Marcos Chin

DECOB SHOW AT ZAKKA, NYC

Last night was the opening of the DECOB show in Zakka, NYC, in Dumbo Brooklyn. DECOB are eco-friendly bags that have been made by various artists from around the world. The exhibit has traveled to Toronto, Tokyo, Osaka, London, Hong Kong, Shanghai and New York. I along with Yoko Furusho were asked to contribute to their New York show by submitting one image that would be printed onto one of their bags as a limited run of 30.

The image that I submitted (above) was a personal piece that I had previously done. It's a straight-forward ink drawing entitled, "Paddle Ball." I have been for some time now, trying to include within my art practice, moments when I can work on personal assignments, and to experiment with different kinds of media. Much of the commercial work that I do is entirely all digital (using mostly Adobe Illustrator, and now Photoshop as well) and so in order to keep me constantly engaged with my work, I feel that it's necessary to continue to work on these personal drawings. Honestly I'm not sure where I will be taking these drawings... it has been an extremely slow journey for the past 2 years or so, but so far, I'm enjoying the ride.

I'm trying not to think so much about the application of my new work anymore, mostly because I don't know how committed I am to this "style"... ooooohhhh did i say "that" word? ... Yes I did...and I'll say it again, "style". But it's true, aesthetically I'm not certain if these new images that I am producing are even the direction that I want to pursue with my new body of work; however, it's a good and comfortable starting point for me. My belief is that one's "style" is born out of being artistically prolific; that one's signature aesthetic is informed and derived from strong ideas and concepts, so that the "style essentially finds you, instead of you trying seek it out." But again, i'm not so sure what it is I want to say within my personal work, nor do I understand how it is relevant to the rest of the world. I had no idea that when I began this process of creating personal work, that it would have any forum... so to see it on the DECOB bag is very interesting to me.

Either way, back to the original point of this entry, last night's show went very well, there was good turn out, a lot to drink, nice people and live jazz to end off the night. Thanks so much again Zakka, NYC for hosting the show and to Tomori Nagamoto who asked me to participate. And of course much love and a special thanks to all of my friends, and my friends' friends who showed up and also to those who dipped into their wallets to purchase one of my bags (especially during these gray economic times). Hopefully this is the start of something new. Big hugs, Marcos.