GIANT ROBOT BIENNALE EXHIBIT TO CLOSE JANUARY 13

The popular art exhibit, Giant Robot Biennale: 50 Issues, whose opening reception drew over 2,700 people to the Japanese American National Museum, will end its run on Sunday, January 13, with two special public programs on January 12 and 13, including a collaboration with MOCA and extended hours on Saturday.

The exhibition, co-curated by Giant Robot founder Eric Nakamura and the National Museum, marked the 50th issue of the pop-culture magazine by assembling the work of 10 cutting-edge artists from around the country. This is also the first of a series of collaborative exhibits by the National Museum under a new program, Salon Pop, that will focus on Asian American pop culture.

This show featured Pryor Praczukowski's cinematic photography and David Choe's graffiti-like murals. The pieces in between include panels by leading indie-comics artist Adrian Tomine and the pop culture inspired works of Seonna Hong, Gary Baseman, APAK, Souther Salazar, and Saelee Oh. Sashie Masakatsu's oil paintings reflect the nostalgia of pop culture-influenced youth while Eishi Takaoka's sculptures can dominate a room with their meditative presence.

To highlight the closing of the show is a "Giant Robot Biennale Artist Roundtable" on Saturday, January 12, 2:00 p.m. featuring Pryor Praczukowski, Souther Salazar, and Seonna Hong. The program is moderated by Eric Nakamura. The National Museum will also extend its public hours that day and admission will be free from 5 to 7 p.m.

In collaboration with MOCA and the Geffen Contemporary (which is next door to the National Museum), the program, "TOCA: Teens of Contemporary Art", is set for Sunday, January 13, from 3 to 5 p.m. Admission is free. Explore the art and materials of immensely popular ©Murakami and Giant Robot Biennale: 50 Issues exhibitions, then create a painting of your own in a special hands-on workshop with Souther Salazar, one of the artists featured in the Giant Robot exhibition. For more information on TOCA, call (213) 633-5310 or e-mail dgray@moca.org.

Giant Robot Biennale: 50 Issues is sponsored by the Imprint Culture Labtm, with additional support by the James Irvine Foundation and Scion. For more information, call the Japanese American National Museum at (213) 625-0414 or go to www.janm.org.