Chuck Sperry

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Ron Donovan Memorial in San Francisco

I have been busy printing posters for my old friend and partner Ron Donovan. All of Ron’s friends and family will be gathering to have a big blow out for our dear departed Hawaiian International Silkscreen Superstar! Here’s a tease of three of the six posters which will be released at the Parkside in San Francisco on Sunday, January 21  at 6 pm.

Posters below are by me, Chris Shaw and Winston Smith. Posters by Jon-Paul Bail, Scott Johnson and Jorge Gamboa will be available at the show!

I will be making a very limited online release of my poster on Tuesday, January 23, 2018 at a random time!

Chuck Sperry Ron Donovan

Ron Donovan Memorial by Chuck Sperry
18 x 24
Edition of 100
5 colors on cream paper
Signed and Numbered

Sold Out – Thank You!

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Other posters will be sold by their respective creators:

Ron Donovan Memorial by Chris Shaw
18 x 24
Edition of 100
3 colors on cream paper
Signed and Numbered

Ron Donovan Memorial by Winston Smith
18 x 24
Edition of 100
5 Colors on cream paper
Signed and Numbered

Ron Donovan Memorial bash – this Sunday!

Memorial For Ron Donovan
SUNDAY JANUARY 21, 2018 – 4:00 PM

Live music by:
MCM & The Monster, Ted Zeppelin, The Jackson Saints, Eddy Jennings

MORE INFO:
http://www.theeparkside.com/event/303637

Contributions for the RON DONOVAN LEGACY FUND to:
https://www.gofundme.com/ron-donovan-legacy-fund

THEE PARKSIDE
1600 17TH Street
SF – CA

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Artists of Occupy Bay Area at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

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Chuck Sperry at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, July 7 – October 14

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Presents:

Occupy Bay Area
July 7-October 14, 2012
Gallery 3
$10 Regular/ $8 students, senior, discount
FREE for YBCA Members & YBCA:You
FREE first Tuesday of each month • noon – 8 pm

Since its inception in September 2011, the Occupy Movement has generated both praise and condemnation. A direct response to the financial instability, subprime mortgage crisis and the decline of trust in the government’s ability to effectively address the problems in the labor market, it continues to resonate in the American consciousness. In response to the significant output of art and documentation produced in support of the Occupy Movement in Oakland and San Francisco, YBCA has put together an exhibition of works that have proven to be particularly effective in supporting the goals and aspirations of the Movement. Impressively, various political poster artists devoted their talents to messaging the politics and culture of the movement by creating iconic images — designs that were a call to action, or posters announcing an upcoming event. In many ways these works, by twenty-five Bay Area artists, carry forward the region’s long tradition as a leader in political struggles, from the Free Speech Movement of the 1960s, to struggles by communities of color in the 1970s, to AIDS activism in the 1980s. The exhibition also includes a selection of photojournalistic and documentary photography and video that serve as a record of the events around the Occupy Movement.

Additionally, to connect to earlier movements and provide a historical context for the project, the exhibition includes posters and photographs from other political struggles, including the Black Panther Party, I-Hotel in Manilatown (1968–77); the ARC/AIDS Vigil at City Hall (1985–95); the Occupation of Alcatraz (1969–71); the Free Speech Movement at UC Berkeley (1964–65); and the San Francisco State University protests, to gain an Ethnic Studies program and Black Student Union demands (1968–69).While these earlier movements certainly differ in ways from Occupy, they all are the result of a deep desire for marginalized peoples to be represented and treated fairly.

This exhibition is not meant to represent a fully executed social history, but is a testament of the power of images to evoke the emotional expression of popular and wide-spread sentiments. By localizing our efforts, we also pay special tribute to the role that Bay Area artists have played in giving voice to the 99% and utilizing art as an effective vehicle for social change.

Poster artists:
Rich Black
Zerena Diaz
Cannon Dill
Dignidad Rebelde (Melanie Cervantes and Jesus Barraza)
Eric Drooker
Alexandra Fisher
Dave Garcia
Ronnie Goodman
Jason Justice
Gabby Miller and Miriam Klein Stahl
Nuclear Winter Art
Occupy Design
Political Gridlock (Jon-Paul Bail)
Cristy C. Road
Faviana Rodriguez
Chris Shaw
Colin Smith
Winston Smith
Chuck Sperry
Xavier Viramontes
Gregoirire Vion
Fred Zaw
Anonymous artists

Aligned artists:
Sergio de la Torre
Kota Ezawa
Eric Drooker
Megan Wilson
Suzanne Lacy
Sanaz Mazinani

Artists of historical posters & photographs:
Robert Bechtle
Emory Douglas
Rupert Garcia
Ilka Hartmann
Steven Marcus
“Indian Joe” Morris
Rachael Romero
Sheila Tully
Anonymous artists

Photojournalism and video artists:
Li Chen
Ewen Wright

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“Heathen Child” Painting

Heathen Child painting by Chuck Sperry, 2011

I’m still riffing on the ideas that opened up when creating the SFMOMA Window Gallery installation. How to synthesize painting with silkscreen printing? What about a rock image makes a great painting? How can the processes of silkscreen printing, especially the layering effects, be brought off as a painting?

I brought some elements of the Window installation painting, “Saint Everyone,” to my new painting, “Heathen Child.” I’m working from a rock poster palette and from rock poster imagery. The Ginderman poster was the basis for the imagery of “Heathen Child,” but I wanted to take this in a new direction with materials and technique.

I used my circle patterns and carefully silkscreened a wide selection of patterns in different sizes in heavy metallic blue silver with green tinting on very delicate japanese printing paper. I was sure this would make a wonderful color for the background of the painting, layer nicely and become embedded in the surface of the canvas.

I laid a thick layer of cadmium red for the figure and flowers. This was modeled – shaded and highlighted – with many glazes of fluorescent red and orange to build up the surface and form. I brushed in shadows of cadmium and knocked those back with subsequent glaze layers of fluorescent. I needed the final edge color to be intense enough to eye-fry when the blue line was brushed on at the end. But wanted the shadow effects to translate in the finished art.

The lava forms were built up with fluorescent push-pull with cadmium, but the difference there was to build up a highlighted finish with pearl lustre. There is an pearlescent finish on the lava forms.

After the red areas were treated I put the background. Each circle was carefully cut out and then puzzled right to the edge of the red figure. I used gloss gel medium for under the paper surface and liquid gloss medium brushed over the paper surface.

Cobalt and permanent green for the foliage over the layered paper at the foreground.

Then when the brush and stars aligned – I finished the figure with blue eye-fry paint – first-stroke best stroke style – breathing deeply and making gestural strokes until it was finished with a very nice worked-in brush.

Like “Saint Everyone” – “Heathen Child” is a painting exploring direct religious experience in a psychedelic key of fluorescent, and perhaps a little more pagan or pantheistic in scope. Here’s some details (click to see larger):

Heathen Child, 2011

Acrylic and applique on canvas

24 x 26

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Heathen Child is available through Varnish Fine Art Gallery, 16 Jesse Street, San Francisco.

I’m really happy to see Jen Rogers and Kerri Stephens have brought Varnish Fine Art back to life and have such cool new digs for shows!

Varnish Fine Art Relaunch Part I

September 24 – through – November 5, 2011

group show with: Chris Mars, Robert Williams, Jennybird Alcantara, Laurie Lipton, Isabel Samaris, Scott Musgrove, Annie Owens, Craig LaRotonda, Nathan Spoor, Chuck Sperry, Kevin Peterson, Beth Bojarski, Edith Lebeau, Aunia Kahn, Ciou, Robert Bowen, Sri Zeno Whipple, Winston Smith, Kevin Evans, Dylan Sisson, Skot Olsen

 

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Make Tacos Not War

Friday, May 6th from 6:00pm — 9:00pm

This is a high-octane art exhibit intended to generate feelings of pas­sion and love for all mankind thru the medium of the printers’ ink. Revolutionary, thought provoking, highly flammable and very spicy, we will feed your mind with images intended to change the world thru the magic created when art and taco’s collide.

North Bay Artist and Printmaker Lawrence ‘El’ Colacion in collabo­ration with friends:

Jon-Paul Bail,
Jesus Barraza,
Melanie Cervantes,
Ron Donovan,
Xico Gonzalez,
Don Rock,
Winston Smith,
Julio Soriano, &
Chuck Sperry have created images on paper in response to war on planet earth.

Local Tiki Tycoon Jose Mendez will have his hand crafted Jivaro style shrunken heads on dis play for some skin crawling excitement.

Napa Chef Frank Hernandez will be slappin’ together some of the best taco’s this side of Juarez you’ll ever eat.

Live Musica by Sean Allan & The Mean Time Playboys!

Exercise your freedom to invite all your friends!!

Location:
Wildcat Loft
1210 First Street, Napa, CA

 

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

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