new, all-seeing, all-knowing presence goes beyond the removal of fear and insecurity. He gives us complete freedom to know no limitations in our consciousness. He is an Enlightened Chou. It resembles my ChouChou character, only he has three more ChouChou heads on top of his head. It’s all part of fusing these different cultures and ideas together.”


This new collection of work is also inspired by tales of desire, intrigue and living life to the fullest - the fi rst heartbeat, the last kiss, the fi nal breath, all of which exist in the mythical realm. A world we don’t often enter because society keeps us in the lines. Baseman’s paintings and sculptures evoke ideas of power and passion, of laughter and joy from a different dimension, and a true atmosphere of desire where insecurities and fears are destroyed. As Baseman says, “the bottom line is this is a hard, crazy life, but it is worth it, and we should celebrate. We all should celebrate.”

Gary Baseman:
Pervasive Artist. Painter. TV/Movie Producer. Toy Designer. Curator. The Los Angeles Times describes his art as “adorably perverse.” One of the leaders of the Los Angeles underground art movement who coined the term “pervasive art,” Mr. Baseman blurs the line between toy culture and fi ne art with his strong iconic images, both playful and dark, childlike and adult, id driven and thought provoking. Mr. Baseman’s work is Surreal. Innocent. Lustful. Honest. Everywhere. In addition being a world renowned painter, Mr. Baseman is also the three-time Emmy award winning creator/executive producer of the animated series and fi lm “Teacher’s Pet,” a former artist for The New Yorker, Time, and Rolling Stone, and the designer for the best selling game “Cranium.” Entertainment Weekly Magazine named Mr. Baseman one of the 100 Most Creative People in Entertainment. For more information about the artist, please visit www.garybaseman.com.

Located in the Culver City Art District, Corey Helford Gallery was established in April 2006 by Jan Corey Helford and her husband, television producer and creator, Bruce Helford (The Drew Carey Show, George Lopez, The Oblongs). Passionate art collectors, the Helfords are producers on the art documentary The Treasures of Long Gone John and have partnered to open their fi rst gallery. Corey Helford Gallery presents a wide range of artists, from members of the new fi ne art movement, such as Gary Baseman, Andrew Brandou, Coop, Natalia Fabia, Korin Faught, Sylvia Ji, Eric Joyner, and award-winning photographer Chris Anthony, to early Modernist William S. Schwartz. Notable shows include “Charity By Numbers”, which was co-curated by Gary Baseman and featured an unprecedented lineup of artists including Mark Ryden, Marion Peck, Shepard Fairey, Todd and Kathy Schorr, Camille Rose Garcia, and Michael Hussar. Corey Helford Gallery presents new exhibitions approximately every four weeks. For more information and an upcoming exhibition schedule, please visit coreyhelfordgallery.com.

[Thai Lanterns - notice the detailing / character-drawings on the fabric-panels!]