Rueben's Ramblings

Do you like Star Wars? How about art? Those two types of interests may not sound like they work well together, but that certainly isn’t the case where the “Art from a Galaxy Far Far Away” exhibit is concerned.

Professional illustrator and painter Randy Martinez and Denise Vasquez will be showing their Star Wars-inspired work at Hold Up Art (located at 358 E. Second Street in Los Angeles) from August 20 through September 15.

Art from a Galaxy Far Far Away (Photo By: Hold Up Art)

The “Art from a Galaxy Far Far Away” is a celebration of the cultural phenomenon that is Star Wars through the showcasing of artwork inspired by the 1977 film, its sequels, prequels and the litany of auxiliary characters created by George Lucas.

“Star Wars became one of my earliest childhood obsessions, and to do a show now celebrating not only the film, but the art behind the scenes as well as the fantastic characters that make up the world of Star Wars, has me reverting to my 10 year old self again!” says Brian Lee, Hold Up Art curator. “The culture and fanaticism of Star Wars had not only permeated every aspect of pop culture today; from music to politics, but has forever left its mark on our expectations of science fiction, cinema and traditional narratives.”

Randy Martinez is one of the most renowned illustrators of his time. His work depicting Lucasfilms’ Star Wars characters launched him to the forefront of the genre, and can be seen in Star Wars Insider, Scholastic Books, Topps Trading Cards, and the Star Wars Celebrations II-V (Europe and Japan). In addition to his work on Star Wars, Randy is one of today’s premiere sketch card artists. He is a fixture for Topps Trading Cards. He began drawing for them in 2004 and garnered numerous accolades on titles such as Lord of the Rings, Heroes, Terminator, and Marvel Comics. Recently, Randy added the credit of author to his resume. He has published two titles with Impact Books, “Creature Features: Learn to Draw Monsters and Aliens” and “Sketch Card Mania”.

Denise Vasquez is an artist working in many mediums: actress, illustrator, author, custom toy designer and award-winning singer/songwriter/guitarist. She current creates custom vinyl toys for Ben Pot Toiz, and has worked with other companies such as DKE Toys, Topps and others. Denise’s vinyl dolls have been collected by Stan Lee and are featured on Conan O’Brien’s “COCO MoCa: Museum of Conan Art”.

Alongside the paintings and reproductions of Randy’s work, Denise will be featuring several original hand-crafted vinyl toys, including the unveiling of her Dia de Los Meurtos take on the Darth Vader helmet. This one of a kind helmet will be up for auction throughout the exhibition. Bids will be accepted online and over the phone. Interested bidders should contact Hold Up Art at (213) 221-4585 for further details.

There will be an opening reception on August 20, 2011 from 7 PM to 11 PM where a musical mash up of Randy and Denise’s favorite music will be featured along with selections from the Star Wars score and even favorite clips from the Star Wars films projected in the gallery

For more information about this and other exhibits, please visit Hold Up Art here.