Believe it or not, but with everything else thatâs been going on latelyâGallery1988âs Breaking Bad series (and that crazy gallery show), Ltd. Art Galleryâs PRESS START exhibition, Bottleneck Galleryâs More Than You Imagined, Mark Englertâs new stuff, and everything else weâve covered over the past couple weeksâitâs actually been quite a while since we checked in with the Mondo guys. And as it turns out, todayâs a perfect day to do just that: not only is the Austin-based dropping two new posters from Kevin Tong and Tom Whalen this afternoon, but theyâve also just issued a formal announcement about their latest gallery show. Wanna know more? Of course you do. Meet me after the jump.Yâknow, when we started Limited Paper here at Collider.com, one of the first ârulesâ we established for the columnâif not the very firstâwas that weâd make a point to cover a variety of things happening in Poster Land, not just the stuff being released by Mondo. At the outset, this actually seemed like it might be a bit of a challenge: Mondoâs the reigning champ of the poster-producing industry these days, and with the pace that the Mondo crew has set this year (I havenât done the math, but surely theyâve averaged more than 2 prints per week at this point), it was going to be hard not to cover them at every turn.Oh, how naïve we were. It hadnât even occurred to me until just this morningâwhen the formal announcement for Mondoâs latest gallery show arrived in my inboxâbut itâs actually been a couple of weeks since we ran an edition of Limited Paper that focused solely on Mondo-related shenanigans. Letâs rectify that right now and take a look at whatâs happening in Mondo-land right now, starting with the posters being released sometime today (note: they may already have dropped by the time you read this; hereâs hoping you were waiting on the Tweet to come in):
- Jurassic Park by Kevin Tong
- 24x36â
- $45 edition of 275
- Whatâs Opera, Doc? By Tom Whalen
- 18x24â
- $40 regular edition of 270
- $65 variant edition of 90
So, up top youâve got the latest in Mondoâs long-running (like, really long-running) Jurassic Park series. This oneâs by Kevin Tong, most recently seen producing one of the top-five greatest prints in Gallery88âs Breaking Bad series. So far, reaction to this one seems to be split up the middleâ¦but letâs be frank: itâs part of Mondoâs Jurassic Park seriesâitâs gonna go quick.  The two posters below that, meanwhile, belong to Tom Whalen, and are the latest in Mondoâs Looney Tunes series. That series kicked off all the way back in March, when Whalenâs Duck Dodgers dropped during the opening of the Mondo Gallery. The series seemed to go on hiatus for a while, and then popped up again in the past few weeks with the release of Rabbit Season. Looks like Whalenâs staked a claim on this license now that the Disney license has run its course, and who better? If there was ever a perfect marriage between style and contentâ¦
In other Mondo news, the latest Mondo Gallery show has been announcedâ¦and itâs arriving sooner than some expected. September 14th, to be precise. Letâs take a look at the fliers Mondo sent over :
Now, if youâre a frequent reader here at Limited Paper, you may have noticed that âRobert Brandenburgâ and âCraig Drakeâ are not two of Mondoâs better-known contributing artists. But if youâre a longtime fan of the Mondo brand (and, in particular, the Mondo gallery), youâve almost certainly seen their work before: Brandenburgâs the guy that did that enormous portrait of Blade Runnerâs Rachel at the first Mondo Gallery show (see below), while Drakeâs the guy that did the Spongebob Squarepants/20,000 Leagues Under The Sea mashup (also below). Hereâs what Mondoâs press release says we can expect from the show:
Mondo, the collectible art division of Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, announces its next gallery show, which runs from September 14 â October 6, featuring both prints and original works of art from Robert Brandenburg and Craig Drake. The gallery opening on September 14 will be from 7:00 â 10:00pm with regular hours to follow for the showâs durationâ¦
Mondo fans may recognize Craig Drakeâs style from an original Blade Runner painting of Rachael at the galleryâs sci-fi themed show at SXSW. "I find Craig Drake's sharp, sleek portraits very interesting. He created my favorite piece at our inaugural show, which I am proud to have hanging in my house," said Mondoâs Mitch Putnam. Drake has delivered stunning works of art for Mondoâs upcoming show, bringing his sleek 80s pop style to characters from Metropolis, Black Swan, Kill Bill and more.
Artist Robert Brandenburg will be reinterpreting classic movie posters by adding embellishments to the original one-sheets for the Mondo show. "If you are in the area, you must come see Robert Brandenburg's pieces in person. His attention to detail is unmatched," commented Putnam. His subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle tweaks to iconic art are sublime, adding new meaning to familiar poster art from movies like Deliverance, Manhattan and more.
So Mitch is the one that ended up with that Rachel. Huh. Anyway, letâs stay focused: this show sounds like itâs going to be pretty interesting, the latest in whatâs turned out to be a series of out-of-left-field choices for the Mondo Gallery ever since that March opening: no one saw this one coming, just as no one saw a full-blown Adventure Time show coming, or an all-Jay-Shaw show (devoted entirely to an obscure series of exploitation movies, no less). Canât say I know what to expect from this one when it arrives next week, but you can bet your candy-ass that Limited Paper will be there to cover it, and weâll be reporting back with video, photos, and whatever else we can snag while weâre in there.
Well, folks, that gets you all caught up on the happenings over at Mondo for the time being, butâas we noted aboveâstay tuned: in the very near future, weâre going to have exclusive coverage from the Sept. 14th premiere of the Brandenburg and Drake gallery show (including a âwalking tourâ video thatâll show you every piece on display at the galleryâ¦yâknow, if youâre not already coming into town for the show), and soon after that weâre going to have some exciting Mondo-related coverage from Fantastic Fest 2012. Word on the street is, Mondoâs going to be releasing some pretty awesome stuff during this yearâs Fantastic Fest, and if the rumors weâve heard are trueâ¦thereâs going to be plenty to discuss.
Stay tuned for thatâand more!âin the near future, my fellow Limited Paper enthusiasts. As always, if youâre a gallery owner with a show youâd like to tell us about, an artist with some badass artwork on the way, or just some guy that overheard some mindblowing, poster-related gossip, we want to hear from you: drop Limited Paper a line directly via email at LimitedPaper@gmail.com, and be sure to follow us on Twitter via @LimitedPaper for other updates, shenanigans, and what-have-youâs. If youâve got something to say about todayâs releasesâor the upcoming Brandenburg and Drake Mondo Gallery showâdonât hesitate to sound off in the comments section below. See ya next time, folks: weâll be back tomorrow with the winners from last weekâs Last of Us giveaway!