ToyCyte: Toy Culture Collected

Coming up quickly on June 5th will be the ‘Into the Darkness’ show at the 1:AM Gallery in San Francisco. So excited about this show am I that I had a dream about it last night – one of those difficult dreams where I couldn’t deliver my art because geography and time kept on shifting. Fortunately, I awoke to find everything in its rightful place, and a whole bunch more artists previewing their stuff for the show.

Here are a few pieces that fit beautifully with the theme of ‘Into the Darkness’ – dependent on the dark, or at least significant dimness, for their full effect to come through.

kel7alpha’s Kelien V’r glows a beautiful green when the lights go out, and has a distinctive kind of ‘action figure’ look that I really dig. The Kelien is an original creation made of resin and part of a series of at least four resin aliens that’ll hopefully become a DIY collection before too long.

Lap Ngo’s jack-o-lanterns a very neat, and they’re photographed in such a way that I can’t even tell what they’re made from. Perhaps some of those awesome discount Mellows, judging by the orange coloring and the thickness? I wonder how these look in the light! Check out the FLickr – Lap Ngo’s no stranger to illuminating toys – or placing on / off switches in suggestive places….

I really am loving KaroGaro’s monster diorama with the light-up eyes, which opted for original sculpts instead of working with a set toy form, so much respect for the depth and excellent execution of this piece.

More previews comin’ up for this great show, mixing familiar names with not-so-familiar ones, so stay tuned!