In September Culver City’s Corey Helford Gallery welcomed Buff Monster in “Heavy Metal Ice Cream Smile”, his 3rd solo show at the outlet. Art lovers obeyed the call of the sweet tooth and crowded the Washington Boulevard space filled with 20+ new super flat, super-colorful pieces by the famous street/fine artist.
A gargantuan, inflated ice cream cone towered above visitors, like the patron saint of all things smiley and looming. The show’s title sums up the mood well – despite the presence of Buff Monster’s signature friendly, fluffy characters, there’s a darkness that adds a welcome dimension of psychotic psychedelia to this new body of work. I was reminded of Takashi Murakami’s nightmare rainbow universe in the best way. Upstairs, Buff Monster’s highly anticipated new book Life Is Sweet: The Art of Buff Monster and limited edition serigraphs were available– and laid out on a table next to the DJ stand, which, naturally, was blasting heavy metal.
As an aside, I’m loving the new mobile-food-at-art-openings trend – the King Kone Ice Cream truck served up scoops of frosty goodness outside all night, free to gallery patrons!
