Anthony Ausgang
Anthony Ausgang (born Anthony Charles Grant Thompson) is an artist and writer born in Pointe-à-Pierre, Trinidad and Tobago[1] in 1959 who lives and works in Los Angeles.[2] Ausgang is a principal painter associated with the Lowbrow art movement,[3][4][5] one of "the first major wave of lowbrow artists" to show in Los Angeles in the early 1980s.[6] The protagonists of his paintings are cats[7] -- "psychedelic, wide eyed, with a kind of evil look in their eyes”.[8]
He was schooled at the Otis Art Institute[9] in Los Angeles. In 1990, Ausgang had his first solo show at the 01 Gallery in Hollywood.[10] Among the places he has exhibited are: La Luz de Jesus, The Laguna Art Museum’s “Kustom Kulture” show, Kantor Gallery. Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Roq La Rue Gallery,[3] LA Municipal Gallery, and Copro Gallery.[11][12] In 2009, Ausgang’s work was included in the exhibition Apocalypse Wow! at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome in Italy,[13] and in late 2012, Ausgang was the featured international artist at the Rewind show in Bologna celebrating the 50th anniversary of Fender guitar in Italy.[14]
By 1993, Ausgang’s artistic production consisted of customized cars,[15] original acrylic paintings,[2] and commercial merchandise,[16] including clothing,[17] puzzles,[18] toys,[19] lighters,[20] and posters.[21] Laguna Art Museum commissioned Ausgang to design a hole for a miniature golf course exhibit at South Coast Plaza in 1996.[22] As a "successful artist who appears in several magazines and exhibitions a year", Ausgang also boasts an impressive list of commercial clients including Tower Records, MTV, Sony Music and David Lee Roth.[23] In 2003, Ausgang designed the cover for Dude Descending a Staircase, the fourth studio album by the British band Apollo 440.[2]
In 2010, Ausgang did the cover art[24] for the MGMT release Congratulations,[25][26][27] "an eye grabbing illustration that could easily been found on a Grateful dead release circa 1974”[28] which was nominated by NME for the Best Art Vinyl of 2010.[29] In 2011, Ausgang designed the Christmas windows for the La Rinascente Department Store in Milan with larger-than-life three-dimensional models of his trademark psychedelic cartoon cats.[30]
KeroseneBomb published Ausgang's first fiction book The Sleep of Puss Titter: A Lysenkoist Life in the Random-Word Generation in 2011.[31] "Vacation from Reality" is the anthology of his major artworks up to 2007.[2] His artwork is featured in several anthologies, including Weirdo Deluxe: The Wild World of Pop Surrealism & Lowbrow Art by Matt Dukes Jordan[6] and Pop Surrealism by Kirsten Anderson.[3] LA Weekly magazine commissioned a painting by Ausgang for their annual "Best Of ... " special issue in 2000.[32] In 2011, Anthong Ausgang received the lifetime achievement award at Beyond Eden's annual art fair at Barnsdall Art Park.[33][34]
Books
- Vacation from Reality: The Art of Anthony Ausgang (9mm Books, 2007) ISBN 978-0-9766-3250-4
- Weirdo Deluxe: The Wild World of Pop Surrealism & Lowbrow Art by Matt Dukes Jordan, Artist Anthology (Chronicle Books, 2005) ISBN 978-0-8118-4241-9
- LA Artland: Contemporary Art from Los Angeles by Chris Kraus, Ariana Fox, Artist Anthology (Black Dog Publishing, 2005) ISBN 978-1-9047-7230-9
- Pop Surrealism by Kirsten Anderson, Artist Anthology (Last Gasp, 2004) ISBN 978-0-8671-9618-4
- Morning Wood by Roger Gastman, Artist Anthology (Gingko Press, 2003) ISBN 978-1-58423-159-2
- Taboo: The Art of Tiki by Martin McIntosh, Artist Anthology (Outre Gallery Press, 1999) ISBN 978-0-6463-7731-5
- Kustom Kulture by Ron Turner, Artist Anthology (Last Gasp, 1993) ISBN 978-0-8671-9405-0
- Juxtapoz Car Culture by Kevin Thomson, Artist Anthology (Gingko Press, 2009) ISBN 978-1-5842-3347-3
External links
- Anthony Ausgang official website
- List and transcripts of Ausgang interviews
- You-Tube: Ausgang Ausgang channel
References
- ↑ KCET interview
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Vacation from Reality: The Art of Anthony Ausgang (ISBN 978-0-9766-3250-4)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Pop Surrealism by Kirsten Anderson (ISBN 978-0-8671-9618-4)
- ↑ Hypebeast: Ausgang interview
- ↑ Juxtapoz magazine: Ausgang interview
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Weirdo Deluxe: The Wild World of Pop Surrealism & Lowbrow Art by Matt Dukes Jordan (ISBN 978-0-8118-4241-9)
- ↑ Florida Folio Weekly: Ausgang interview
- ↑ 2012 Fender Guitar exhibition catalogue, page 60, for the show "Rewind: 50 Years of Fender in Italy"
- ↑ Otis Parsons alumni news
- ↑ Los Angeles Times: Ausgang 1990 art review
- ↑ Coagula Art Journal
- ↑ Copro Gallery press release
- ↑ Urban Painting Gallery
- ↑ Museo Musica Bologna: Fender 50th Anniversary Show
- ↑ Ausgang official website: Custom Cars
- ↑ LA Artland: Contemporary Art from Los Angeles by Chris Kraus, Ariana Fox (ISBN 978-1-9047-7230-9)
- ↑ Ausgang shorts on Amazon
- ↑ Ausgang puzzle at ToTT Global
- ↑ Ausgang on Vinyl Creep
- ↑ Ausgang official website: zippo lighters
- ↑ Ausgang official website: Commercial Art
- ↑ Ausgang official website: special projects
- ↑ Morning Wood by Roger Gastman (ISBN 978-1-58423-159-2)
- ↑ Rolling Stone: Ausgang article
- ↑ The Houston Chronicle: Ausgang interview
- ↑ The Huffington Post article
- ↑ Boing Boing: Ausgang interview
- ↑ The New York Times: The Incredible, Inevitable Shrinking Album Cover by David Browne
- ↑ Best Art Vinyl 2010 nominees
- ↑ Italian Vogue: Ausgang at La Rinascente
- ↑ The Fox Is Black book review
- ↑ LA Weekly covers
- ↑ Beyond Eden lifetime achievement award
- ↑ LA Weekly article
