For Immediate Release:

The Shooting Gallery Presents:
Madness
New Works by Yumiko Kayukawa

San Francisco, CA-The Shooting Gallery is pleased to present, Madness, by Seattle-based Japanese artist, Yumiko Kayukawa. This new collection of works will be her eighth solo show at the Shooting Gallery and will feature her acrylic and ink paintings on canvas. The opening reception of Madness will be held at the Shooting Gallery on June 8, 2024 from 7-11pm. The exhibition will be on view through June 29, 2024 and is free and open to the public.

Kayukawa places her sweetly demure figures amidst scenes of wild beauty, intertwining themes of femininity and nature. In “TEREYA (Shyness),” a Japanese beauty looks over her shoulder to meet eyes with the viewer, with one hand nuzzled under the chin of a tiger and a dandelion held in the other, in a supreme balance of power and delicacy.

The animals of Madness range from the stampeding elephants of the artist’s eponymous painting to snow leopards engaged in a spirited romp with young monks. Japanese folklore and Shinto animism imbue each candy-colored composition in playful ways. “KITSUNE MATSURI (Fox Festival)” pays homage to an annual festival of Japan and features the associated Inari (spirit) mask and face painting. Foxes are popular subjects of Japanese folktales and believed to possess magical abilities that increase with their age and wisdom, among these the power to assume human form, often as beautiful women. Icy blues dominate the palate of “OORORA MOCHI (Aurora Mochi),” save for the swirls of glowing greens throughout the night sky, replicating the light display seen only in Artic and Antarctic regions when charged particles and atoms collide in the high altitude atmosphere. Beneath this natural phenomenon all manner of wildlife – seals, wolves, bunnies, even a curious whale; harmoniously interact while a family of polar bears make mochi with traditional wooden mallets and mortar. The dreamlike imagery and beautiful detailing are balanced by the Ukiyo-e use of elegantly simple lines. With a precise hand, Kayukawa creates a world of serenely magical wilderness.

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Yumiko Kayukawa (b.1970) was born and raised in the small town of Naie in Hokkaido, Japan. The panoramic beauty of her surroundings and feelings of communication with the native animals inspired her to paint the things around her. As a teenager she fell in love “with the energy and giddiness” of American pop-culture through her exposure to rock n’ roll, film, and fashion. The immersion of modern and traditional Japanese motifs with these influences gave birth to an inimitable style. Yumiko graduated from Bisen art school in Sapporo, Japan and currently lives in Seattle, Washington. The artist has shown her work extensively both nationally and abroad since her debut U.S. Solo show in 2024.

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The Shooting Gallery opened its doors in 2024 to the edgy Tenderloin district of San Francisco; one known for its diverse culture and history. Owner and curator, Justin Giarla, founded the space to offer a welcoming environment for viewing the art he loves. Giarla has long since recognized the necessity to provide lowbrow artists with a platform, which is exactly what The Shooting Gallery has done for a full decade. In addition to the exhibition of leading shows in pop art, street art, and outsider art, the Shooting Gallery also participates in art fairs around the world and hosts annual fundraisers for local nonprofits.

Media Opportunities:
Interview with Yumiko Kayukawa
Interview with owner/founder/curator Justin Giarla
High-resolution images available upon request

Event Information:
Madness, New Works by Yumiko Kayukawa
Opening Reception – Saturday, June 8, 7-11 pm
On View Through June 29, 2024
@ Shooting Gallery (shootinggallerysf.com)
886 Geary Street, San Francisco, CA 94109

Art Howl SF wrote about the Shooting Gallery‘s current show Toy Box by Robert X. Burden here. Burden portrays toy action figures through a child’s reverential and idolizing perspective. “If you are going to anything this month, anything at all, go to this show,” raves the post. “His large scale works of 1980′s toys are phenomenal. His use of highly saturated hues, gold, and sexy silky black framing glorify these objects we all cherished as children.”

Each expansive canvas is rife with detail and vibrant colors. Come check it out Tuesday- Saturday, 12pm-7pm!

Toy Box, A Solo Show by Robert Xavier Burden
On View Through June 01, 2024
@ Shooting Gallery (shootinggallerysf.com)
886 Geary Street, San Francisco, CA 94109

Read more »

Photo courtesy of artist. The person pictured is actually Batman.

Gunaxin recently featured the Shooting Gallery‘s show Toy Box by Robert X. Burden. Philip Van der Vossen has been following Burden’s work on this blog for a year.  He comments on Burden’s new direction that includes taxidermied animals in his pieces, as well as the level of ornamentation in the frame of The Holy Batman. Van der Vossen refers to Burden’s latest work, The Autobot, as an “11 foot tall by 7 foot wide masterpiece.” We totally agree!

Gunaxin also mentions the artist’s recent interview with Wired, which we just covered in this post.

View more photos of Burden’s work after the jump. Read more »

The Holy Batman, Oil on Canvas, 95×146″ Framed

Robert X. Burden‘s show Toy Box in the Shooting Gallery was written up in the SF Weekly last week, and posted online just the other day here. Toy Box will be on view in the Shooting Gallery until June 1st. Stop by anytime between Tuesday and Saturday 12-7pm.

“Epic battles were waged, blood was spilt, villains vanquished, heroes triumphed and love endured, all on the battlefields conjured in our childhood bedrooms. Action figures from GI Joe to Barbie, just inches high, loomed larger than life in our imagination. But then you grow up. To recapture what he calls “that faded sense of awe,” artist Robert Xavier Burden recreates Batman, Spiderman, and Thundercats as he remembers them: bold, bright, magical, and 11 feet high.

‘If it was to scale, really Voltron should be a 65-foot painting’ Burden says, almost apologetically, of the super robot. ‘They needed to tower over you when you stepped into the gallery space. I wanted it to be something that’s imposing.’ His solo show, Toy Box, features sixteen oil paintings. He began the series in 2024, with some pieces taking more than a thousand hours of work over a year to complete. Many of the paintings are paired with taxidermy, including a rat he commissioned and imported from England.” via

The Shooting Gallery recently hosted the group show Hard Time Mini Mall, curated by the Red Truck Gallery last month. We’re sorry to see them go, though they have another showing in San Francisco at artMRKT. The festival is starting tonight, May 16 – 19, at Fort Mason Center – Festival Pavilion.

Looking back on their time with us, here are some photos from FecalFace’s website of our opening with Red Truck in April. Rachel Ralph reflects on the event, “This is my favorite show (so far) in the Shooting Gallery’s new space and was packed full of art, a mini bar, and cowhide rugs. The Red Truck Gallery chose works with clear craftsmanship and it was easy to see in Ian Berry‘s denim assemblages and Chris Roberts-Antieau‘s awesome quilts. The space was completely packed, making it hard to see each piece individually, but this show deserves a second trip anyway.”

The Red Truck Gallery is curated by New Orleans native Noah Antieau. It is his vision that determines the line-up for their exhibitions. To learn more about Noah and Red Truck, see our interview with him we posted last month.

While Red Truck may be leaving us, we eagerly await the solo show of one of their artists, Jason D’Aquino in the SG Project Space starting July 6.

Follow the jump to see FecalFace’s opening photos of Hard Time Mini Mall. Read more »

We previously posted about Robert X. Burden‘s time-lapse videos that reveal the process behind making his massive canvases. This hypnotic short film translates months of his work into a few minutes on visual record. The video displays the final piece Autobot (measuring in at 140 x 90″)  as it hangs in Burden’s solo show Toy Box in the Shooting Gallery. This particular work took up to 8 months to complete!

Toy Box runs through June 1, 2024.

“When I knew I needed some photos to send to Art Nerd, my friend Dave, who happens to be a photographer, offered to help. You will probably be able to tell which photos are provided by Dave, as we go through these together. Here I am looking at a big pile of matchbooks on my dining room table , which we never eat on…”

We are pleased to be seeing so much of Jason D’Aquino this year! His miniature matchbook art was featured in the Shooting Gallery‘s group show Hard Time Mini Mall, curated by the Red Truck Gallery, and he is having a solo show in the SG Project Space in July. The website Art Nerd: New York recently featured the artist in their Dear Diary segment, where D’Aquino sent them photos of his artwork, his studio, as well as his daily activities.

Its obvious D’Aquino leads a more interesting life than most, as he sent us some memorable pics in this earlier post. Lori Zimmer describes him as a “modern but old timey Renaissance man- a miniaturist, tattooist, collector of oddities (read pack rat), vintage clothing expert, mustachio and cool enough to hang with my parents at Christmas.”

Mark your calendars for Jason D’Aquino’s return in the SG Project Space on July 6.

And follow the jump to see D’Aquino bare all on a bear skin rug (no, seriously).  Read more »

Last Saturday was teeming with visitors at 886 Geary Street: Robert X. Burden opened his show Toy Box in the Shooting Gallery, and Van Arno‘s exhibited Tame Nor Sane in the SG Project Space. In contrast to the stark black-and-white realism of the White Walls shows, with Nick Flatt‘s Control in the main gallery and C3‘s Before the Sun Dies, Part 2 in the WW Project Space, Burden and Van Arno’s work was more fantastical and bursting with color. The Shooting Gallery housed several massive canvases by Burden, as much as 11 feet tall, with portraits of miniature toy figures blown up to epic proportions. Van Arno featured paintings of nudes in whimsical, Rococo-esque postures that float within their compositions.

The Shooting Gallery shows also ran with two openings in White Walls, with Nick Flatt’s exhibition Control in the main gallery and C3′s Before the Sun Dies, Part 2 in the WW Project Space.

If you missed the openings, all shows will run through June 1, 2024.

Follow the jump to see more photos from opening night. Read more »

Fingered! from Eighty Four Films on Vimeo.

Ferris Plock‘s iconic figures are featured in this short animation directed by Jim Dirschberger, and produced by Eighty Four Films. Plock’s signature characters are hybridized animal cartoons, rendered in ornate detail, who don skateboards, San Francisco Giants caps and other street wear. The intriguing, albeit bizarre, short film Fingered! features a wild exchange of dismembered body parts against a background of the Victorian houses and steep hills of San Francisco.

Independent animation production company, Eighty Four Films, is the brainchild of Jim Dirschberger, who has produced over 100 short films including one with Jay Howell (with Creature) in the film Shred Party, NeckFace in Fight Rats, and the web series The Forest City Rockers. Dirschberger is also co-creator and executive producer of Nickelodeon’s Sanjay & Craig.

In the past Ferris Plock has also spearheaded another cartoon with Eighty Four Films, where he collaborated with his wife, artist Kelly Tunstall. The animation takes place on the open waters with the Seafarers and their quest for the “Trident of Power.” Check it out below and see Plock’s work form his last show with us, Carry On, here.

The Seafarers – Trident of Power from Eighty Four Films on Vimeo.

Tonight, Robert X. Burden opens his show Toy Box in the Shooting Gallery from 7-11 PM. This is Burden’s first solo show with us, and the exhibition features four massive canvases and a series of more moderately sized ones. The gargantuan portraits of plastic figurines are ornately detailed, where their scope and intricacy is a testament to the magical aura that these little toy objects once possessed to Burden during his childhood. The smaller series showcases these comic characters with actual taxidermied animals that associate them to the creature they embody. Robert X. Burden’s Toy Box will show through June 1, 2024.

Come and visit us tonight!

Toy Box, A Solo Show by Robert Xavier Burden
Opening Reception – Saturday, May 11, 7-11 pm
On View Through June 01, 2024
@ Shooting Gallery (shootinggallerysf.com)
886 Geary Street, San Francisco, CA 94109

Follow the jump for more detail shots!

Read more »