Chuck Sperry

  • Blog
  • About
  • Press & Reviews
  • Contact
  • Helikon & Chthoneon art books

September 30, 2019 By squirt

Chuck Sperry x Spoke Art at NYCC • “Clio” Art Print Release

Clio, 2019
21 x 31
Edition of 100
6 colors on cream paper
Signed and Numbered
Variants: Sparkle Foil, Lava Foil and Satin Black
_______________________
“Clio” will be available at Spoke Art booth 675 starting Thursday, October 3, 2019.
•
I’m very proud to announce my newest art piece, devoted to the muse “Clio” which I’ve made especially for release at Spoke Art Gallery’s appearance in New York City at the New York Comic Con.
•
Clio is the Muse of history, daughter of memory. I suggest we remember where we came from, how we got here, who we are, and where we are going. History is not only a collection of objective facts; history is also a story. How we organize those objective facts says a lot about who we are, or who we want to be.
•
When I realized I wanted more than anything to be a practicing artist, I realized I would devote my life to the muses. (That’s how I might organize my history, tell my story.)
•
To The Muses – Orphic Hymn 75*
To those whose breasts your sacred furies fire much-form’d, the objects of supreme desire:
Sources of blameless virtue to mankind, who form to excellence the youthful mind;
Who nurse the soul, and give her to descry the paths of right with Reason’s steady eye.
Commanding queens who lead to sacred light the intellect refin’d from Error’s night;
And to mankind each holy rite disclose, for mystic knowledge from your nature flows.
Clio, and Erato, who charms the sight, with thee Euterpe minist’ring delight:
Thalia flourishing, Polymina fam’d, Melpomene from skill in music nam’d:
Terpischore, Urania heav’nly bright, with thee who gav’st me to behold the light.
Come, venerable, various, pow’rs divine, with fav’ring aspect on your mystics shine;
Bring glorious, ardent, lovely, fam’d desire, and warm my bosom with your sacred fire.
•
The Orphic Hymns are at the foundation of the ancient Greek religion, as it was practiced during the Golden Age, at that civilization’s height, during its struggle to begin to define democracy, art, science, and reason. I feel we are at a place where human beings must define again democracy, art, science, and reason. What sort of Age awaits us?
•
My history, I’ve been working on art devoted to the muses and Greek religion for many years, showing my work in gallery settings worldwide, art fairs and museums. That said, the New York Comic Convention has been a great forum to release new muses. I released “Demeter” at NYCC through Spoke Art in 2017, and “Justice” in 2014. My wood panel art print of “Justice” was acquired by the Fort Wayne Museum of Art in 2017. My large-scale, hand-woven tapestry of “Demeter” was acquired by the Fort Wayne Museum of Art in 2018. I love this electrical arc between popular art and fine art institution.
•
Visit Spoke Art booth 675 starting Thursday, October 3, 2019.
•

*You can find “To The Muses” in Sperry’s book “Helikon” (2016)

•

Read more about Sperry’s  books “Helikon, The Muses of Chuck Sperry” (2016) and “Chthoneon, The Art of Chuck Sperry” (2017)

Filed Under: Art Prints Tagged With: Chuck Sperry, Helikon The Muses of Chuck Sperry, Muses, New York Comic Convention, Spoke Art

March 14, 2019 By squirt

Widespread Panic, Washington DC 2019

Widespread Panic, Washington DC 2019
30.5 x 21.5
Artist Edition of 100
7 colors on cream paper
Signed and Numbered

Sold Out-Thank You!

________________

Widespread Panic, Washington DC 2019
30.5 x 21.5
Gold Edition of 12
7 colors on gold metallic paper
Signed and Numbered

Sold Out-Thank You!

________________

Widespread Panic, Washington DC 2019
30.5 x 21.5
Satin Black Edition of 13
7 colors on satin black paper
Signed and Numbered

Sold Out-Thank You!

________________

Widespread Panic, Washington DC 2019
30.5 x 21.5
Sparkle Foil Edition of 22
7 colors on holographic sparkle foil paper
Signed and Numbered

Sold Out-Thank You!

________________

Widespread Panic, Washington DC 2019
30.5 x 21.5
Lava Foil Edition of 24
7 colors on holographic lava foil paper
Signed and Numbered

Sold Out-Thank You!

________________

Widespread Panic starts their Spring Tour in Washington DC, three days of amazing music and friends together in The Capitol.

I chose to personify the nation’s capitol as Lady Liberty, hair waving like a flag of freedom, dripping with beautiful, transient cherry blossoms. Let’s call her Lady Liberty because America should always remain an ongoing experiment open to individual interpretation. Let your freak flag fly!

_____________

My new poster will be available at the concerts in DC officially through Widespread Panic. I’ll be making a very limited online release of Artist Edition posters on Tuesday, March 19, 2019 at a random time. 

_____________

Find out more about Chuck Sperry’s art – check out his art books here!

I want to welcome a lot of newcomers to my site! I’ll quickly explain how my releases on my website are conducted. The Widespread Panic posters will be available, right here, in this post on Tuesday, March 19, 2019 at a random time. A paypal “Buy Now” button will appear under the poster (above) at a random time, and I will announce the price of the poster at the same time. (There may be additional offers or surprises – perhaps variants – revealed at that random time.) Good luck to everyone, and as always, I am very appreciative of your support!

Filed Under: Rock Posters Tagged With: Chthoneon The Art of Chuck Sperry, Chuck Sperry, Helikon The Muses of Chuck Sperry, Lady Liberty, Muses, Widespread Panic

December 29, 2018 By squirt

“Helikon” & “Chthoneon” The Art of Chuck Sperry

“Chthoneon, The Art of Chuck Sperry” delves boldly into Sperry’s artistic imagination, inspiration and reasoning, continuing where it’s companion book “Helikon, The Muses of Chuck Sperry” left off. “Chthoneon” collects 22 gorgeously photographed new Sperry screen printed art works paired with the prose or poem — from Aristophanes to Margaret Atwood — that inspired each.

Indeed, dozens of Sperry’s newest art pieces are presented across 136 pages, including an up-to-date collection of his masterfully screen printed wood panel series of contemporary-classical muses — work inspired by the spirit of the modern rock poster, graffiti, and the utopian ethos of 1960’s psychedelia;  his ground-breaking large format handwoven wool tapestries — with a moving photographic journal (by Shaun Roberts) of his visit to Guadalajara to meet the tapestry-makers;  his political posters created for official distribution at the Women’s March and March For Science — wildly successful fund-raisers for Planned Parenthood and science education programs. “Chthoneon” is overflowing with evocative and inspiring new work from one of America’s most popular, outspoken and important contemporary artists.

The reader is offered fresh insight with an extensive interview of Sperry by Spoke Art Gallery curator Dasha Matsuura — first published in Juxtapoz — beautifully illustrated with dozens of Shaun Roberts photos to create an intimate portrait of the artist at work.

Chuck Sperry’s newest book “Chthoneon” celebrates the divine feminine and the regenerative power of nature, gathering together work shown in his first museum solo exhibition “All Access” at Fort Wayne Museum of Art. Forward by museum Curator of Contemporary Art, Josef Zimmerman:  “Chuck Sperry sees into a world that is unknown to most.”

Published by Hangar 18
Foreward by Josef Zimmerman, Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Curator of Contemporary Art
Hardback Second Edition of 1500 / “Silver Edition”
Silver embossed cover (comes shrink-wrapped / not signed or numbered / only sign in-person at events)
9 x 12 inches / 136 pages
75 color illustrations
Printed and bound in the United States

Not available – book will be back on sale in January 2020

___________________

Published by Hangar 18
Foreward by Josef Zimmerman, Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Curator of Contemporary Art
Hardback First Edition of 500 / “Gold Edition”
Gold embossed cover, signed and numbered
9 x 12 inches / 136 pages
75 color illustrations
Printed and bound in the United States

Not available – book will be back on sale in January 2020

____________________

Helikon, The Muses of Chuck Sperry

“Helikon, The Muses of Chuck Sperry” gathers together Sperry’s masterfully screen printed wood panel series of contemporary-classical muses: work inspired by the spirit of the modern rock poster, graffiti, and the utopian ethos of 1960’s psychedelia.

“Helikon” presents 36 sumptuously photographed Sperrys paired with the prose or poem — from Homer to Nick Cave — that inspired each. Over a  dozen photos by Shaun Roberts give the reader an intimate portrait of the artist at work.

“Helikon” is Sperry’s beautifully designed, hand-bound coda to 5 years of artwork devoted to the perennial theme of Orphic Dionysian mysteries.

Forward by New York Times’ bestselling author, Charles Bock, Beautiful Children, Alice & Oliver (Random House), and Best of NYC Culture 2016, Village Voice.

Helikon The Muses of Chuck Sperry

Published by Hangar 18
Foreward by Charles Bock
Hardback Second Edition of 2000 / “Silver Edition”
Silver embossed cover (comes shrink-wrapped / not signed or numbered / only sign in-person at events)
9 x 12 inches / 136 pages
54 color illustrations
Printed and bound in the United States
ISBN: 978-0-9981407-1-1

Not available – book will be back on sale in January 2020

_____________________

Photo: Shaun Roberts from “Chthoneon”

“Sperry draws from a deep, classical tradition of storytelling to visualize the famed and obscure characters from mythology. He continues by personifying “Music,” “Justice,” and “Equity” — putting faces on the concepts that seem to inspire his work greatly. Vivid and striking, the works inside Helikon are beautiful on the surface, but combined with the text, both classical and modern, they give insight into the muses that drive Sperry to create.” – Liz Ohanesian, Hi-Fructose, The New Contemporary Art Magazine, vol. 43

“San Francisco artist Chuck Sperry has earned his right in the rock ‘n roll hall of fame….. not for music but for his incredible talent of designing and silkscreen printing distinctive rock posters, he has a slew of famous names that he has worked with and his artwork has been exhibited at some leading art and music institutions. Chuck has honed his craft to perfection, with 20 years of experience behind him.” — Kylie Dexter, Beautiful Bizarre

“In Helikon, the words transport us, allowing us to see Sperry’s work through fresh, yet ancient, eyes. Importantly, they drive from our minds thoughts of the transitory — that Tethys was first introduced to the world as a Dave Matthews poster; that Artemis and Naiad made their debuts before fans of the Black Keys; that Olympia, Daphne, Semele, and Thalia were Panic ladies before they were Sperry’s muses.” — Ben Marks, Wink Books

 

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Chthoneon, Chthoneon The Art of Chuck Sperry, Chuck Sperry, Helikon, Helikon The Muses of Chuck Sperry

December 11, 2018 By squirt

“The Oracle” & “The Seer” Blotter Art Release & Book Signing, Chuck Sperry at Shakedown Gallery, Haight Street

 

Shakedown Gallery is hosting “Drop The Mics: A Blotter Art Show”.

Join us Saturday, December 15, 2018 for the exclusive San Francisco release of two new Chuck Sperry blotter art pieces – “The Oracle” & “The Seer.” Chuck Sperry will be there in person to sign his books, “Chthoneon, The Art of Chuck Sperry” & “Helikon, The Muses of Chuck Sperry.”

“Drop The Mics: A Blotter Art Show”
Exhibition and pop-up gallery

Shakedown Gallery
411 Haight Street 
San Francisco, California

Exhibition: December 1, 2018 to January 1, 2019

Chuck Sperry blotter release and book signing: 
Saturday, December 15 – 3pm to 6 pm.
Random lottery numbers will be handed out at 2:30 pm, half an hour before the show.

The Oracle
6 x 9
Edition of 150
Perforated blotter sheet
Signed and Numbered

The Seer
6 x 9
Edition of 150
Perforated blotter sheet
Signed and Numbered

________________

Drop the Mics features an amazing collection of art by some of your favorite psychedelic and visionary artists. The show will feature many signed limited blotter art editions, plus rare archival prints including pieces from Mark McCloud’s notorious Institute of Illegal Images.

New and Pre-Released limited edition artwork will be available from:

Alex Grey, Stanley Mouse, Chuck Sperry
Mark Henson, Emek, Jonathan Singer
David Cooley, Richard Biffle, Sommer Biffle
Mark McCloud, Banjo, Jeff Wood
Mike DuBois, Jonathan Solter, Randal Roberts
Tripp, Sarah Farah, Mikio, William Giese
Lizzy Layne, Bigfoot, Jake Kobrin, Zoltron

Stay tuned to Shakedown Gallery for updates on additional events happening during the month.

Filed Under: Art Prints Tagged With: Alex Grey, Banjo, Bigfoot, Chthoneon The Art of Chuck Sperry, Chuck Sperry, David Cooley, Drop The Mics, EMEK, Helikon The Muses of Chuck Sperry, Jake Kobrin, Jeff Wood, Jonathan Singer, Jonathan Solter, Lizzy Layne, Mark Henson, Mark McCloud, Mike DuBois, Mikio, Randal Roberts, Richard Biffle, Sarah Farah, Shakedown Gallery, Sommer Biffle, Stanley Mouse, The Oracle, The Seer, Tripp, William Giese, Zoltron

April 17, 2018 By squirt

World Press: Nick Cave Releases Insanely Cool New Grinderman Inspired Skateboard Designed by Chuck Sperry

Nick Cave Skateboard by Chuck Sperry

Nick Cave Skateboard by Chuck Sperry

Nick Cave Skateboard by Chuck Sperry

 

by James Rettig, April 17, 2018 • Billboard

Back in 2015, Nick Cave teamed up with the Australian skate company Fast Times to make an official Nick Cave skateboard, with an illustration from San Francisco artist Chuck Sperry.

That same trio of collaborators has teamed up yet again for another board. This one’s inspired by “Heathen Child,” a song from Cave’s side project Grinderman. A banner on the top of the board features some lyrics from that track: “Hey little Moo Moo, light as a rainbow.”

The board comes in street and cruiser deck styles, and there’s also a t-shirt to go along with it — you can now order any of those world-wide from Fast Times Skateboarding here.

Nick Cave Skateboard by Chuck Sperry

Here’s a select list of links to articles dropping everywhere in the world press:

Billboard • Spin • NME • Uproxx • Stereogum • Go See Live Music • Post-Punk • Rolling Stone (Italy) • Happy (Australia) • Tone Deaf (Australia) • Oor (Holland) • News Monkey (Belgium) • RTBF (Belgium) • Far Out Magazine (UK) • Nova (Ireland) • Two Eggs (Japan) • Intro (Germany) • Rockol (Italy) • Blitz (Portugal) • Indie Rocks! (Mexico) • Filter (Mexico) • Marvin (Mexico) • Playtusu (Turkey) • Musika Zona (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

_____________________________

This is one of many insanely cool projects I’ve collaborated with Nick Cave on. In addition to a number of beautiful rock posters I’ve made for Mr. Cave, Nick was kind enough to contribute his lyrics from “The Lyre of Orpheus” from “Abbatoir Blues” to my collection of art and poetry, “Helikon, The Muses of Chuck Sperry” :

Helikon, The Muses of Chuck Sperry

Helikon is Available Here

Helikon, The Muses of Chuck Sperry

Filed Under: Press & Reviews, Rock Posters Tagged With: Chuck Sperry, Fast Times, Grinderman, Helikon The Muses of Chuck Sperry, Nick Cave, Skateboard

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • Next Page »

Latest News

  • Sperry Featured with Spoke Art at Art Basel / Context Art Miami
  • The Black Keys LA & SF Posters by Sperry
  • Sperry Career Retrospective at Fort Wayne Museum of Art in April 2020 • The Black Keys SF Poster Reveal
  • Chuck Sperry x Spoke Art at Art Basel / Context Art Fair • Part 2
  • Chuck Sperry x Spoke Art at Art Basel / Context Art Fair

Topics

  • Art Prints
  • Event Posters
  • Events
  • Movie Posters
  • News
  • Original Art
  • Press & Reviews
  • Rock Posters
  • Site

Sign up for the Chuck Sperry Newsletter

* = required field

About Chuck Sperry

squirtChuck Sperry lives in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, where he’s made his particular style of rock poster designs for over 20 years. He operates Hangar 18, a silkscreen print studio, located in Oakland. Learn More…

Archives

“Helikon” & “Chthoneon” Sperry Art Books On Sale

Helikon, The Muses of Chuck Sperry

Latest Blog Posts

  • Sperry Featured with Spoke Art at Art Basel / Context Art Miami
  • The Black Keys LA & SF Posters by Sperry
  • Sperry Career Retrospective at Fort Wayne Museum of Art in April 2020 • The Black Keys SF Poster Reveal
  • Chuck Sperry x Spoke Art at Art Basel / Context Art Fair • Part 2
  • Chuck Sperry x Spoke Art at Art Basel / Context Art Fair

Band, Venue, Year…

© 2009–2019 Chuck Sperry - All Rights Reserved. · Site by NC.