Driven
Fool or Tenacity over Talent
Failed
comedian, college drop-out or keen observationist … it’s difficult to
pigeon-hole Bruce Gossett. Fluent
in a broad array of mediums: fine art acrylics, automotive paints,
airbrushing, pinstriping, and for kicks –screen printing.
And that’s if he’s not busy wrenching on his cars.
The two constants in Gossett’s world are art and cars, or is it
cars and art? Guess it
depends on which week you contact him.
Tracing his influences isn’t rocket science, from hot rod culture
back to the golden age of pulp illustration, comics to label art or smut
to cheesecake. If anything,
Gossett’s well rounded in bad taste!
Chalk it up to being of the mind that nothing is sacred.
Hell, in his world the cow’s been gutted and strewn all over the
village. More visually
stimulating subject matter for a painting than, say, a landscape, any day
of the week. Action and humor
with a dash of trash about sums it up.
Showing
his paintings since ’91, primarily on the West Coast, Gossett has no
intention of slowing down. Exhibition
highlights include ACME Kustom 1 and
2 in S.F., CA (group /
’96 and ’97), Light ‘em Up, a
duet with photographer David Perry, at Big Art in Sacramento, CA (’98), Petroleum Addiction at Farley’s in S.F. CA (solo / ’98), Custom
Culture Exhibition at Rockford Art Museum in IL (group / 2002),
Sci-Fi Western Show at
111 Minna in S.F., CA (group / ’03), and Tiki
Art Now (group / ’04) and the annual Erotic and Gun group shows at
The Shooting Gallery in S.F., CA.
Publications
include pieces in the catalogs for both the Sci-Fi
Western Show and Tiki Art Now
(Last Gasp), feature articles in various weekly/daily papers, and
various hot rod magazines such as Hot
Rod Deluxe, Garage, Rust, Car Culture Deluxe, Burn Out, and
Smokin’ Shutdown.
Gossett
branched out into screen printing in ’96 after a stint as an airbrush
artist for Tower Records. He’s
been peddling his own t-shirt line up and down the West Coast
primer-friendly car show circuit ever since.
In 2000, Gossett co-founded Black Cat Press with partner Ira
Cowart, in the interest of shedding some light on much deserving rock and
roll/speedrock/trash blues bands. Gossett
and Cowart are known as purveyors of high-quality in-house production of
limited edition, screen printed posters and stickers for the exceptional.
Even the car show people have gotten hip to the quality and allure
of the screen printed poster. Adding
even more class to already bitchin’ car shows, recent clients include Asphalt
Invitational, Carnival and Pride of the Champs.
Lookin’
at the current movements of low brow, neo-pop, pop surrealism, kustom
culture, blah, blah, blah
…I get the impression Gossett’s just proud to be involved. Call it what you will…it’s some of the few truly relevant
art-with-balls left.
-- Motorhead Mata Hari
To Contact Bruce Gossett Please Call 916-284-7186