Chuck Sperry

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“The Roots” Poster

“The Roots” – art & rock show – Firehouse, Jacknife, Chase Marshall and Jorge Gamboa

Bands: Burnt House and Hogwind

Edition of 125

22 x 31

5 colors on archival cream paper

Signed and Numbered

Sold Out – Thank You!

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I had the great pleasure to meet Teresa Nittolo, who is the present-day owner of The Original Firehouse, the root of the Firehouse in The Firehouse Kustom Rockart Company. I am happy to announce that I am having an art show at The Original Firehouse, the very place where Ron Donovan and I got our artistic start. This is a very rare opportunity to visit the place where The Firehouse began – a return to The Roots.

“The Roots” Art Show

Firehouse Kustom Rockart Company, Jacknife Posters (UK), Jorge Gamboa (paintings), Chase Marshall (handmade lamps and art)

Bands have been added! We’ll rock out to Burnt House and Hogwind

The Original Firehouse, 1648 Pacific Avenue, San Francisco

Thursday, March 8, 2012, 6pm until late.

I will be exhibiting rare and formerly unavailable posters and prints for this very special evening!

Teresa Nittolo plans to continue this artistic tradition, as quoted in The Bold Italic (February 17, 2012), she “plans to make Firehouse a multifaceted space that would include a café with outdoor seating, a small but well-curated library, a market-like area of rotating local vendors and artisans, a massive event space upstairs, and a rooftop garden. They are staring down the home stretch and they need their community’s support to get them across the finish line. Their dream is big and has come with even bigger challenges, but it’s wholly committed to bringing people together to create an inspiring story and space.”

Unfortunately, Firehouse 8 has gone into foreclosure (THEY ONLY HAVE UNTIL MARCH 8th) and Teresa and Gavin need help to hold onto it and bring their big dreams into reality. Angel investors take note. If this building goes into foreclosure, it will most certainly never be an art space again. Teresa is so very close! She needs your help! Help keep the Firehouse 8 Project alive and heading towards success!! Donate funds to the IndieGoGo campaign, or if you can offer your services or support in any other way please email Teresa at [email protected].

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“It’s Only Rock & Roll” Chuck Sperry and Jacknife Posters at Mr. Musichead, Los Angeles

“It’s Only Rock & Roll” Art Show

Chuck Sperry & Jacknife Posters (UK)

Mr. Musichead, 7511 West Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA – (323) 876-0042

Saturday, March 10, 2012, 7pm until 10pm.

I will be exhibiting rare and formerly unavailable posters and prints for this very special evening!

My good friends Chris Hopewell and John Finch of Jacknife Posters from Bristol, England, are coming to the United States for a visit. We’re having a special party at The Original Firehouse in San Francisco on Thursday, March 8th, and then we’ll be turning the wheel south to Los Angeles for a rare one-night appearance on Saturday, March 10th at Mr. Musichead on West Sunset Boulevard. We’re on our way to Austin, Texas for Flatstock 33 at the SXSW Music Festival. Chris Hopewell recently completed a movie as co-director with Crispin Mills, called “A Fantastic Fear of Everything.” starring Simon Pegg. So we’re having a special party in Los Angeles to celebrate – please come and join us.

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Swiss Tour 2010 – Zurich Memories

Guenther Dobrauz, organized Röchaholics II, a great gathering of some of the world’s best Rock Poster artists and photographers. Guy Burwell, Lindsey Kuhn, Ron Donovan, Malleus, Chris Hopewell, Blackyard, Michael Hacker, Fabien Von Unweth and I took residence at the Rosenmatt Villa (pictured above) to throw down some rock visuals and have a great opening. I was met at the Zurich train station by Lindsey and Guenther who took me directly to meet the other artists; we were shown around the premises of Heinrich Mantel AG, maker of the finest anodized aluminum in Europe, and large format, highest quality, silkscreen printer. Here’s some shots of us in the Mantel’s amazingly appointed print studio. It was explained how our editions of anodized aluminum would be digitally printed by this devise below – ink would be layered over and over in a very time-consuming process where the image is scribed 7 times – over and over – to drive the image deeply into the carefully prepared aluminum substrate. In exact, precise alignment each print in the edition is entirely scribed over and over to add richness and detail.

Then the aluminum, with the image deeply imbedded into it, is heated in a finely controlled process to bond it into the metal and seal it over with an anodized layer of bonded oxygen molecules. You can see the gang here in front of the heating chamber.

Then Guenther and the whole crew at Mantel made us a warm, hospitable fondu at the print studio. Good to taste fondu and smell the familiar smells of the print shop all at the same time. Really outstanding, so good!

Back to the Rosenmatt to set up. Here’s Lindsey Kuhn, Chris & Jo Hopewell, and Mr. Mantel on the pitch.

And no Hooligans – that goes for you!

There are great shots from the actual Röckaholics II show here – One final pair of shots – dawn in Zurich – as I took a few hours to walk around and ponder. Listening to something very good on my headphones, I was surprised to watch a woman exit from the front door of her house near a bridge demurely wearing a beach towel, slip nude at dawn into the freezing river that rushes out of the lake right in the heart of beautiful old Zurich, and swim with the swans flanking her on either side. It was about the most graceful thing I ever saw.

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Swiss Firehouse Tour with Lindsey Kuhn – October 2 to 8, 2010

Firehouse will be heading to Switzerland for a week long tour from October 2 until October 8, 2010. Ron Donovan and I will arrive for the Rockaholics show in Wadenswil/Zurich. We will join artists Lindsey Kuhn, Malleus, Guy Burwell, Chris Hopewell, Justin Kramerer, Blackyard, Michael Hacker, and photographer Fabian von Unwerth for the event.

Ron, Lindsey and I will then tour Switzerland together visiting Luzern with artist Mart Infanger, Bern, and Geneva. The tour ends in Frankfurt, Germany with a show with Ron and Lindsey appearing. Meanwhile, I’ll be flying home to attend The Rock Poster Society’s Hall of Flowers show in Golden Gate Park, home in San Francisco.

Rockaholics II – Saturday, October 2, 2010 – Villa Rosenmatt, Gessenerweg 5, Wadenswil/Zurich, Switzerland • Chuck Sperry, Ron Donovan, Lindsey Kuhn, Malleus, Guy Burwell, Chris Hopewell, Justin Kramerer, Blackyard, Michael Hacker, and photographer Fabian von Unwerth.

“American Artifact: The Rise of American Rock Poster Art” by director Merle Becker, will be debuted to the Swiss audience at Rockaholics II.

For Rockaholics II master printer Albert Mantel will produce beautiful and strictly limited anodized aluminum prints of many of the artists attending. I will be exclusively releasing 5 anodized aluminum images from my archive at the Rockaholics II event in Zurich, in editions of 5 each, signed and numbered. Here are the five images to be released as anodized aluminum:

Voice Magazine will debut a special edition of it’s publication devoted entirely to rock art – what a treat for attendees of Rockaholics II!

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Rock Poster Bazar – Monday, October 4, 2010 – Metzgerhalle, 1 Baselstrasse, Luzern, Switzerland – Chuck Sperry, Ron Donovan, Lindsey Kuhn, and Mart Infanger. Starts at 5 pm.

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Rock Poster Bazar – Tuesday, October 5, 2010 – Cafe Rossli, Under the Bridge at the Reithalle, Bern, Switzerland – Chuck Sperry, Ron Donovan, Lindsey Kuhn, with Concert by Shellac at the Reithalle upstairs. Starts at 5 pm.

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Flashback – Wednesday through Friday, October 6-7-8, 2010 – La Station Orbitale, Bat G, SIP de Plainpalais 10 Rue des Vieux-Grenadiers, Geneva, Switzerland – Chuck Sperry, Ron Donovan, Lindsey Kuhn. Opening October 7, 5 pm until late.

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I’ll be home October 9, 2010, from 10 am to 6pm for TRPS Festival of Rock Posters.

TRPS – Festival of Rock Posters – Saturday, October 9, 2010 – Hall of Flowers, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California. 10 am until 6 pm.

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Ron and Lindsey will be appearing in Frankfurt, Germany. My work will be appearing but I will be home for TRPS.

Rock Poster Art Show – Saturday & Sunday, October 9-10, 2010 – Gallery We Are 3, Stephanstrasse 1, Frankfurt, Germany – Chuck Sperry, Ron Donovan, Lindsey Kuhn. Opening October 9, 7 pm until late.

Archives

Sperry Books: “Color x Color” • “Helikon” • “Chthoneon” • “Idyllion”

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