The Box contemporary art gallery is proud to present new works by San Francisco based artist danyol.  This collection of figurative paintings will open at the Costa Mesa gallery on Saturday, May 17, 2008, from 7:00 PM until 10:00 PM. The exhibition will run through mid-July.  Performing at the opening will be the San Francisco based indie chamber rock band Carletta Sue Kay.

At the Seams is an exhibition bursting with multiple layers and textures.  Stitching nostalgia and current events together, danyol’s pop-influenced mixed media paintings explore the liminal spaces between surface and emotion; gender role, responsibility and reality; along with other inconsistencies in our fragile social fabric.  “At the Seams showcases this seminal collection by danyol,” says curator Johnny Sampson. “Although seemingly innocent and disparate at first glance, danyol sews together narrative, medium, iconography and technique to create a beautiful contextual gestalt”.

danyol was born in 1970 in Orange County, California--just a stone’s throw away from Disneyland. Growing up, he nourished himself on a steady diet of pop art, cubism, and sarcasm.  danyol combines influences from his own experiences and environments to form a dizzying combination of colors, patterns, and textures. These concepts are then masked out by definitive figures and shapes, somehow bringing some definition to his chaos. While bright and smile-inducing on initial viewing, look closely at the found objects collaged in the background; they leave hints as to the deeper meaning of each painting. Look at it from one angle and it is seemingly straight forward, but look from another angle, in different lighting, and the painting becomes much more.

Carletta Sue Kay is a chamber rock quartet, comprised of vocalist Carletta, Mark Mekaru on cello and piano and the artist danyol on guitar, piano and cello.  Carletta Sue Kay combines seemingly disparate elements of folk, new wave, country, and classic American pop. Carletta Sue Kay will thrill you with their harmonious, infectious sing-a-long choruses and sunny, yet desperate melodies. A little like the Hedwig soundtrack as performed by the Mamas and the Papas with a little help from Tanya tucker and the Vapours.  Carletta Sue Kay is a long regretful look down a deep dark hole…no one should have ever dug.  Carletta Sue Kay is what Kissin’ Kousins magazine called, “turpentine swill that will infect you as sure as any preacher’s sermon…only, without the pious fortitude.”

Background on the Box Gallery

The Box gallery is a collaboration between Splitends owner and stylist Christopher Hall and director / curator Johnny Sampson.  It is a multi-use space, combining a minimal boutique salon with a contemporary art gallery. Located in the heart of the Costa Mesa SoBeCa district at 765 Saint Clair, The Box gallery and Splitends offer an unconventional, progressive venue for art and style. For more information, log onto www.boxboxbox.com or call 949-645-1223.