Mondo's got their finger on the pulse of today's nostalgia-fueled creative industry and they do a better job than anyone else at showcasing artists who bring new, unique perspectives to fan-favorite properties. Case in point: the upcoming collaboration with Nickelodeon for a gallery show kicking off Friday, December 9th.
In addition to showing off the work of artists Dave Perillo, Florian Bertmer, and Sachin Teng, which pay homage to classic toons, the one-week exhibit will also feature examples of iconic Nickelodeon properties including gorgeous prints for SpongeBob SquarePants, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters and Avatar from artist Francesco Francavilla, Rosemary Valero-O’Connell, Ciro Nieli, Sara Kipin and Janice Chu. There will also be a family event on Saturday, December 10th from 10am-12pm CT for all those in Austin, TX at the time. It'll feature a Slime Building Workshop with Mad Science of Austin, face painting, photo booth, coffee and donuts, and more.
As for the posters themselves, they're just fantastic, as you might have guessed; we have a sample of three to share with you below. Bertmer's Ren & Stimpy harkens back to the bizarre and at times highly detailed and incredibly detailed artwork of John Kricfalusi and Bob Camp's creation. The inspiration in question for this piece comes from the episode "Svën Höek" in which Ren's relative pays the pair a visit and viewers soon find out that he's every bit as stupid as Stimpy. That episode is also notable for introducing the deadly boardgame "Don't Whiz on the Electric Fence" ... and a visit from Satan himself.
Perillo's montage of Rocko's Modern Life characters features the classic characters of Rocko, Spunky, Heffer, and Filburt, but also includes such relatively obscure toon folk as Really Really Big Man, chameleons Chuck and Leon, and the team of Bloaty the Tick and Squirmy the Ringworm, just to name a few.
Teng's take on TMNT is quite a different one that focuses on a "zen" theme while also including classic traits of the characters and their mythology. (I really want this one on a scroll of some kind...)
Check out the looks at some of the posters themselves below:
'Ren and Stimpy' by Florian Bertmer
'Rocko's Modern Life' by Dave Perillo
"Thrilled to be part of the Nickelodeon show with Mondo. I grew up watching Nickelodeon when my family first got cable in the early ‘80s, with shows like Pinwheel and You Can't Do That on Television. Always wanted to get slimed for saying 'I don't know?' or food poisoning from Barth's Burgery," said artist Dave Perillo.
'TMNT (Zen)' by Sachin Teng
