Friendly Fridays: J-RYU

Last Thursday night while setting up the Locals Only show with Jess from Wootini I received a rather odd phone call from our good friend Jesse Yu. Apparently he was in the ER and explained that while finishing his piece for the show he had a semi-serious injury and was feeling a little faint. He kept saying that he was sorry that he wouldn't have his piece done in time to which I replied "don't worry about it and I hope everything is alright." The next night Jesse showed up at the show without his piece, but with some fresh stitches, a bootleg Michael Jackson glove (which was both a fashion statement and a healing apparatus) and a totally new piece (the second picture down which contains the actual blade that cut him) as a present for me, commemorating his experience from the night before.

If you are not familiar with J-RYU's work, be on the look out for him. Over the past year, he was in the Big Trouble in Little China show at Gallery 1988, in a three man show at Dragatomi and is nominated for best customizer as well as best breakthrough artist for the Designer Toy Awards 2011. He is also currently working in the depths of his secret garage laboratory on some next level shit.