Monthly Archives: May 2010

Get Fabulous with Dave Calver

Dave Calver’s quirky characters have been taking off in the gallery scene, and we are excited to announce that he has two awesome exhibitions coming up in California.

“Parades, Posies and Pathos,” which will be taking place at the M Modern Gallery in Palm Springs, is his first solo exhibition with the establishment and will feature his sophisticated yet delightfully strange critters and bombshells:

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And for an especially fun and eclectic event, be sure to head to Tiki Caliente from June 4th until the 6th. The party focuses on music, food, art, and tropical drinks – a mission that we can all get behind. The Tikiyaki Orchestra will be playing, along with the Martini Kings – featuring Cherry Capri! Dave has been delighting your dutiful blog mistress with gossip that Tura Santana and other fabulous vixens from much cooler decades might stop by, as well – it is strongly recommended that you head on over and sip a mai thai.

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Steven Tabbutt’s Clean Sweep

We here at MGI are officially blown away by Steven Tabbutt’s mounting success. Every few weeks or so, it seems that Steven would contact us with news of yet another award under his belt.

This morning, when he announced that he has also been accepted into the 3×3 Annual, it also signaled the fact that Steven has made it into literally every Illustration and Fine Art contest that he has entered this year, including American Illustration, the Society of Illustrators, Society of Illustrators Los Angeles, Applied Arts, Communication Arts, Spectrum, New American Painting, Studio Visit, 3×3, and Creative Quarterly.

After scooping our jaws off the ground, what can we say but CONGRATULATIONS, STEVEN! Your distinctive vision and incredible work ethic are tremendously inspiring, and it is heartwarming to see you receive the recognition that you most absolutely deserve.

Hip Hip Hooray!

pic_01tabbutt1719120413100And here’s our proud mastermind:

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Beppe Giacobbe’s Poster

Beppe Giacobbe recently completed this impressive poster commemorating the 20th anniversary of a very unique gathering in Milan, Italy.

Augusto Bianchi, a lawyer, writer, and actor, began the tradition of inviting friends to dine every Thursday when, 20 years ago, he missed a flight that crashed and left no survivors.

Every week, over 100 actors, journalists, writers, politicians, and various professionals join him in his gorgeous home in the center of Milan for stimulating conversation and a beautiful spread. On the occasion of its 20th anniversary, nearly 400 people were in attendance.

Beppe, who frequently attends these gatherings, was asked to create the image, as Bianchi is a fan of Beppe’s elegant “Book of Farewells”. The impressive image features 408 distinct faces of attendees, along with some luminaries whom Bianchi admires, like Karl Marx, smack dab in the center.

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Rick Tulka’s Obamarama

This past Saturday, Rick Tulka’s elegant caricature of President Obama had the great opportunity to make the political rounds. The American University of Paris, where Tulka’s wife Brenda works, held a tremendous gala in which one of the guests of honor was the American Ambassador to France. The president of the university purchased the beautiful print of Monsieur Obama, which was then presented to the ambassador the following day:

ricktulkaambassadorWe have our finger’s crossed that the President himself may actually see this awesome portrait! Please stay tuned to see if the man of the hour ever meets his doppelganger.

Parsons Thesis Show – With Special Guest!

The prestigious illustration program at Parsons is just about ready to release their newest batch of artists into the world, and will be sharing their works at the Thesis Show, May 10-14.

If you are able, be sure to stop by the opening reception on Monday, May 10, from 6-8 pm. Of particular interest might be the works by the charming and talented Gaby D’Alessandro, MGI’s very own intern!

One of her distinctive pieces even made it onto the official invite…way to go, Gaby! We are sure that we will see your work many, many more times.

Gaby’s piece, lower left:

thesispostersfourAnd how often are you invited to TOUCH the work (also by Gaby):

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Annie Featured on Nightline

Vicki’s daughter Anna Jane Grossman has a message that isn’t going anywhere: technology is picking up steam and moving steadily forward, and our cherished devices are tumbling into obsolescence.

Those in our field can empathize, as the internet replaces newspapers, the kindle and ipad replace books, and artists take pictures of sketches with iphones to email their art directors. Even in our position as agents, we rarely speak on the phone, and are startled when we receive a fax.

Annie’s book “Obsolete,” featuring quirky drawings by James Gulliver Hancock, covers the rise and fall of everything from penmanship to polaroids, to magazines and mix tapes (RIP, my beloved friend).

But there is one thing that hasn’t fallen by the wayside……………TELEVISION! And Nightline! And now you can see Annie on Nightline talking about the gradual decline of some of her favorite gizmos. How ironic that you’ll be streaming it to your computer.

You can watch the interview here.

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