TOP OF THE DOME 9

Opening Saturday November 3rd, 2012 from 7-10pm

Our annual Dia de los Muertos celebration

"Top of the Dome 9"

Over 100 skulls painted and designed by

some of LA's most unique artists!

Also, in the front room gallery we are featuring the 

exquisite paintings of internationally recognized Latino artist

George Yepes and Maria Kane.

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"MAUSEENGLE" BY ROLAND ROSENKRANZ

Currently on display during the Top of the Dome 8 exhibit is this amazing piece created by Roland Rosenkranz, a CSI prop artist. If you look into the eye of the creature a real mouse can be found who appears to be pilot!


"Mauseengle"
By Roland Rosenkranz
Assemblage
$3,400

Keep in mind all skulls are 25% off this weekend for our weekend Black Friday sale.

If you are interested in purchasing this awesome piece, please email us at info@crewest.com.

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SHOTGUN MAGDALENA BY GEORGE YEPES AND ROBERT RODRIGUEZ

Awesome piece currently on display at Crewest during the Top of the Dome exhibit. Exhibit closes soon so get yours now. Everything is 25% off this weekend during our weekend Black Friday Sale.

"Shotgun Magdalena"
By George Yepes and Robert Rodriguez (The Director)
2010
$2,500

If interested in purchasing, please email us at info@crewest.com.

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TOTD7: OPENING NITE PICS + VIDS

Hundreds descended to our Downtown location and were truly mesmerized by
the 100+ skulls on display!

Dj Akaider provided the beats and got the people off on the right foot.

We have a great event planned for Downtown Artwalk (November 11) so come on through and check out this yearly exhibit.

Remember, show is up until Nov.28th, 2010!

Here's a little teaser video of what you missed opening nite.








Check out more pics on Flickr


Crewest
110 Winston St.
Los Angeles, CA
90013

www.Crewest.com
info@crewest.com

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TOTD7 FEATURED ARTIST: GEORGE YEPES

Crewest is proud to announce our featured artist for November: George Yepes

If you don't know his work, then you've never walked around Boyle Heights or East Los and seen some of his epic murals. Or maybe you don't like to watch movies by Robert Rodriguez or Quentin Tarantino, who use his artwork extensively throughout their films including for movie poster designs.

In any case, his work is here for the full month of November starting this coming weekend Nov.6th. So come by and take a look first hand at some incredible painting skills by this modern day master. If you can't make it to Downtown LA this month, then check out these online picks of paintings created exclusively for Crewest.

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G.Yepes © 2010
Title: "Double-Barrel Shotgun Sugar Skulls #1"
Acrylic on Canvas 40" h X 30"w
$6,000


G.Yepes © 2010
Title: "Double-Barrel Shotgun Sugar Skulls #2"
Acrylic on Canvas 40" h X 30"w
$6,000


G.Yepes © 2010
Title: "Blue Catrina #1"
Acrylic on Canvas 20" h X 16"w
$2,000


G.Yepes © 2010
Title: "Red Catrina #1"
Acrylic on Canvas 20" h X 16"w each.
$2,000


G.Yepes © 2010
Title: "La Pistola y El Corazon"
Acrylic on Canvas 47" h X 35"w
$7,000.


George Yepes Biography:

"BEST INDESCRIBABLE WALL ART" - BEST OF LOS ANGELES
George Yepes. "Muralist and Painter Yepes is Los Angeles' greatest
living Baroque artist".

Marc B. Haefele, Writer
LA WEEKLY




"When it comes to sheer touch that combines beautiful control over line
and brushwork, yet seemingly spontaneous expression,
George Yepes is among the best. His darkly romantic excess can't help
but make you think he would have been Dante Gabriel
Rossetti's (1828 - 1882, London, England), equal among the
Pre-Raphaelites. But these saints and sinners are hardly a throwback.
Yepes' painting has a visual density and suggestiveness that is as
tantalizing to the intellect as it is arresting for the eye".

ArtScene
The Guide to over 450 Los Angeles Art Galleries and Museums

"Like Jacopo Robusti Tintoretto (1518 - 1594, Venice, Italy), George
Yepes has the ability to pull down from heaven the designs which God has
for humans
and paint them so people can discover through the paintings what they
are deaf to in words".

Dr. David Carrasco, Professor - History of Religions
Editor-in-Chief, Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures
Director, Moses Mesoamerican Archive and Research Project
Neil L. Rudenstine Professor of the Study of Latin America
Divinity School - Harvard University

Called "The City's Preeminent BadAss Muralist" (L.A. New Times - June 2000), and
named a "Treasure of Los Angeles" in 1997 by The Mayor and the Los
Angeles City Council, painter George Yepes: rises above and beyond the Los Angeles genre with a refined
renaissance bent. From religious iconography to erotica, Yepes brings a confidence and knowledge of his craft imbued with a contemporary street sense that combines the best of both worlds, where bravado meets classical standards.

Yepes' paintings are in forty museum collections and have been collected by a widely diverse audience, from
Sean Penn & Madonna, Cheech Marin, Patricia Arquette, Anthony Keidis, Quentin Tarantino,
and Robert Rodriguez. His Warner Bros. album cover for Los Lobos titled "La Pistola y el Corazon" is published as
one of the 'One Hundred Best Album Covers of All Time'.

Hollywood Actresses Salma Hayek, Eva Longoria, and Patricia Arquette have modeled for Yepes paintings.
Also Antonio Banderas and Johnny Depp were painted by Yepes for the El Mariachi Trilogy, “Mexico and Mariachis”.

From "Solamente Salma 2006"; "Grind House 2007"; and now "Machete 2009" staring Robert De Niro;
Jessica Alba; Lyndsay Lohan; Danny Trejo; and Cheech Marin:
George Yepes and movie director, Robert Rodriguez (with Quentin Tarantino):
creative giants each in his own rite, have combined their formidable force of talents
and given life to new collaborative artworks. Like Vampires robbing liquor stores from dusk till dawn,
George Yepes and Robert Rodriguez communicate with each other as they communicate with the world: with Two- Smokin' Barrels.



If interested in purchasing the incredible artwork of George Yepes please contact us:
info@crewest.com


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TOP OF THE DOME 7

7th Annual Dia De Los Muertos exhibition opens to the public:
November 6, 2010 from 6-9pm


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**Special Collectors and VIP sneak peak!
Friday November 5th from 7-9pm
Drinks provided by:
Sino Tequila, Asahi, Jarritos, Roaring Lion Energy Drink.
21 + over please RSVP to:
totd7@crewest.com



Featuring over 100 ceramic skulls and a few paintings by:

PJay One, Gary Ochoa, Justin Odaffer, Michael Pizzaro, TLOKS, Gilbert Sorabia, MacSorro, Juan Santos, HASTE, Krylonistics, Roland Rosenkranz, Tommy Gibson, Gary Manning, Pat Shields, James Bentley, Travis Moore, Mireya Alonzo, Oscar "Pancho" Torres, Carol Powell, Snow Mack, Dave Grinds, 3rd (Jimbo), Jodi Bonassi, Ms Klue, Brandon Notch, Maya O'Mahony,Man One, Terri Tooter Berman, Patricia Gin, Scott Power, Steve Sattler, Gregg Stone, Big Pranks, Craig Cartwright, Bill Kieffer, Anthony Fuentes, Richard Duardo, Albert Reyes, The Date Farmers, Betoe, K-Soloe1, REL ONE, Messenger, Erik Rodriguez, Fernando Lara, Cati de los Rios, Harry Reynolds, Dave Kawano, Dangeruz, SmearOne, Vyal, Lalo Alcaraz, Apricot Mantle, Jessica Ward, Revel, Jonathan Bueno, Slow 321, Randy Kono, Syndrome and many more!

Featured Artist:
George Yepes

(Show Runs through November 28th, 2010)



www.Crewest.com

TOTD VI: ALTAR INSTALLATION BY OSCAR MAGALLANES

The cross created by the ancient Mesoamerican glyphs for fire and water is actually an axis mundi representing the four cardinal points. In Mesoamerica there was also an understanding of the importance of including a center point represented here by the symbol of Ometeotl. All of the indigenous cultures of what is now the Americas would situate there cities to these points. The axis mundi was used to represent life weather external or internal, physical and spiritual thus becoming a representation of the Universe. To the Mexica there were nine levels in the underworld the furthest being Mictlan. It is in Mictlan that Quetzalcoatl descended to recover the bones of ancestors and reestablish human kind in the fifth sun. The lower portion of the axis mundi represents its reach into these levels with the skull at the bottom to represent our ancestors. 




The poem surrounding the three tiered alter is by Nezahualcoyotl.

I am intoxicated,
I weep, I grieve
I think, I speak
Within myself I discover this
Indeed I shall never die
I shall never disappear
There is no death
There where death is overcome
Let me go there
Indeed I shall never disappear.

The seven candles represent my immediate family. 

To tie the piece into current issues I wrapped the two symbols of Quetzalcoatl forming a sort of caduceus often used to represent medicine and physicians. I wanted to create a symbol that represented indigenous philosophies and was almost a mirror of western iconic symbols that was in every sense a mirror image. That is to say the opposite of what it's counter parts are. In this era of "healthcare reform" I think it is important to present alternatives to corporate healthcare and rediscover what has been taken from us, the fact that we can heal ourselves and have done so since the beginning of time. At the point of the first encounter with Europeans the vast cultures of Mesoamerica had already documented over three thousand plants for medicinal uses.



The photo is of my grandfather who is on the left. We were told he passed away from cancer but after an independent autopsy was performed it turned out that he had passed away from complications of a bad blood transfusion. The four vases holding calla lilies represent my grandparents. My maternal grandparents who lived in the United States passed away at a relatively early age while my paternal grandparents in Mexico both passed away in there 90's.

Oscar Magallanes



*Oscar's beautiful installation can be viewed at Crewest throughout the month during our Top of the Dome VI exhibition.

**Also available from Oscar is a limited edition 8 color serigraph print:
"and the Boss Laughs" - on archival paper, created at Self Help Graphics, 2009.




Exhibition ends Nov.29th, 2009


110 Winston St.
Los Angeles, Ca
90013
213-627-8272
www.Crewest.com
info@crewest.com

PREVIOUS TOP OF THE DOME SLIDESHOWS!

A little reminder of the unique talent you can expect at this year's annual Top of the Dome show!

Here's a blast from the past!

TOP OF THE DOME V: 2008




TOP OF THE DOME IV: 2007

TOP OF THE DOME - FEATURED ARTIST: ALONY'S ART

Crewest steps inside the colorful world of Alony’s Art and learns what inspires and motivates her to create, as well as discusses her current piece “The Mad Scientist” which will be on display at this years Top of the Dome at Crewest.





First off the basics, tell us a little about you.

Hello, I am Alonys. I don’t know what would be considered basic about me, so I’ll try, I am an artist, wife, no kids, but we have an amazing cat named Meow. I’m obsessed with music, love life and feel blessed to be an artist...basically.

Tell us, what inspires you to create art?

Having a voice through colour is what inspires me.

The things that inspire me daily are as random as each day in life. I could be watching television, be on the net, hear a song, have a conversation... it really could be anything. Knowing that my perception could be understood or connect with another person, simply by translating what I feel through colour is inspiring to me. It’s an art form that can, without a word spoken, speak volumes to so many across many lines.

Who are your influences and why?

My list continues to grow regarding artists as I grow not only older but artistically. There is no denying Jackson Pollack inspired many of my early pieces and continues too. There is a sense of contained freedom in his work to me. Some of his work has a musical undertone, like a rhythm beats beneath the layers of paint. Pollack is comparable to a composer of a song that you play over and over again, each time taking you on another journey. His work leaves you wondering...how did he create this, making you love it even more.

I also have a great love for Frida Kahlo because her fiery spirit burns infinitely. I think of her often when I am creating artwork in my studio, a.k.a. Lab77. The emotion within her work translates in so many ways that all can feel, no matter what path they’ve walked in life. I want people to feel that when they see or collect my art.

What motivates you to be an artist?

Besides knowing that I am blessed to have this gift, and also knowing if I did not grow as an artist I would be going against a destiny chosen for me....

It’s also turning something old into something new and valuable, and ultimately helping tell stories about our generation. You always need to think, what will be left behind. What will they learn about us in the future from what we’ve created?

Art has always aided in telling the story of history. Vinyl and compact discs have nearly become relics, if not deemed by most as “garbage”. That idea alone motivated me to make art that incorporates ‘everyday’ items in our current life, and transform them.

You appear to be an artist who chooses interesting objects as your canvas, what would you consider to be the perfect canvas and why?

I honestly don’t think I can pick a “perfect” canvas. I started on paper bags, then moved onto tables, mirrors, cymbals, canvas, you name it. Basically anything I could get my hands on. My most recent has been bamboo, for my accessories line. The texture is amazing. I love painting vinyl. That’s def. a favorite. No surface is safe around me. They are all perfect!!!

In your bio, you mention an “insane world”, why do you consider the world as being insane and how is that reflected in your art?

The world is insane to me, because within all this beauty we still manage to voluntarily destroy ourselves everyday in some way shape or form. I feel we all genuinely want the same thing, meaning harmony, but somewhere we crave that destruction and pain, and to me that is “insane”. In my work I try to reflect these notions through the use of colour, mixed with what I call “beautiful crazy”. The idea I may convey within a particular piece may be dark, but the vibrant use of colour distracts your senses to see something positive and inviting..

Tell us abut the piece you have on display for this Year’s Top of the Dome VI?

The piece I created for this years celebration is “The Mad Scientist”. This sums up my idea of the state of the world today as we transform within the digital age, not knowing if and when to push “the button” or if in fact its already been pushed. In my piece, the skull becomes the nucleus for all the negative and positive possibilities. It’s a question of life or death, and its up to the collector to balance the equation.

Any last words?

Thank you Crewest for the invitation to be a part of this amazing show. Also thank you to my husband, family, friends, and my amazing collectors for inspiring me to live Life in Colour and create art.

www.buyalonysart.blogspot.com/
www.twitter.com/AlonysArt
www.twitter.com/artgrl77
WWW.MYSPACE.COM/ALONYS_ART

TOP OF THE DOME VI

Opening Reception: Saturday, November 7th, 2009 from 6-10 pm

In celebration of Dia De Los Muertos, we bring further excitement through art with our newest exhibition “Top of the Dome IV” featuring ceramic skulls designed by Gregg Stone and transformed by the imagination of today’s hottest tattoo artists, painters, sculptors, graffiti artists, muralists, graphic designers and fine artists.

This year’s Top of the Dome promises to bring an extreme level of creativity meant to inspire and stir the curious nature of the roaming soul in search of interesting and intriguing artwork to call their own. Top of the Dome is not just an exhibition but rather an experience you do not want to miss.

In conjunction with the exhibition, featured artist and painter Gregg Stone makes an impact with his collection of eerily beautiful multi-media paintings that reveal his travels thru the avenues and byways of border region Hispanic communities. While the socio-economic underbelly of these locales clearly captivates him, Stone is also keenly aware of the cultural and architectural treasures that often incongruously share space alongside the hybrid flotsam of class inequity, urban anarchy and increasing globalization. Stone transposes this uniquely south-of-the-border visual, along with his sensitive portrayal of people inhabiting it, into the vivid tapestry of images that forms the sum total of his art.

Additional events:
November 12th: Artwalk from 6 to 10pm with DJ Phyz Ed, live printing by Two Rabbits



Show runs thru November 29th, 2009

www.Crewest.com
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Marka27: Double Toy Release This Weekend!

Our boy Marka27 is killing it with these Minigod colorways! This Dia de Los Muertos edition is sick with it! As if that wasn't enough, he's bringing the Killa Instinct with the glow in the dark effects!

Please stop Marka!
Ya hurting them!!




DOUBLE TOY RELEASE WITH "FREE GIVE AWAYS"!! @ VINYL TOY NETWORK!



Marka27 and BIC PLASTICS are pleased to bring you two heavy hitters in time
for the holidays!

First from Marka27 is the most anticipated minigod "MG2 Broken Bones" Dia De Los
Muertos Edition. Limited to 150 pieces world wide, 17" tall with
working speaker retail $120

Second from Marka27 Produced by BIC PLASTICS is the new "BLOKHEDZ"
glow in the dark edition of "KILLA INSTINCT" A collaboration with the
Mike and Marc
Davis the creators of BLOKHEDZ.
KILLA INSTINCT BLOKHEDZ edition Limited to 100 pieces world wide
9"tall equipped with
weapons. spray cans, markers, and secret stash spraycan. $95 retail

There will also be free posters and stickers while supplies last at
the BIC BOOTH on
Saturday and Sunday 10AM- 5PM

VINYL TOY NETWORK @
PASADENA CONVENTION CENTER
300 EAST GREEN STREET
PASADENA ,CA 91101
SAT-SUN 10-AM-5PM

Top of the Dome 4...

CLICK FOR MORE SKULLS!
Originally uploaded by The Crewest Man

Our 4th year doing it!

Over 100 skulls designed by some of the best graff and traditional artists, sculptors, and tattoo artists.

Skulls by Mr.Cartoon, Erick Rodriguez, Dave Kawano, Huit, Gregg Stone,
Werc, Vyal, Jeyd, Jaime Green, Smear, Cache, and many, many, more!!

Show runs through December 2, 2007.

Don't sleep...


Check out what the LA Weeklysaid about it!!

Festival de la Gente..2007

Dia de los Mamis (click for more photos)
Originally uploaded by The Crewest Man

Once again we had a booth for the Dia de los Muertos themed festival on the 6th street bridge. It was a great time and tons of people came out to check out the bands, music, art, and culture.

Thanks to all the great artists and friends who supported and dropped by our booth: Vyal, Asylm, Werc, DMN, Sticky Rick, Mezklah, Fletcher (Pennywise), Harry Perry, and you can't forget all the hot East Los chicks!

See you next year!