For Immediate Release 10 / 2 /13 Corey Helford Gallery Los Angeles, CA presents

RON ENGLISH POPAGANDASTAN

Solo Exhibition Opening Reception Saturday, OCTOBER 26, from 7-10pm On View october 26 – november 16 2013 Culver City (October 26, 2013) - On Saturday, October 26, 2013, Corey Helford Gallery presents new works by world famous artist/provocateur, Ron English. A pioneer of street art and pop surrealism, English has created his most ambitiously conceptual exhibition to date. POPAGANDASTAN is a series of lavishly painted canvases depicting the expansive universe that lies just beneath the surface of our consciousness, somewhere down an inter-dimensional rabbit-hole.

Like an Acid-Pop Aesop’s Fable, these paintings serve as a conceptual battleground for a multitude of view- points in harmonic opposition, creating the ultimate Pop Utopia. English has populated his visionary village with his original characters, each the embodiment of a distinct aspect of the human condition. The central character is Ronnnie Rabbbit, a three-eyed neurotic rabbit whose two brains argue each side to every argument. The Combrats are a feral group of doe eyed, runaway, militaristic, dinosaur riding clowns who enforce community law. The Snappers are slow moving antagonists of a destructive, hyperactive cul- ture of planned obsolescence. more The Wolves are resentful, self aggrandizing dethroned inhabitants of a world they once ruled. The sheep are a cult like tribe that clings to its self-styled spiritual creationism. The Quacks are ambitious, lovable charla- tans and creators of quack, the drug that makes you believe anything you think. The Buddha Burgers are a family of supersized proponents of fast food and unbridled consumerism. The Cowgirls are Mother Nature personified, embodying an oddly exhilarating combination of fertility, food and sexual desire. The story of Popagandastan is told through a dizzying kaleidoscope of surrealist imagery composed of the aspirational iconography and detritus of the TV generation.

Ron English One of the most prolific and recognizable artists alive today, Ron English has bombed the global landscape with unforgettable images, on the street, in museums, in movies, books and television. English coined the term POPaganda to describe his signature mash-up of high and low cultural touchstones, from superhe- ro mythology to totems of art history, populated with his vast and constantly growing arsenal of original characters, including MC Supersized, the obese fast-food mascot featured in the hit movie “Supersize Me,” and Abraham Obama, the fusion of America’s 16th and 44th Presidents, an image widely discussed in the media as directly impacting the 2008 election. Other characters carousing through English’s art, in paintings, billboards, and sculpture include three-eyed rabbits, udderly delicious cowgirls and grinning skulls, blend- ing stunning visuals with the bitingly humorous undertones of America’s Premier Pop Iconoclast. For more information on Ron English, please visit www.popaganda.com.

Corey Helford Gallery Located in the Culver City Art District, Corey Helford Gallery was established in 2006 by Jan Corey Helford and her husband, television producer and creator, Bruce Helford (Anger Management, The Show, , The Oblongs). Corey Helford Gallery represents a diverse collection of Contemporary artists influenced by today’s pop culture, encompassing the genres of New Figurative, Pop Surreal, Graffiti and Street Art. Artists include Josh Agle (Shag), Ray Caesar, D*Face, Chloe Early, EINE, Ron English, Natalia Fabia, HUSH, Kukula, Lola, Sylvia Ji, Eric Joyner, Brandi Milne, Buff Monster, Risk, Amy Sol, Martin Wittfooth, and CYRCLE. Renowned for its notable exhibitions, the gallery has presented “Charity By Numbers,” which was co-curated by Gary Baseman and featured an unprecedented lineup of artists including Mark Ryden, Marion Peck, Shepard Fairey, Todd and Kathy Schorr, Camille Rose Garcia, and Michael Hussar, as well as “La Noche de la Fusion,” an epic Carnivalesque festival and solo exhibition for Pervasive artist Gary Baseman. In 2010, Corey Helford Gallery partnered with Bristol’s City Museum & Art Gallery for the transatlantic collabo- ration “Art From The New World,” a world-class United Kingdom museum exhibition showcasing work by a formidable group of 49 of the finest emerging and noted American artists. In 2012, Corey Helford Gallery hosted the US debut of Giles Walker’s robotic “Last Supper.” Corey Helford Gallery presents new exhibitions approximately every four weeks. For more information and an upcoming exhibition schedule, please visit coreyhelfordgallery.com.

Corey Helford Gallery Press and Media Inquiries 8522 Washington Boulevard Jan Corey Helford Culver City, CA 90232 [email protected] 310-287-2340 T: 310-287-2340 www.coreyhelfordgallery.com Open Tuesday - Saturday, Noon to 6:00pm

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