Mark Ryden’s “Rosie’s Tea Party”, featured on the cover of Hi-Fructose Volume 3.
Turn the Page: The First Ten Years of Hi-Fructose was born as a bi-coastal collaboration between contemporary art magazine Hi-Fructose based in San Francisco and the Virginia MOCA. Several years in the making, this exhibition celebrated the magazine’s first ten years on Saturday night by bringing highlights of some of today’s foremost contemporary artists who have appeared in its pages to Virginia Beach.
Ten years of Hi-Fructose Magazine greeted visitors who walked through Virginia MOCA’s doors on Saturday night.
The exhibit not only features original art from the magazine by artists like Audrey Kawasaki, Barnaby Barford, Camille Rose Garcia, Martin Wittfooth Mark Ryden, Ron English, Shepard Fairey, and Yoshitomo Nara, to name a few, but also an educational Art Lab and interactive installations, including Brooklyn based artist Olek’s first animation and Mark Dean Veca’s “Mad Hatter” mural, which colors a psychedelic lounge space with white bean bag chairs. Another highlight is Brian McCarty’s original Fisher Price view master reel, bringing his photographs of art toys to life which appeared in Volume 3.
Turn the Page stirred up some controversy earlier in the week when surrealist painter Mark Ryden’s “Rosie’s Tea Party” raised eyebrows for its religious connotations. That didn’t stop the event from being a sold-out success, attended by a colorful crowd of fans in their best “surreal” attire from within the local community and abroad, who were greeted by a carnival of live music and acrobatics as they ate Hi-Fructose treats and mingled with models swathed in Olek’s camouflage crochet art.
Co-founders Attaboy and Annie Owens attend the opening of Turn the Page: The First Ten Years of Hi-Fructose.
Some might think that Virginia Beach is an unlikely setting for such an event, and that art capital cities like Los Angeles or New York would have been more suitable locations. During a Q&A event on Sunday afternoon, magazine co-founders Attaboy and Annie Owens expressed that they couldn’t be happier about the collaboration with Virginia MOCA, and how it made the most sense to bring genres like Surrealism, Pop Surrealism, Graffiti and Street Art, and their favorite “weird art” where it is not readily accessible- to bring the art to the fans. The exhibit will go on a nationwide tour following its closing in December.
A sculpture by artist Beth Cavener, first featured in Hi-Fructose Volume 16.
Stay tuned for more photos from Turn the Page: The First Ten Years of Hi-Fructose here on our blog. The exhibition is on view at the Virginia MOCA through December 31st, 2016. For more information about the exhibition, coinciding events and workshops, and tour stops, visit the museum’s website.
Left to right: Scott Musgrove, Jennybird Alcantara
Tim Biskup
Scott Hove
Chris Berens
New York based artist Martin Wittfooth with his original painting, featured in Volume 19.
Artist Olek poses with models wearing her crochet creations, featured in Volume 29.
An Olek model poses with a painting by Mark Dean Veca.
Wim Delvoye
Gehard Demetz
Sculptor Barnaby Barford strikes a pose with his fox, featured in Volume 8.
Shepard Fairey
Kris Kuksi
Wayne White
Todd Schorr
Victor Castillo
Travis Louie
Kazuki Takamatsu
Beth Cavener
James Jean, Hare, 2008. Oil on Rives BFK. 30 x 22 inches. Collection of Neil Du Fine. Starting June 11 at 10 a.m., "Turn the Page: The First Ten Years of Hi-Fructose" fills the 
Known for his elaborate screen printed works that reference elements of illustration and graphic design, 