• Mark Dean Veca: Ornamental Illness, Part II

    Mark Dean Veca:  Ornamental Illness, Part II


    Mark Dean Veca

    Ornamental Illness, Part II

    ROW DTLA

    777 South Alameda Street
    Building 1, Suite 120
    Los Angeles, CA, 90021

    Free Parking


    Exhibition Schedule:
    June 8th - June 24, 2022
    Wednesday-Sunday, 12-6 pm

    Opening Reception:
    Saturday, June 11th, 5-9 pm

    An expanded version of the artist’s recent show in San Francisco, the art exhibition Mark Dean Veca: Ornamental Illness, Part II opens June 8th, 2022, and will be on view through June 24th, 2022 at ROW DTLA, 777 South Alameda Street, Building 1, Suite 120, Los Angeles, CA, 90021. The artist will be present at the opening reception.

    Known for creating paintings, drawings and installations of surreal cartoons, psychedelic landscapes, and pop culture iconography, Los Angeles artist Mark Dean Veca will be exhibiting a new suite of screen printed editions, new paintings and sculptures, as well as other related works from his archives.

    The print editions commemorate the 20th anniversary of a seminal series of drawings that take as their structure the ubiquitous Toile de Jouy patterns embraced by Marie Antoinette and Martha Stewart alike. Veca subverts the conservative elegance of these patterns, typically populated by pastoral, historical, or mythological scenes, by inserting a more “vulgar” lexicon of appropriated motifs from a wide variety of sources including underground comix, erotica, and advertising. These found images are connected by an intricate network of improvisational biomorphic cartoon abstraction finely rendered in a line under the influence of Underground Comix, psychedelic poster art, Mad Magazine, and Dr. Seuss. At a distance the works read as exquisitely refined as their forebears, luring the unsuspecting viewer into a world that rebels against the tyranny of the “tasteful”. Art critic Carlo McCormick writes:

    “Impossibly ornate, decorative in ways that are as much disorienting as dissociative, Veca superimposes his disembodied pop elements upon the frilly and irrevocably feminized spacelessness of Toile de Jouy, an 18th Century textile pattern marked most notably by its capacity for seamless repetition and highly detailed complexity. Pattern and decoration -- among the most maligned attributes that have become pretty much taboo in contemporary art practice -- serve Veca well. Drawing from the same instincts that propel his most ambitious public art installations, the wry appropriation of the unapologetically decorative is this artist’s way of producing paintings as if they were wallpaper: a hitch like a programmed glitch in the high commodity that fine art represents; the ghost of the unoriginal whispering again that caveat emptor; the equation by which he can make the dichotomy of the truth in the lie compatible yet irresolvable.”

    Also on view will be recent paintings and sculptures that riff on portraiture and popular culture. A series of brightly-colored paintings depict cartoon characters from Looney Tunes to Rick and Morty as writhing biomorphic organisms. The smaller-scale sculptures take the form of found objects: vintage plastic piggy banks shaped like busts of Disney characters- hand-painted in a blue and white Delft mode that transports them from their squeaky-clean origins firmly into the psychedelic realm.

    Born in 1963, in Shreveport, Louisiana, and raised in Livermore, California, Veca studied at the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. He has exhibited throughout the United States, Europe and Japan at institutions such as the San Jose Museum of Art, The Orange County Museum of Art, MoMA PS 1, The Brooklyn Museum of Art, The Crocker Art Museum, The Drawing Center, The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

    Veca’s public artwork Miracle of La Brea, commissioned by LA Metro for a station at Wilshire and La Brea in Los Angeles, will open in 2024. Amongst his many honors, he was awarded the John S. Knudsen Prize in 2018, the C.O.L.A. Individual Artist Fellowship in 2011, named Honoree of the Jennifer Howard Coleman Distinguished Lectureship and Residency at Otis College of Art and Design in 2008, received a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant in 2006, and has thrice received the New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in painting.

    For more information please contact the artist at mark@markdeanveca.com

  • CODAMAGAZINE

    CODAMAGAZINE

    April 29, 2019

    CODAworx just featured the installation art I did for SITE:LAB in CODAMAGAZINE: EXPERIENTIAL & INTERACTIVE ART II.

    see more

  • 'I do want people to be blown away by the visuals.' Check out Mark Dean Veca's 'Maddest Hatter' room at the Crocker Art Museum

    'I do want people to be blown away by the visuals.' Check out Mark Dean Veca's 'Maddest Hatter' room at the Crocker Art Museum

    New Video from the Sacramento Bee

    Jun 20, 2017

    Artist Mark Dean Veca created an interactive, immersive installation at the Crocker Art Museum in June 2017 as part of the Hi-Fructose magazine/"Turn the Page" exhibit that at the museum through September 17, which features works by 51 contemporary artists in a variety of mediums.

  • Newsletters

    Newsletters
  • Pow!Wow!Japan Recap

    Pow!Wow!Japan Recap

    "How was Pow!Wow! Japan?", you ask? Contrast Magazine Editor-in-Chief Mark Kushimi's photo-journal has the answer.

  • Farewell to Western Project

    As Western Project transitions from their brick-and-mortar gallery space on La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles to their new incarnation as a solely online presence, our six-year run will regrettably come to an end.

    Thanks to Cliff Benjamin and Erin Kermanikian for all your hard work and dedication, I wish you the best of luck in your new endeavor!

  • Mark Dean Veca: Made for You and Me at Cristin Tierney Gallery, NYC

    Exhibition Dates: January 31 – March 9, 2013
    Opening Reception: Thursday, January 31, 6-8pm

    546 West 29th Street, New York, NY 10001
    T: 212.594.0550 F: 212.594.0556

    Cristin Tierney is pleased to present Mark Dean Veca: Made for You and Me opening January 31st and on view through March 9th,
    2013. The artist will be present at the opening reception.

    Known for creating paintings, drawings and installations of surreal cartoons, psychedelic landscapes, and pop culture iconography,
    Mark Dean Veca has created a new body of work around the theme of Americana. In Made for You and Me, Veca references
    capitalism, nationalism, and the American spirit through paintings on canvas that reflect a culture in decline.

    Feeling as though he was witnessing the collapse of the “American Dream,” Veca began these paintings in 2009 to address the
    corruption of ideals in this country. The title of the exhibition comes from Woody Guthrie’s popular folk song, This Land Is Your
    Land – a song originally meant to express communist sentiments that has been co-opted to represent the spirit of capitalism and
    growth. Veca’s latest work can be understood as a form of Sinister Pop, with images from our consumer culture—Exxon Mobil’s
    Pegasus, the Monopoly logo, dollar signs—twisted and transformed into dark, slightly maniacal forms. This is best exemplified by the
    image of Reddy Kilowatt. Once an emblem of consumption, Veca has revived this character as a symbol of our ever greater
    dependence on electrical power and our embrace of consumption rather than conservation.

    Born in 1963, in Shreveport, Louisiana, Veca studied at the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. Veca has exhibited throughout the
    United States, Europe and Japan at institutions such as the San Jose Museum of Art, The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art,
    MoMA PS 1, The Brooklyn Museum of Art, The Bronx Museum of Art, The Drawing Center, The Los Angeles County Museum of
    Art, and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

    In 2011, Veca completed a New York City Department of Cultural of Affairs Percent for Art commission for the Spruce Street School
    at 8 Spruce Street - the Frank Gehry building in lower Manhattan. He was named Honoree of the Jennifer Howard Coleman
    Distinguished Lectureship and Residency at Otis College of Art and Design in 2008 and in 2006, he was awarded a Pollock-Krasner
    Foundation Grant. Amongst his many honors, Veca has thrice received the New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in painting
    and has held residencies at institutions such as the Bronx Museum, the MacDowell Colony, and Villa Montalvo.

    For more information, please contact Valerie Altahawi at valerie@cristintierney.com or at 212.594.0550.

  • RAGING OPULENCE: MARK DEAN VECA

    September 29, 2012 through March 31, 2013

    MAD Magazine meets Versailles in Mark Dean Veca’s loud yet regal salon installation. Veca bridges the opulence of 18th-century Toile de Jouy wallpaper and the renegade attitude of 20th-century cartoons, comics, and street art. This fall, he will embellish the architecture of the Davies Gallery in the historic wing of the San Jose Museum of Art with an expansive mural. Veca integrates visceral and undulating shapes into elaborate patterns akin to the ornamental wall treatments used in upper-class homes of the 18th century. Inspired by the intricacies of toile, Veca lays out a convoluted pattern of his own: he painstakingly renders larger-than-life biomorphic motifs with the exaggerated black outlines typical of comics and graphic novels.

    Veca grew up in Livermore, California, and the influence of the Bay Area’s underground comix scene is evident in his psychedelic murals. He frames his intense, spectacular palette of fiery reds and oranges with an engulfing, white bubble shape that suggests (as in comic vocabulary) that the work is just a thought or a colorful hallucination. Along with his whitewashed lighting and bean-bag seating, Veca evokes an anti-gravitational and almost sci-fi space. Visitors are invited to lounge and find all sorts of uncanny motifs embedded into the faux-historic wallpaper pattern. Ultimately, Veca—with his gestural, expressionistic mark-making and cartoonish vocabulary— delivers the imagery of graffiti via classic, virtuoso drawing ability.

    .........................................................................................................

  • POP CULTURE


    Selections from the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation

    AUGUST 25 - DECEMBER 2, 2012

    curated by Billie Milam Weisman

    20th ANNIVERSARY RECEPTION: Saturday, September 15th, 5-7pm

    When the Pop art movement first surfaced in the mid 1950s artists sought to challenge traditional conceptions of art making by incorporating consumer culture and everyday objects into their work. Artists during this period transformed icons associated with mass media, comic books, and popular culture into visual expressions that often reflected a growing societal infatuation with consumerism. When it originated, the Pop art movement sought to ironically emphasize images representing the commonplace or kitschy elements of a given culture. Today, contemporary artists have elaborated on the traditions established by the Pop artists who created an aesthetic style that reflected the changing needs and interests of varying societies. This exhibition merges art that reflects and comments on popular culture and vernacular of the 1960s until the present with selections curated from the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation.

    Location:
    Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art, Pepperdine University
    24255 Pacific Coast Highway
    Malibu, CA 90263-4462
    Information: (310) 506-4851

    The exhibition may be viewed:
    Aug 25 - Dec 2, 2012
    Tuesday–Sunday from 11:00am to 5:00pm
    Closed on Mondays and major holidays, including November 22 and 23

    Please join us:
    Reception will be Saturday, September 15th from 5:00 to 7:00pm

    Sincerely,
    Billie Milam Weisman
    Director, Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation

  • VISIBLE


    Joe Biel, Patrick Lee, Mark Dean Veca and Eric Yahnker

    Exhibition: Sept 10 - Oct 18, 2012 | Reception: Sept 13, 2012 6-8pm

    Gallery Hours: Monday through Thursday 11:00 am to 4:00 pm, or by appt. Admission is free.

    Harris Art Gallery | The University of La Verne
    1950 Third Street La Verne, California 91750
    909.593.3511 extension 4763 www.laverne.edu

    Visible is a group exhibition featuring Los Angeles artists who have drawing-based studio practices.

    Mark Dean Veca and Eric Yahnker draw upon found imagery to present playful figurative motifs that give new meaning to pop culture iconography. In Veca’s paintings and drawings, the familiar faces of Cookie Monster and the Kool-Aid mascot invite viewers to explore a wild network of precise line work. By using marks that seem to ooze and agitate, Veca’s intricate pictures spring to life with a pulsating energy. Yahnker employs skillful rendering and careful compositions to present well executed visual absurdities. In a large-scale graphite and color pencil portrait of The Wizard of Oz protagonist, Dorothy, Yahnker adorns his subject with a colorful Doritos Corn Chip bag. Instead of colorization coming from a psychedelic fantasy, Dorothy’s black and white world is chromatically altered by a snack food with a name similar to her own.

    By presenting subject matter in specific formats - head shot portraiture or television screens – the work of both Patrick Lee and Joe Biel focuses sharply revealing intimate depths. With a tremendous facility for lifelike portraiture, Lee draws his subjects with extreme detail and emotional sensitivity. Lee’s drawings feature men who embody street tough personas; however, his delicate touch records soft and subtle characteristics that illuminate unexpected beauty and vulnerability. Biel renders late twentieth century model television sets that are stacked-up like boxes on a sparse miniature stage. On their screens, viewers can see famous movie stills, historic broadcast images and current event sensations. An atmospheric collapsing of time and space comes over Biel’s pictures, and one is confronted with a place where any memory can be recalled or where any reality can be created.

    Joe Biel received an MFA in Painting from the University of Michigan. Biel’s work has been exhibited in galleries nationally and internationally at LA Louver Gallery, Venice, CA; Roberts and Tilton Gallery, Culver City, CA; Goff + Rosenthal Gallery, New York, NY; Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle, WA; and Galerie Kuckei + Kuckei, Berlin, Germany.

    Patrick Lee attended the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and is the recipient of the 2006 Peter S. Reed Foundation Achievement Award. Lee has had solo exhibitions at Western Project, Los Angeles, CA and Ameringer McEnery Yohe, New York, NY.

    Mark Dean Veca received his BFA from Otis Art Institute, Los Angeles, CA. In 2011 he was commissioned by the NYC Department of Education to create a site-specific mural for the Spruce Street School designed by Frank O. Gehry. Veca has had solo exhibitions at the San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA; The Lab Gallery, New York, NY; and Western Project, Los Angeles, CA.

    Eric Yahnker received his BFA in animation from the California Institute of the Arts. Yahnker’s work has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions at galleries and venues including: The Armory Show, New York, NY; Ambach & Rice, Los Angeles, CA; Anna Kustera, New York, NY; Voorkamer, Lier, Belgium;
Western Exhibitions, Chicago, IL;
and Four Boxes Gallery, Skive, Denmark.

    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

  • Season Opener!

    September Group Show

    September 08, 2012 — October 06, 201

    Guerrero Gallery
    2700 19th Street
    San Francisco, CA 94110
    info@guerrerogallery.com
    415.400.5168

    Hours
    Tuesday – Saturday 11a-7p
    Sunday 12p-5p

    Participating artists:

    Tim Diet

    Aaron Noble

    Daniel Albrigo

    Marissa Textor

    Cody Hudson

    Alex Lukas

    Ken Davis

    Mark Dean Veca

    Eric Beltz

    Mike Giant

    Matt Leines

    Patrick Martinez

    KC Ortiz

    Terry Powers

    HuskMitNavn

    Victor Reyes

    Alfred Steiner

    Justin Hager

    Brett Amory

    Mr. Kiji

    Marcos LaFarga

    Jon Fox

    Rye Purvis

    Ian Johnson

    Saner

    Isaac Lin

    Kurt Dalen

    Harley Lafe Eaves

    Shepard Fairey

    .........................................................................................................

  • Space//Form curated by Sven Davis



    SEPTEMBER 6TH – 29TH

    SPACE//FORM
    A group exhibition curated by Sven Davis
    .
    Opening Reception: Thursday, September 6th, 6-10pm

    Space//Form centers around notions of the architectural landscape. Over 100 of the most relevant young contemporary artists were each given an identical 10×10 inch panel and invited to create a work depicting their interpretation of space and form within either the constructed or the natural environment.

    The exhibition will be accompanied by integral installations by Mark Dean Veca and Michael Murphy.

    Curator, Sven Davis, has worked in architecture for over 20 years and is the UK Director for the internationally staffed online arts magazine, Arrested Motion.

    Participating artists:
    Aakash Nihalani, Adam Normandin, Adam Wallacavage, Alex Lukas, Alicia Dubnyckyj, Amy Casey, Anthony Zinonos, Augustine Kofie, Ben Eine, Bill McRight, Blaine Fontana, Brendan Monroe, Brett Amory, Carl Cashman, Carl Riddle. Cheryl Molnar, Chloe Early, Chris Ballantyne, Chris Scarborough, Christian Mendoza, Christopher Derek Bruno, Clayton Brothers, Cleon Peterson, Dabs Myla, Dana Brown, Dave Kinsey, David Kassan, David O’Brien, Deedee Cheriel, Doze Green, Drew Tyndall, Eric Shaw, Eric White, Erik Mark Sandberg, Francesco Igory Deiana, Frank Gonzales, Gary Taxali, Geoff McFetridge, Ghostpatrol, Greg Eason, Greg Lamarche, Hamishi, Henry Gunderson, Ian Francis, Jacob Magraw Mickelson, James Marshall (Dalek), Jason Thielke, Jeff Depner, Jeff Soto, Jim Houser, Jordin Isip, Josh Keyes, Joshua Krause, Judith Supine, Kai & Sunny, Karin Krommes, Karl de Vroomen, Katrin Fridriks, Kenji Hirata, Kevin Cyr, Kevin Earl Taylor, Kevin Peterson, Kid Acne, Kozyndan, Kris Lewis, Kristen Schiele, Lex Thomas, Logan Hicks, Lola Dupré, Louis Reith, Lucas Price, LX One, Mario Wagner, Marissa Textor, Mark Dean Veca, Mark Schoening, Mark Warren Jacques, Mark Whalen, Mars-1, Martin Wittfooth, Mary Iverson, Matt Leines, Maya Hayuk, Michael Murphy, Mike Stilkey, Moneyless, Nick Walker, Pakayla Biehn, Paul Insect, Pete Watts, Reginald S. Aloysius, Remi Rough, Rich Jacobs, Richard Colman, Ricky Allman, Rostarr, Russell Leng, Ryan Shaffer, Ryan Stewart Nault, Sage Vaughn, Saner, Seonna Hong, She One, Sidney Pink, Sinc, Slinkachu, Stephanie Buer, Sweet Toof, Teresa Duck, Tim Biskup, Tom French, Tristram Lansdowne, Wayne White, Will Barras, Winston Smith

    Curatorial statement:
    Space//Form explores the constructed and natural environment while also serving as a comparative exercise in how different individuals respond to a single set of prescribed criteria. All of the participating artists were given the same commission guidelines and an identical surface material to work with. Each unique interpretation of the brief has led to the creation of a new artwork specifically for the show. The disciplines of art and architecture traditionally enjoy a symbiotic relationship, and the parallels run deep between the conception and realization of an architectural project and the Space//Form exhibition itself.

    For more information, images, preview or sales inquiries, please email Paige Prendergast:
    paige@breezeblockgallery.com

    For curatorial questions or interview opportunities with the artists, please email Sven Davis:
    sven@arrestedmotion.com

  • ART OF THE ASSASSIN

    Ubisoft, in partnership with Rock the Vote and SA Studios Global, invite you to the Los Angeles launch of "Art of the Assassin" - a traveling art exhibit celebrating one of 2012's most anticipated video game releases, Assassin's Creed III. Artwork will feature themes inspired by the game's setting and sentiment: the American Revolutionary War. Join us for drinks and music by DJ Skee, as we showcase pieces from some of the most distinguished contemporary artists in the country.

    HOSTED BY:
    DJ SKEE

    FEATURING ARTWORK BY:
    MARK DEAN VECA – DUALFORCES – ARIEL ERESTINGCOL
    RACECAR 13 – ARTEK – JUSTIN BARTLETT – DORA DRIMALAS – BRIAN FLYNN

    LIVE ARTWORK BY:
    THANK YOU X

    THURSDAY, AUGUST 23rd
    7PM –11PM

    525 DTLA GALLERY
    525 W 7TH ST.
    LOS ANGELES, 90014

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  • Group Exhibition at David B. Smith Gallery in Denver, CO


    August 3 - September 1, 2012

    David B. Smith Gallery is pleased to announce an
    exhibition of exhilarating works by the following
    artists:

    Clayton Brothers
    Molly Dilworth
    AJ Fosik
    John Houck
    Paul Jacobsen
    Ryan McLennan
    Regan Rosburg
    Dena Schuckit
    Cole Sternberg
    Yuken Teruya
    Jason Thielke
    Mark Dean Veca
    Jonathan Viner

    The featured artists work in eclectic media and
    through diverse subject matters and material
    concerns and base their practice across the United
    States and abroad.

    In addition to exciting new works by returning artists Molly Dilworth, AJ Fosik, Ryan McLennan, Regan
    Rosburg, Paul Jacobsen, Dena Schuckit, Cole Sternberg, and Jason Thielke, the exhibition features excerpts
    from artist John Houck's acclaimed Aggregates series, a captivating oil on panel work by Jonathan Viner, as
    well as a portrait by Mark Dean Veca of the infamous Mr. Hankey, of South Park fame.

    The exhibition features a new painting from the Clayton Brothers. With recent solo exhibitions at the
    Pasadena Museum of California Art and the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, and with one upcoming
    in Paris in 2013, their participation in this exhibition represents a return of sorts to their Denver roots.

    Yuken Teruya, whose Constellation project is currently on view at the 18th Biennale of Sydney, contributed
    two works from his Notice-Forest paper bag sculpture series, for which the artists transforms paper shopping
    bags into delicate hand-cut portraits of specific trees observed by the artist. Featuring McDonald's Olympics
    themed bags and titled The Taste of Victory, the works question concepts of nationality and global
    commerce, while presenting a singular tree within, which functions as a counterpoint to these far-reaching
    concerns.

    This exhibition touches on levels of visual interest ranging from blue and pop culture material, to dreamy,
    painterly landscapes, to the visual power of historical and contemporary symbols of anti-establishment
    discourse, and beyond.

    ************************************************************************************

  • My new print published by Poster Child Prints!

    From the PCP Blog:

    “When the Shit Hits the Fan” a Mark Dean Veca exclusive for PCP
    June 21, 2012 – 11:55 AM
    We’re happy to announce the release of “When The Shit Hits The Fan” by new PCP artist Mark Dean Veca! This hand pulled limited edition print is now available exclusively on our site!
    Thank you MDV!

    ............................................................................................................

  • Kingdom Animalia

    Group Exhibition to benefit Big Life Foundation

    Curated by local artist Joey Remmers and Seattle gallery owner Kirsten Anderson of Roq La Rue Gallery, the Kingdom Animalia exhibit at Land Rover Anaheim Hills will kick off with a festive opening reception on June 29th, from 7-10:00 p.m.

    Amy Crehore, Amy Sol, Ana Bagayan, Brian Viveros, Camille Rose Garcia, Christian Van Minnen, Chrystal Chan, Craig LaRotonda, Dan May, Dan Quintana, Dave Cooper, Femke Heimstra, Heiidi Tailleferr, Henry Lewis, Glenn Barr, Greg Simkins, James Jean, Jessica Joslin, Joe Ledbetter, Joey Remmers, Kim Thompson, KMNDZ, Krista Huot, Lindsey Carr, Lola, Madeline von Foerster, Marco Mazzoni, Mark Dean Veca, Mark Garro, Mark Ryden, Marion Peck, Martin Wittfooth, Mia Araujo, Michael Page, Nathan Ota, Nathan Spoor, Naoto Hattori, Nick Baxter, Nick Brandt, Nicola Verlato, Paolo Guido, Sam Wolfe Connelly, Scott Musgrove, Shaunna Peterson, Suzanne Falk, Ti Kunkit, Tom Bagshaw, Travis Louie, Ver Mar, Yumiko Kayakawa

    All proceeds from the show as well as a portion of the proceeds of any Land Rover vehicles sold from the Anaheim Hills location the evening of the event will be donated to Big Life Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of Africa's wildlife and ecosystems, because really...who wants to live in a world without majestic creatures such as elephants, rhinos, and all of the other creatures that are part of our global heritage?

    ADVANCE ONLINE PREVIEW FOR THE SHOW CAN BE REQUESTED BY CONTACTING INFO@JOEYREMMERS.COM


    ABOUT BIG LIFE FOUNDATION
    Founded in September 2010 by photographer Nick Brandt in urgent response to the recent dramatic escalation in poaching across much of Africa, Big Life Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of Africa's wildlife and ecosystems.

    With highly-regarded conservationist Richard Bonham at the helm, multiple fully-equipped teams of rangers have been placed in newly-built outposts in the critical areas throughout the 2 million acre region on both sides of the Kenya / Tanzania border. As of August 2011, Big Life has hired 120+ rangers, built or expanded 14 outposts, and purchased 13 vehicles, with latest technology night-vision equipment, tracker dogs, aerial monitoring and a critically important large network of informers.

    Within just one year of inception, this new level of coordinated protection has already elicited a dramatic reduction in poaching in the ecosystem. Big Life's teams are now apprehending poachers almost every time they kill, with a number of significant arrests of some of the worst, most prolific long-term poachers in the region have at long last been engineered by Big Life's teams. As a result of these successes, Big Life has been able to quickly send out a strong message that killing wildlife now carries a far greater risk of being arrested.

    Big Life Foundation has been able to achieve all this in such a short amount of time because its' leaders live and work on the ground in the project areas, where they are able to stay connected and engaged with the local communities, garnering the critical support necessary to maximize effective, efficient operations. It means that Big Life is always ready to react and respond immediately to ever-changing situations, but always with a view to the long-term sustainability of the projects.

    And in the US, operating with minimal organizational bureaucracy and red tape, currently 93% of donor money is channeled into the field immediately to be put to effective use with surprisingly instant results.
    However, the killing continues unabated in the areas where Big Life still has no presence. Whilst Big Life has made substantial progress, we have a long way to go to achieve our goal of stable and sustainable operations long term. As the illegal demand for ivory and other wildlife parts continues to grow, there will be many who cannot resist the easy profits to be made out of killing these irreplaceable creatures.
    With your support, Big Life's teams will continue to do everything they can to stop them.

    WWW.BIGLIFEAFRICA.ORG

    .........................................................................................................

  • Cristin Tierney is pleased to announce the addition of Mark Dean Veca to the gallery's roster of artists.


    Born in 1963, in Shreveport, Louisiana, Veca studied at the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. He currently lives in Los Angeles after spending 17 years in New York City. Veca has exhibited throughout the United States, Europe and Japan at institutions such as the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, MoMA PS 1, The Brooklyn Museum of Art, The Bronx Museum of Art, The Drawing Center, The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

    Veca most recently completed a New York City Department of Cultural of Affairs Percent for Art commission for the Spruce Street School in the new Frank Gehry building in lower Manhattan. In 2008, he was named Honoree of the Jennifer Howard Coleman Distinguished Lectureship and Residency at Otis College of Art and Design and in 2006, he was awarded a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant. Amongst his many honors, Veca has thrice received the New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in painting and has held residencies at institutions such as the Bronx Museum, the MacDowell Colony, and Villa Montalvo. Veca is represented in Los Angeles by Western Project.

    Veca is known for creating paintings, drawings and installations that portray surreal cartoons, psychedelic landscapes, and pop culture iconography. Recent work can be seen in the exhibition Under the Influence: The Comics at the Lehman College Art Gallery in the Bronx through May 12th.

    For further information, please contact Valerie Altahawi

    .........................................................................................................