“Female biker gangs, suicide cults, nefarious Easter bunny pimps with pin-up girls and unnerving family snapshots” are all among the subject matter promised when the first solo gallery show by British artist Stephen Bliss, best-known as the illustrator behind the visuals of the Grand Theft Auto video game series, opens later this month, according to a press release.
Bliss’ I, Frankenstein show is a collection of work produced by a process that he calls ‘Frankensteining’—using a variety of printed images assembled from found art, posters ripped from subway walls, thick swipes of paint and his own illustrations, pieced together to create the layered, multimedia images. Fans of the Grand Theft Auto games (or anyone who saw a billboard or magazine ad for them) will likely see a connection in his gritty city scenes and femmes fatale, done in a style similar to the earliest iterations of the hit game series.
This show marks the first public exhibition for one of LA's newest art galleries, Monorex, located at the new START Los Angeles creative hub. START, in the burgeoning West Adams Historic District, is a large vintage building that has been gutted and rehabbed into a community of creative offices, a rotating pop-up shop retail space, coffee shop and an outdoor garden area used for performances and events, in addition to the gallery.
I, Frankenstein opens on September 24 and runs until October 14, with daily gallery hours of noon to 6pm. An opening reception takes place on September 24 from 6 to 9pm. Monorex at START is located at 2272 Venice Blvd.
Stephen Bliss
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