On the eve of Poptober we spoke to Matt & Marc, the boys from Artboy Gallery about what to expect & find out if they were ready for the Whatcha invasion with the
live 50th episode on
Opening Night.
Poptober sounds so exciting; you guys always do your Fanboy vs Artboy events, what inspired you to make Poptober happen?
We love our Fanboy vs Artboy shows …they have taken on a life of their own these days and everyone's eager to know what the next theme is!! We love that kind of passion! We wanted to curate an exhibition that was different to the Fanboy vs Artboy events. There had been a handful of artists we had been keeping a keen eye on in the fan art shows and the idea of seeing a full collection of work by them excited us!!
The collective in Poptober is a mix of 'best in show' winners, 'gallery's choice' and 'stand out artists'. Add in the suggestion to host your 50th episode, some rare collectable movie posters from the US, custom toys and comic art… and voila'…Poptober is born! Opening night kicks off this Friday night the 18th @ 6pm with "Whatcha live" and will run until the 27th.
Was it hard to choose the artists whose work you were going to use?
We wanted to highlight a range of artistic styles and as many facets of pop culture as we could to make sure it wasn’t just another 'superheroes' exhibition. Making sure each artist's discipline was different to the next was paramount. We wanted just one urban artist, one pixel artist, one paper craft artist, one collection of movie posters and so on. With so many artists at our finger tips culling the list was tough, but we got there!
Props must go out to the Whatcha crew for showing us Ryan Hall's paper craft earlier this year. His work sells as soon as it arrives…sometime before! We think we have enough diversity in the show for everyone to get excited about. I mean, c’mon… we've got Muppets!!!
What’s the most excited piece of work you’re looking forward to displaying?
We can’t be biased or play favourites, but we're most excited to display a brand new body of work from one of our best selling artists, Dirtfish. It’s been almost 2 years since his last collection and i cant tell you how awesome this stuff is! It's a new direction but still distinctly 'Dirtfish'. Think superhero/aussie anti-hero!
And the work’s all available for sale?
Absolutely!!
How did you guys end up owning and running a gallery?
Marc - I've been in the industry since I finished high school a hundred years ago and although I’ve loved working and managing other galleries, ultimately at the end of the day you are still working for someone else and can have only so much say in the artists you would sign to the gallery. We started discussing the idea about 5 years ago about own space and how we would shape it. The most important thing was to make it an exciting retail gallery full of locally created artwork. It had to be vibrant, inviting and accessible for all ages. We wanted to remove any pretentiousness that people perceive a gallery has and be a place for people to drop in every week to see what's new! Kind of like a comic book store, gaming store or, dare I say, when I was a kid, a record shop!!
What’s your favourite pop culture genre or show?
Our lives are a mix of video gaming, TV, art, movies, TV ...and more gaming. But us in a nutshell goes like this: star wars, transformers, WWE, horror & sci fi movies, prisoner cell block h, game of thrones, trashy and not so trashy reality TV, masters of the universe, David Lynch, HBO dramas and a love hate relationship with blockbuster movies!
Who should Dean Dress up as on Friday?
Matt: SKELETOR
Marc: He needs to don the infamous 'dazzler' outfit one more time. Is it creepy that Dean as Dazzler is my contact pic on my phone for him?? Yes..no..?? Lol
How crazy are you guys doing Poptober and having us crash your opening night with our live 50th ep... Go on tell us.. Who’s your favourite Whatcha?
Our opening nights are always a blast..great art, great vibe, great people & its going to fun handing it over to you guys. We'll be able to kick back, relax and enjoy the show!! Who's our favourite Whatcha? …c'mon, that’s like choosing favourites between your 2 kids (when your least favourite 3rd kid is out of the room) …We love you all equally! *group hug. Mouths to Mike, you’re our favourite"*
Artboy Gallery 99 Greville St
Prahran VIC
03 9939 8993
Public Transit: Prahran Station
Pictures courtesy of Artboy Gallery 2013
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