Cat Art Show, the world’s most popular biennial art exhibition dedicated to the feline is back for a third time, opened on Thursday, June 14, 2018 at Think Tank Gallery in Downtown Los Angeles.
Cat Art Show 3: The Sequel Returns Again will feature more than 100 globally-recognized and emerging artists, including Lola Gil, Travis Louie, Daniel Maidman, Brandi Milne, Marion Peck, Mick Rock, Edel Rodriguez, Mark Ryden, Devon Shimoyama, Tasya Van Ree, Ellen von Unwerth, and Casey Weldon, among others. From as far afield as Cuba, Japan, Russia, Serbia and the UK, the roster reflects a similarly diverse variety of cat breeds including Maine Coons, Russian Blues, Siamese, Sphynxes, and Tabbies depicted across a range of media including painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, collage and embroidery.
As a major international center for contemporary visual culture, and creative home to artists, designers, architects, writers, filmmakers, and musicians, Los Angeles continues to host and celebrate immersive exhibitions that straddle fine art and popular culture to entertain and educate. Cat Art Show 1 and 2 attracted 4,500 visitors (2014) and 7,000 visitors (2016) to the city and more than 9,000 visitors are anticipated this year, spurred by a catatonic social media reach of 8 million artist and fan followers.
Annie Montgomerie, Owner, 2018, Don’t Know What Ya Lookin At, 2018, Everybody Wants to Be a…, 2018. All works made of muslin, cotton, silk and wool, with doll abdomen and legs, courtesy of the artist and Cat Art Show
Current social and political issues take a central place in the themes for this year’s exhibition with works directly targeting President Trump and pop culture icons such as Kanye West and Taylor Swift, but also touching upon topical issues surrounding identity politics. American painter Rose Freymuth-Frazier depicts a grandiose Persian furball in classical style defiantly pawing an overturned and prostrate Donald Trump (a best-selling pet doll), wrestled to the ground in the aptly titled Divine Intervention; British artist Annie Montgomerie presents three gender-specific and ethnically diverse sculpted, anthropomorphic doll-like kitties as an ode to childhood memories; Hugo Martinez, who formerly worked in the studio of David LaChapelle, showcases social-media phenomenon Princess Cheeto as delectable sushi-muse in Rollin with my Homies, and the devil’s in the detail in Paul Koudounaris’s Mewcifer, a super cute, not quite-macabre Tabby, inspired in part thanks to the artist’s extraordinarily cooperative muse, a rescue cat named Baba — all continue the legacy of renowned artists, aka “huge cat guys of the art world” Pierre Bonnard, Salvador Dalí, Wassily Kandinsky, Gustav Klimt, Henri Matisse, Georgia O’Keeffe, Pablo Picasso, and of course, Andy Warhol. Among the participating artists, some have never produced a work of a domestic cat prior to the their involvement in Cat Art Show. Shepard Fairey’s first ever domesticated cat work made for the inaugural edition in 2014 was a sure homage to the African-American revolutionary party, The Black Panthers. “The enigmatic feline has been a source of artistic inspiration for thousands of years,” said Susan Michals, creator and curator of the show. “One moment they can be a best friend, the next, an antagonist. They are the perfect subject matter, and works of art, all by themselves.” The full list of participating artists can be found here. Notable artists who participated in Cat Art Show 2014 and 2016 include Gary Baseman, Guy Denning, FAILE, Britt Ehringer, Tracey Emin, Shepard Fairey, Barry McGee, Norman Reedus and Mark Ryden.
Paul Koudounaris, Mewcifer, 2018, digital photographic print 1/10, courtesy of the artist and Cat Art Show. Hugo Martinez (“Princess Cheeto”), Rollin with my Homies, 2018, digital photographic print 1/10, courtesy of the artist and Cat Art Show.
Every year, Cat Art Show donates a portion of its proceeds to a cat-related organization. Works on view are for sale and a percentage of sales will benefit the Ian Somerhalder Foundation, founded by actors and philanthropists Ian Somerhalder and Nikki Reed to empower, educate and collaborate with people and projects to positively impact the planet and its creatures. Kitten Rescue is the beneficiary of the closing night event titled The Kitty Cuddle Party, with adoptable kitten onsite, on Saturday, June 23, 2018 (from 7-10pm). Prices of the works start from $300 to $150,000. For more information on available works, please contact: susan@catartshow.com
During the run of the show, admission is $5 with free admission for children under 5 years, with the exception of Wednesday June 20 when admission is free for all. Evening events are ticketed (varying in price) with limited capacity. The opening night party has already taken place. Visit the website (below) for additional information.
What: CAT ART SHOW
Where: Think Tank Gallery, 939 Maple Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90015
Website: http://www.catartshow.com
