Cool Stuff: Star Wars, Lord Of The Rings, Bruce Lee, Aliens, And More By Craig Drake
Most of you probably didn't notice, but I took the day off last Friday. Why? Because I was so excited by the artwork of Craig Drake.
Drake's work should be recognizable to most. He's got a very distinctive, technical approach that blurs the line between minimal and expressive, with a heavy dash of graphic '80s style. He places iconic images on a simple, flat background, and makes them explode off the wall. He's had posters at Mondo, Bottleneck, Ltd. Art and others, but this week marked his first solo show. And as is the case with any artist finally given their own exhibit, he wanted to do something amazing. He succeeded.
Drake's show, which is on display the Hero Complex Gallery in Los Angeles, turns his trademark style up to eleven. Not only is he tackling a ton of popular pop culture properties (Star Wars, Die Hard, Aliens, Cowboy Bebop, Lord of the Rings, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Escape from New York and others), he's doing so with a newly found depth and passion. Each piece is better and more detailed than the last. Plus, Drake took many of the pieces and blew them up double the size of a normal poster. These "Mega Metals" make the whole show feel like an interactive experience.
Below, we've got images of all the art in Craig Drake's show, which is on display through April 27.
Here are the posters from Craig Drake's show. I've described each one in the file name, so mouse over for more info. Some are on metal, others are on wood and others are just screenprints. And while many of the posters (or at least versions of them) sold out over the weekend, there are still some available on the Hero Complex's website.
And just to give an idea of what those "Mega Metals" look like in person, the gallery sent me these images.
Craig Drake's Solo show is on display through April 27 at the Hero Complex Gallery, 2020 South Robertson Blvd. Studio D. Los Angeles, California. I can't recommend it highly enough. Visit this site for hours and directions and here's the man himself:
