Book Release and Art Show in Berkeley CA

Saturday June 1st 2013 7-10 pm Limited edition Zombie art book release and art show @ Zughaus Gallery in Berkeley Ca, 1306  3rd st, on the tracks @ Gilman st.

Guide Us Through the Starry Night

Guide Us through the Starry Night

(Obambo/At Your Service/ Conan the Destroyer) Sizes Variable

Ezra Li Eismont

2011

On view at SPACE GALLERY unitl January 7th 2012.

Kittenzilla, R.I.P.

Photo credit : Stephanie Gene Morgan

Some  of you out there in internet land might remember the brief fame of our Kittenzilla mural, which we painted and installed on the old Harding theater in San Francisco in November of 2010. Bunnie Reiss, Myself, and our good friend Garrison Buxton produced the piece and installed it as part of the Gallery Heist One year anniversary show.  It received great reviews and was instantly welcomed by the local neighborhood and the larger internet community.  Unbeknownst  to us, we had tapped into an internet meme, and the simple joy of seeing a giant kitten with laser eyes seemed to leave people with a sunny happy feeling. We just like to paint giant kittens.

The location was secured for us through the gallery owner, Julianne Yates, over at Gallery Heist.  She assured us the mural would be up for somewhere between two and three months, and that she would contact us when it was time to remove it and replace it with art from another artist. So imagine our horror when Andrew Dalton, who reports for the SFist and runs his own blog the aggressive panhandler that first brought Kittenzilla to the land of the internets, sent us an email that our mural, barely a month old and loved, had been completely defaced. Not just a tag, not repairable, but completely and utterly destroyed, overlaid with the artwork of another. I was baffled, upset and hurt.  Who would do such a thing? And why? These questions would soon be answered, but only to create more questions. As word spread of the vandalism, people chimed in with their blog comments, and we tried to get to the bottom of it all.

Photo Credit: Ben Roodman via SFist

I sent Julianne Yates from Gallery Heist a message, telling her that someone had defaced our artwork and we would be taking it down.  Imagine my surprise when she phone me back almost immediately, and let me know that she had been their while the painting had occurred, and that it was a friend of hers (street artist Gaia) who had done the work, sanctioned by her gallery.  I was blown away. How had at least two months become barely more than one, and why had she not contacted us? We had purchased the boards for the installation, done the painting partially in the studio and finished the installation on Divisadero. This was our work of art, and she had no right whatsoever to destroy it.  We had plans to relocate the mural once it’s time was up on Divisadero. These are questions that have still not been answered.

Luckily, we had been able to get a good friend and professional photographer to get out there barely a few days before our mural was destroyed and take some nice photographs, so that Kittenzilla may live on. We will be offering high quality prints through Adhoc gallery, so that Kittenzilla may live out its nine lives, even after the original is no more. We are interested in finding more spaces to bring our giant kitten love to as well, so if you have a wall available in the bay area let us know!

What many people told us is that they loved the positive, playful energy of Kittenzilla, and that we will try and keep moving- we hope to make lemonade out of lemons and move forward into 2011 with a positive, playful vibe, bringing more giant kittens to a neighborhood near you.

Kittenzilla!

Kittenzilla! Acryilic latex and spray enamel, 8’x16′ – on display at 616 divisadero st in SF, next door to The Independent. Ezra li Eismont, Bunnie Reiss and Garrison Buxton. Thanks to Julianna from Gallery Heist for hooking up the wall.

Kittenzilla full

Heart Centric Studios Mural

"Heart Centric" Spray Enamel and Acrylic wall painting Ezra Li Eismont 2010

I Recently finished this mural at the new Heart Centric Studios, run by my good friends Samira Sharif and Michael Gushard in Novato, California..  Check out their website to see some the the good work they are doing in the community.

Ezra Li Eismont 2010

Here is a detail of the red mandala.  The mural is primarily spray paint with some acrylic bases and glazes.

Ezra Li Eismont 2010

Ezra Li Eismont 2010

I generated the initial pattern with a homemade stencil and a pencil.  Big ups to Kim Shepard for her help getting the stencil up on the wall!

a slice that contains the whole

The last time I used these stencils was to paint the back cafe wall at Burning Man in 2003.

Ezra Li Eismont/Elizabeth Matson 2003

Zombie Nation

installation at Boneflowers vintage, 1747 polk st, SF Ezra Li Eismont 2010

Here’s a photo montage of the installation at boneflowers vintage, up for the month of April.  If you are in San Francisco check it out. Bone Flowers vintage is located at 1747 Polk st, between washington and clay in the Nob Hill district of San Francisco. Check their website for detailed store hours, though they are generally open noon til 7pm.

www.boneflowers.com



Gestalt Collective

With Gestalt Collective, 509 Cultural Center

I sometimes work with a group called the Gestalt collective, based out of San Francisco.  We do site specific collaborative murals.  These are some details from one we did at the 509 cultural center in san francisco in 2006.

Ezra Li EIsmont/Sirron Norris/Apex/GESTALT COLLECTIVE 2006

The First Guardian

"The First Guardian" Wood, bamboo, acrylic latex paint Dimensions variable-Ezra Li EIsmont 2009

Super Awesome Revolution

Super Awesome Revolution - Ezra LI Eismont and Bunnie Reiss Feb/March 2010

Closing Reception For The Super Awesome Revolution show with Bunnie Reiss is this Wednesday, March 17th @ Blue Six Creative space, 3043 24th st @ Treat in the mission district of San Francisco.  6pm til 10pm.

Urban Expressions

"East Bay Express Newspaper box" Ezra Li Eismont 2007 ink and spray enamel on newspaper box

"East Bay Express Newspaper box" Ezra Li Eismont 2007 ink and spray enamel on newspaper box

This was part of a volunteer public art project organized by The East Bay Express in 2007.  My Newspaper box was located in Jack London Square by SWARM gallery.  It was stolen not long after it’s installation.