David O'Brien

Studies for Disengagement from Earth's Gravity

2012-01-11T22:19:00.000-08:00

note: if you're having trouble, try turning HD "off", or, leave it on and allow the video to pre-load by pressing play then pause for and waiting a minute or so.

A Study for the Disengagement from Earth's Gravity #120, OR "A video to be watched continuously as an aid for contemplating leaving Earth's surface forever" from David O'Brien on Vimeo.

A Study for the Disengagement from Earth's Gravity #122, OR "A video to be watched continuously as an aid for contemplating leaving Earth's surface forever" from David O'Brien on Vimeo.

Study for Disengagement from Earth's Gravity #051 from David O'Brien on Vimeo.

"Study for Disengagement from Earth's Gravity #051" or "A video to be watched continuously as an aid for contemplating leaving earth's surface forever"

updates, reworkings, new things

2011-12-28T23:03:00.000-08:00

some background about this project - It is ongoing for 2 years now. The project is about the politics of friendship, social structure, and the threshold between the everyday and the sublime. Everyone here is someone that is a friend or that I have a social connection with. In this sense it is a sort of vast social diagram. It is also a form of critique of synthetic friendship and mediated interaction via technology. That's the short explanation anyway. It is an aggregation and distillation of tens of thousands of photos taken of many people who all have this shared experience (of being photographed one-by-one) that connects and also separates them.

Leaning Tower of Patricia

2011-12-11T03:05:00.001-08:00

Prismatic Patricia, 96" x 72", 2011

Leaning Tower of Patricia, 72"" x 50", 2011

Prismatic Patrick, 96" x 72", 2011

nother new sketch

2011-12-09T09:15:00.001-08:00

1:14am sketch

2011-12-05T01:15:00.001-08:00

48"x60"

Portraits

2011-11-13T20:22:00.000-08:00

Portrait of the Artist Taro Hattori
Portrait of the Artist Yang Woo Kim
Portrait of the Builder and Art Benefactor Kenny Furr

Portrait of the Poet Amie Whittemore

Portrait of the Writer Sharyl Green

New Piece - 60"x90"

2011-11-08T09:27:00.000-08:00

New Piece - 60"x90" - Detail Images

2011-11-07T20:10:00.000-08:00

New Work

2011-11-07T17:32:00.001-08:00

Untitled - 2011 - 48"x72" Archival Inkjet

Detail

2011-11-02T08:37:00.001-07:00

2011-11-01T08:01:00.001-07:00

Willie E. and Me

2011-09-15T21:33:00.000-07:00

I wanna take a minute to say that my time at Vermont Studio Center was amazing, more than I could have ever hoped for.  Thanks to all the visiting artists (Steve Locke, Nayland Blake, Alison Saar and Suzanne McClelland) who did studio visits with me. Thanks to the incredible staff there and I ESPECIALLY wanna say thanks to all the artists and writers who were there for the month and became great friends.  Several of their links are in my sidebar. I hope we can all keep in touch.

777 FULL RESOLUTION

2011-08-23T00:41:00.000-07:00

333 FULL RESOLUTION

2011-08-15T22:33:00.000-07:00

Essi Meets Missy

2011-08-12T01:21:00.000-07:00

babies

2011-08-10T20:19:00.000-07:00

These are sketches of some new things from my residency in Vermont.   All are works of photography.  More to come.

Something Something Something

Collaboration

When Is it Okay to Lie?

Press for Chain Letter Group Show

2011-08-07T09:36:00.000-07:00

LA Weekly
LA Times
Huffington Post
KCRW
Art21 Blog

my favorite is when the KCRW reviewer calls it:
"...a pile of things which, in my humble opinion, should never be seen under any circumstances."

Chain Letter Group Show - Shoshana Wayne Gallery

2011-07-30T19:28:00.000-07:00

LINK to show and gallery info HERE

I put a sculpture in this cracked out show. Over 1500 artists. See if you can guess which one it is.
Open thru August 23rd. Bergamot Station - Santa Monica, CA.

Group Show - RICHARD HELLER GALLERY - June 25th

2011-06-06T09:53:00.000-07:00

SUMMER 2011:
Featuring: Sookyung Bae, Andre Goeritz, Mike Gong, Rebecca Morgan, and David O’Brien
June 25 - July 23, 2011
RICHARD HELLER GALLERY
Bergamot Station
2525 Michigan Ave. B-5A
Santa Monica, CA 90404
T 310.453.9191 F 310.453.2791
www.richardhellergallery.com

Opening Reception June 25th - 4pm to 6pm

Richard Heller Gallery is pleased to present, Summer 2011 a group exhibition of artists who have not shown with the gallery before. The group is not tied together with a specific theme, however, they are all young talents that deserve further consideration.

Photographer, Sookyung Bae a recent MFA from Claremont College makes large scale photographs in a grid format with repeating images of friends, relatives and people who have influenced his practice. David O’Brien similarly deals with repetitive images of human subjects clustering them into galactic-like constellations. Andre Goeritz, another recent Claremont graduate, makes modernist influenced conceptual sculptures that blur the boundaries between art and furniture and design. Portland Oregon based, Mike Gong creates some of the most amazing wonders you will ever see inside a glass sphere. For this show Mike will push the envelope into the largest and most complex glass sculptures he has ever made. Rebecca Morgan hails from a Pennsylvania farm town, and resides in Brooklyn, NY. Her sumptuous large-scale graphite drawings and paintings on paper depict the culture clash created by that migration.

New Work

2011-05-16T11:34:00.001-07:00

VSC

2011-04-16T17:54:00.000-07:00

They say the more residencies you get into, the more you get into, you know? Well I finally got into one of these things. The entire month of July I will be here. Will I return a granola eating socks-and-sandals wearing earth sculpture making hippie? You'll have to wait and see...

The Human Entropy Project

2011-04-16T17:30:00.000-07:00

For better or worse, I've dedicated the past year to this project. It has to do with the concept of entropy and how it affects identity. It is a synthetic swarm, where people are multiplied many times over. They are flung into the air, repositioned, and scrambled into these massive collages. I took several thousands of photographs and spent countless hours manipulating and arranging them. Most of these images are printable at 60" x 48" at 400 dpi.... incredibly high res (i think so anyway) for their size. Here are some of the latest images:

(detail image from the one above)

I can't say that I knew much about photography before I started this project, and I'm not sure that I know very much more now. What I don't know I hope I make up for in tenacity and plain stupid hard work. I bought my first DSLR just to do this. It's been quite and odyssey and I have to thank all the friends who modeled for me. Each of the images you see above (and below) are not some thing that was spit out by a computer algorithm and I do NOT use Processing (although I probably should.) Each was painstakingly arranged over hours and days and weeks.

We Are Everything

2011-01-18T16:42:00.001-08:00

Braid

2011-01-12T10:56:00.000-08:00

more images from the photo collage project

2010-12-30T20:51:00.000-08:00

space, multiplicity, reflection, distance.

ecstasy of st. theresa vs. multiple erin

2010-12-30T20:28:00.000-08:00

2010-12-12T22:01:00.000-08:00

some connections

2010-12-12T21:08:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure I've ever posted anything that's not my own work. That is surely not a good thing. At any rate, better late then never and you gotta start somewhere. Here are a couple of worthwhile connections to my own personal investigations:
number one:

Philippe Halsman - jumpology
Probably any first year photo student knows his work, but I came to it only recently. The parallels between what he was doing and what I am discovering are spot-on. When he asked people to jump for the camera, (or, in my case, pretend to float), "the mask falls", and much is revealed about the true nature of the one involved. Their body language tells so much. The excitement for me comes in collaging everyone together and discovering hidden relationships within the context of a swarm.

number two:
the swarm......

birds...

number three:
crowds...
...why the many are smarter than the few...

progress on photo project

2010-11-26T17:11:00.001-08:00

I'm currently working on a little photo project. perhaps you are in it. here's a few samples of where I am so far... stay tuned... scroll down.... these are big images and may load slow. (ps. if you want to be a part of it, I want you to be a part of it. get in touch...!)

lately

2010-11-04T17:19:00.000-07:00

hello again - - sorry for the lack of new work past few months. I have been deeply involved in a massive photography project which I hope to post examples of here soon. See below for a tiny bit of info about this. I have been taking and processing literally thousands of photographs... stay tuned...

What I've been up to lately

2010-08-09T22:45:00.000-07:00

hello to the handful of you who may see this....
there haven't been many new drawings, paintings or shows lately because I have been wrapped up in a large photo project. I began with myself, and now I am photographing everyone I know. the concept is a giant swarming mass of people floating in space, all connected on a personal level... like a massive diagram of my own social network.

I've been spending months on this and there are months more to go...

D O B at Pierogi 2000

2010-04-20T19:39:00.000-07:00

Eight of my drawings are now available in the flat files at Pierogi 2000 in Brooklyn.
I am beyond psyched since this is one of my favorite galleries in the world.

INTERVIEW and ARTICLE in REDEFINE Magazine

2010-03-05T14:40:00.000-08:00

Interview and Article in Redefine Magazine ****LINK HERE****
This is a FANTASTIC article. Huge thanks to Vivian at ReDefine Magazine. Please, if you wanna learn about what I do check it out. You can also buy a hard copy of the magazine here. (one of my drawings is on the cover.)

Manifest Equality - preview night

2010-03-03T10:10:00.001-08:00

Went to the preview night last night. Its definitely more of a big box party kind of atmosphere than serious art show. Very fun place to be and lots of art to check out. Expect there to be music and lots going on. Big closing party is this saturday, don't miss it!

Manifest Equality - Group Art Show This Week

2010-02-25T22:59:00.000-08:00

I have a painting in this show <<><>< I know it sounds crazy but I entered a contest to be in it, and out of over a thousand entries I won! I'm one of 5 contest winners showing work along side a huge number of other amazing artists. I definitely have to thank Freddi Cerasoli who is in the show and told me about the contest. Come next week, either to the opening wednesday night or the big party saturday. It is all of course for a really good cause. see you there!

(ps...click the logo for a link to all the info)

Blowin' up in Japan <<< Plus 81 Magazine

2010-02-22T23:50:00.000-08:00

I just got published in a Japanese art magazine called PLUS 81, (or +81) for their Spring Issue on Pattern Graphics.

http://www.plus81.com/publishment/magazine/index.html

Watch the little animation and midway thru you'll see some of my art go flashing by on the pages.

This is a really, really high quality magazine, and they were super nice, and I still can't believe I got in it.
2010_02_26 update: This magazine is tough to find in the U.S., BUT>>>> apparently you can find it in New York here, maybe here and hopefully soon in Los Angeles at Kinokuniya in Little Tokyo. We went there today and they had many copies of the magazine.

Art of Elysium - Heaven Gala 2010

2010-01-20T17:22:00.000-08:00

I got published in a book! This is a first for me and I'm really excited. It is the catalog for the Art of Elysium Benefit Auction to be held in conjunction with Christie's at Palihouse Holloway this spring, March 4th. I donated a painting to the charity and here it is. Below are photos from their big fundraising event this past weekend.

So I went last weekend to the Art of Elysium Heaven Gala 2010. Shephard Fairey hosted it and did all the graphics, they had a fashion show at dinner, and Billy Idol performed. Yeah, he's pretty old now. But that was all just side-show to the huge number of famous actors everywhere. (Google it if you wanna see who was there.) Here's some pictures of the event, my nerdy self on the red carpet, and the catalog book that they published for the upcoming auction of donated artwork at Christie's in Beverly Hills.

Website / 2010

2009-12-20T20:41:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone - -
sadly, the Cerasoli Gallery, which represented my work for the past 2 years has recently closed. For any inquiries and updates about my work please go to my website here.

2010 looks to be an interesting year. I'm applying to schools and residencies, there WILL be some shows, I will also be in a magazine and a book next year. stay tuned....

2009, Meiosis, Oil on canvas, 54" x 48"

Scion Installation 5 - self portrait show

2009-09-11T13:43:00.000-07:00

I have a self portrait in the Scion Installation 5 show. It has toured the country and is now returning to LA for the final stop before the work is auctioned off for charity. Come to the opening event ::::
Saturday, September 12, 7pm to 10pm
"Scion Installation 5 link here"

upcoming.....

2009-05-23T02:49:00.000-07:00

"Curiosity" - Janine Beane Gallery, Berlin, Germany. Opening June 13th.
(read the press release here.)

"Plus 2" (group show) Sloan Fine Arts, New York, NY. Opening June 20th.

Photos from the show

2009-05-23T01:53:00.001-07:00

hello everyone thanks so much to all of you that came out for the show. sorry it took so long to get these up here my computer is ancient <<<

Solo Show at Cerasoli Gallery - March 14th to April 15th

2009-03-02T18:25:00.001-08:00

My next solo show here in LA!

It is at the CERASOLI GALLERY in Culver City, CA.
8530-b Washington Blvd., Culver City CA 90232.

Link to the gallery here.
Link to press release here.

Opening reception is Saturday, MARCH 14th, from 6 - 9 PM. Hope you can make it!

Faunts Album out on iTunes - CD release Feb. 17th

2009-02-06T16:43:00.000-08:00

Check it out!!! Cover and CD art by yours truly :)

It is a featured album right now on the iTunes main page in the Indie section.

This is really fun it is the first Album Cover i have done, and it couldn't be for a better band. This is one of my favorite CD's right now. You can buy it at iTunes now of course, or wait and get the real thing soon...

The CD will be hitting stores February 17th.

NEW SITE!

2009-01-12T23:23:00.000-08:00

Click here to link to my new website:
www.davidobrienartwork.com

Next Show.......

2009-01-04T15:52:00.001-08:00

Due sometime in March at the Cerasoli Gallery here in Culver City. Stay posted for exact dates......

Update 2

2008-12-16T21:50:00.000-08:00

The following are all recent works i completed before Art Basel in Miami this past december. I just dropped them here for reference. See my website if you are interested in exact dimensions and materials....

Update

2008-12-16T21:33:00.000-08:00

this post has newer, cleaner images of recent work.

Art Basel

2008-12-11T14:22:00.000-08:00

The Art Basel Miami Experience is now only a memory. After 4 days of craziness my only comment is that Miami is like Vegas: just as dirty and insane except its not fake its REAL> hahaha. I saw some much art i never wanna see art again!

Here is a little bit of press:

http://www.genartpulse.com/archives/2008/12/art_basel_roundup.php

and some photos and more on the way. I did an "on-camera" interview there as well for the Scion Art Tour which hopefully i'll be able to post a link to soon.

Cerasoli : Lebasse at Aqua Hotel, South Beach, Miami

Aqua Hotel

3 new works

2008-10-19T15:20:00.001-07:00

These are new work i am producing for Art Basel in Miami at the beginning of December. I will be showing work there with my gallery. Its actaully at a separate thing,,, at the Aqua Hotel. More on this later on...

"Blood and the Magic Number" - watercolor, pen and pencil on paper.

"I wish I hadn't Died" - watercolor, pen and pencil on paper.

"Snowman" - watercolor, pen and pencil on paper.

face

2008-09-23T00:41:00.001-07:00

face - sketch with pen and colored pencil. approx 8" x 10"

I am doing these tiny sketches of faces. I think i am becoming interested in how multiple expressions and emotions might form, and what constitutes a 'face'. This exercise could evolve into a form of figure drawing, where i begin to render full bodies in this way. I like the bleeding of the edges.

explode implode

2008-08-06T23:17:00.001-07:00

"People Pinwheel and a Meeting of the Minds" - watercolor and ink on paper approx. 28" x 28"

"Talking Flower (with God Complex)" - watercolor and ink on paper approx. 30" x 30"

Mating Dance

2008-07-23T22:57:00.000-07:00

"Mating Dance" - Watercolor, pencil, pen and colored pencil on paper. Approx 38" x 60".

two works in progress

2008-06-14T13:36:00.000-07:00

the night sky - pen, pencil and watercolor on paper, 46" x 60" (in progress)

thirteen black holes - pencil and pen on paper, 50" x 80" (in progress)

divine invasion

2008-04-23T23:33:00.001-07:00

mixed media on paper. approx 19" x 28"

more images from the gallery

2008-04-18T10:14:00.000-07:00

follow this link to a flickr site of images from my latest gallery show.
click here

04/08

2008-03-23T21:37:00.001-07:00

functional fantasy

Photos from the opening

2008-03-18T23:37:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who came out saturday night. It was big success. If you haven't had a chance to check out the show it will be there until April 5th.

SOLO SHOW

2008-03-07T21:20:00.000-08:00

Whats up everyone

Something i have been working towards for a long time.... my first solo art show. I've signed with a gallery here in LA and I'm about to have a show there.

Opening reception is Saturday, March 15th from 6-8pm... here's a link to the gallery.

Cerasoli Gallery
8530b Washington Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232

(click on upcoming shows)

Hope everyone can come and check it out!

Maroon Maze

2008-02-04T22:32:00.001-08:00

Maroon Maze. Ball point pen on paper, approx. 46" x 60". Click the drawing to enlarge it. You can see the entrance on the mid left and the exit on the right. It's a large file so it may take a moment to load.

a walking tour of paris

2008-01-15T00:08:00.000-08:00

pencil, pen and watercolor on paper. approx. 48" x 60"

FIRE

2007-11-24T13:10:00.001-08:00

crayon on paper. approx. 52" x 60"

being born

2007-11-23T18:39:00.000-08:00

gel ink and colored pencil on paper. approx. 19" x 25"

to "evoke" the landscape

2007-11-12T23:44:00.000-08:00

both gel ink and colored pencil on paper. each approx. 18" x 26"

show

2007-11-01T09:31:00.001-07:00

Whats up everyone. I recently had a drawing in a group show at Untitled Gallery in Sausalito, as many of you may know. here are some photos. Thanks to Mark and Donna for lettin' me crash while i was up there and to Nathan, Jessica, and of course Amber for making it all happen. Solo show coming up soon.......TBA

people

2007-08-22T23:27:00.000-07:00

it takes more than time

2007-08-21T00:19:00.001-07:00

this drawing takes forever

blue cloud maze

potato and cube mushroom patch

2007-07-26T19:41:00.001-07:00

who am i?

2007-06-26T19:51:00.000-07:00

This is a series of portraits i am doing of plastic action figures. They are printed at 'human scale'..... meaning that the head and shoulders are about the same size as your own. At this scale subtle nuance of expression and emotion become visible.

the legend is less easy

2007-06-12T00:06:00.000-07:00

(plastic action figures and fishing line, approx 26" tall)

are there cheaper, perhaps more effective options?

2007-06-03T22:05:00.000-07:00

(pencil on paper, approx 60" x 40")

let them know something about you

2007-05-15T15:17:00.000-07:00

(plastic action figures and thread, 21" tall)

05/15 You have the chance to change your life

2007-05-15T12:32:00.000-07:00

(pencil and oil pastel on paper, 42" x 60")

closeup.

((This is not a trick! Lately I am cultivating my ability to write backwards with my left hand. It flows naturally and is perfect mirror writing. Hold your computer up to a mirror to test.))

(sketch, 12" x 12")

(sketch, 12" x 12")

4/27 we are all like this, we believe nothing bad will happen to us

2007-04-27T01:22:00.000-07:00

(scan of pencil and colored pencil on paper. approx 22" x 18") we are glad this misfortune is not ours.

4/14 help us to save the children!

2007-04-14T16:18:00.000-07:00

(mixed media, approx 40"x54")

(pencil and oil pastel, approx 36" x 50") Extremists across the broader and middle east want antarctica to know, "Company rank group announced russian coma poisoning key."

04/10 just drop me a note

2007-04-10T23:15:00.000-07:00

(12" x 14") just drop me a note

3/19/07

2007-03-19T23:56:00.000-07:00

thanks to everyone who came to the group show at GP - it was fun. Things sort of went crazy the night before, but it's all good! thanks everyone, esp. Neilah Meyers for putting the whole thing on ///

02/21 shjw

2007-02-21T09:25:00.000-08:00

Group Show Invitation at Gehry Partners -- I have a couple of pieces going up in a group show at Frank Gehry's office. Come and check it out. Feb. 23, Friday evening from 6 to 8.

07/21 Surprise years ago in New York

2007-01-21T21:20:00.000-08:00

Its all new. Paid single office building, anywhere country panel offers sanctuary to a realist.

11/15 Check out our Mountain Bike Gift Guide Section

2006-11-15T22:24:00.000-08:00

unfinished. (pencil on paper, approx. 48" x 36")

(pencil on paper, approx. 25" x 38")

confetti. (paper on pencil, approx 20" x 14")

10/29 babies

2006-10-29T22:31:00.000-08:00

Icarus. (ink on paper, approx. 9" x 6")

obsession. (ink and pencil on paper, approx. 10" x 7")

brain stem. (ink and pencil on paper, approx. 6" x 8")

10/25 chiclets

2006-10-25T22:43:00.000-07:00

three mounds (pencil and ink on paper. approx. 11" x 8")

mound with flies. (pencil and ink on paper, approx. 9" x 11")

(pencil and ink on paper, approx. 10" x 8")

10/13 bunny

2006-10-13T01:29:00.000-07:00

bunny (pen and colored pencil on paper. approx 8" x 10")

10/9 I was assigned is a local one to dial for me.

2006-10-09T20:29:00.000-07:00

mound. (pen and colored pencil on paper. approx. 8" x 5")

10/9 The treachery of images

2006-10-09T20:22:00.000-07:00

Ceci n'est pas une pipe! I have re-designed the flag. Perhaps it'll be on a bumper sticker someday. There are 50 Stripes for the 50 states, (or "original" colonies,)... then there are the same number of Stars roughly as the number of known Countries to date. American world domination! Print it out for your own copy.

10/4 ring formation

2006-10-04T13:47:00.000-07:00

(crayon on paper. approx 80" x 60") the end of you as an organiser! No one's fate except your own interests you any longer. Your relations start lying to you. Sensing that something is amiss you rush to a specialist, then to a charlatan, and even perhaps to a fortune-teller. Each of them is as useless as the other, as you know perfectly well. And it all ends in tragedy: the man who thought he was in charge is suddenly reduced to lying prone and motionless in a wooden box and his fellow men, realising that there is no more sense to be had of him, incinerate him.

10/3

2006-10-03T15:19:00.000-07:00

blue maze with people inside. (pen on paper. approx 20" x 30")

8/24 verks

2006-08-24T21:55:00.000-07:00

black maze. (pen on paper. approx 30" x 48")

half horizon formation. (crayon on paper. approx 60" x 40") this was commissioned by (and sold!) to my friend Laura.

8/21 bubbleman

2006-08-21T21:18:00.000-07:00

pencil on paper (approx 5" x 14")

8/11 bubbleman

2006-08-11T00:54:00.000-07:00

pencil on paper (approx. 8" x 12")

pencil on paper (approx. 7" x 16")

7/31 maze-bits

2006-07-31T21:12:00.000-07:00

(ink on paper. each is 14" x 14") maze-bits!

small maze. (ink on paper. 14" x 14")

baby ring formation. (ebony pencil on paper. approx. 12" x 13")

7/23 swarm theory

2006-07-23T16:21:00.000-07:00

i think the sun was just right.
close-up - cloud formation. look into the eye of the storm~~~~~~~~~~

cloud formation. (crayon on archival paper. approx. 110" x 80")

7/23 sketches

2006-07-23T02:09:00.000-07:00

this is a small cloud formation done in pencil. its based on a tree in a pierre bonnard painting. (approx 12" x 12")

7/08 my more robotic tendencies

2006-07-08T13:36:00.000-07:00

(pen on paper. approx. 30" x 20") we must resists the machine; all machines.

diamond. (crayon on paper. approx. 16" x 24")

pyramid. (crayon on paper. approx. 12" x 12")

7/07 horizon formation

2006-07-07T18:53:00.000-07:00

horizon formation. (crayon on paper. approx 72" x 48")

closeup

closeup

7/05 abraham

2006-07-05T23:47:00.000-07:00

planton. (chalk and crayon on paper. approx. 30" x 40")

black maze. (black pen on paper. approx. 38" x 60")

blue maze. (ball-point pen on paper. approx. 80" x 66")

blue maze. (ball-point pen on paper. approx. 56" x 36")

blue maze closeup. these are all done in pen in one pass. each maze has one beginning and one end and is completely solveable.

6/19 the potato people

2006-06-19T01:55:00.000-07:00

(crayon on paper, approx. 80" x 68")

cloud formation. (crayon on paper, approx. 80" x 68")

i included this photo for scale reference. in photos, its hard sometimes to tell the scale of these drawings. hopefully this helps.

ring formation. (crayon on paper, approx. 80" x 99")

ring formation. (crayon on paper, approx. 42" x 46")

ring formation. (crayon on paper, approx. 42" x 59") a gift to miss christy.