April 13th – May 4th 2019

Black Book Gallery is pleased to present A Giant Fish Story, featuring new works by Mike Giant and Jeremy Fish, two artists whose personal histories and artistic influences have been intertwined for almost three decades. Mike and Jeremy first met in the mid 1990s, when they both worked for Think Skateboards, the legendary San Francisco-based “skater-owned and operated” brand. Their former boss, Keith Cochrane, remembers his first encounter with Mike, “It was the early 90s. He was doing graffiti art in New Mexico, and he started sending us T-shirt graphics: black-and-white drawings, sharpie on art board. We loved his stuff immediately, and convinced him to make the move to San Francisco to work at Think Skateboards…He’s the master of ink-to-paper artwork, he made some seriously amazing skateboard art, and the rest is history.”

About Jeremy, Cochrane recalls, “Now this guy came to work at Print Time which was the print shops for all of Think’s soft and hard goods. From the beginning, I just loved this guy. And then there’s his art; unlike anyone else’s—a totally different style and look at that time. I remember asking him if he’d be down to do a board graphic, and that was that. He came to work for Think full-time and he started cranking out a whole range of work. He’s a truly amazing artist (and a fucking great human being). Both Jeremy and Mike helped me transform and drive the art at Think and Street Corner Distribution. I feel blessed, grateful, and privileged to have worked with them. When they came here, they were new to San Francisco—Mike, for the job, and Jeremy for art school—but they sure cut their teeth with us. They are two of my very favorite artists. I love them both.”

The lovefest doesn’t stop there. “I started seeing Jeremy’s SPB (Silly Pink Bunnies) stuff around San Francisco in 1994,” says Mike. “Not sure when we actually met, but I’ve loved his illustration style since the beginning. Clean, simple and readable; a lot like my work. And I love the stories behind his fine art works. Lots of metaphor. Ask him. And, as a person, Jeremy is top notch in my book. He’s humble and compassionate – two traits I value greatly.” When it comes to Mike, Jeremy keeps it short, sweet and to the point: “He’s my favorite artist.”

For A Giant Fish Story, Mike and Jeremy have collaborated on three drawings which will be released as limited edition skateboard decks. The exhibition features new works on paper by Mike from his Modern Hieroglyphics series, as well as twenty-four new ink drawings by Jeremy that touch on themes of heartbreak, healing and female empowerment. Both Mike and Jeremy have been long-standing contributors to the West Coast skater movement that helped define North American 90s counterculture (and beyond) – a kind of “Noble Savage,” DIY punk aesthetic that speaks to a paradoxical ethos, one which simultaneously celebrates fierce individuality and meaningful community. Since their early days at Think Skateboards, each artist’s creative practice has grown into a full-blown cult-following (don’t believe us? Just check Instagram). Their complimentary styles, monochromatic and illustrative, have created an iconographic lexicon for the lowbrow scene that continues to resonate across (and transgress) the boundaries between fine art, illustration, graffiti and urban/street art.

Jeremy Fish was born in Albany, NY in 1974 and graduated from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1997. The “Silly Pink Bunnies” are perhaps his best known characters and the inspiration behind a notorious skater gang of the same name. An 11 ft tall “Silly Bronze Bunny” sculpture is on permanent public display in San Francisco. His work has been the subject of numerous monographs and publications and has been exhibited internationally, including a 2018 solo show at the Piaggio Museum in Pontedera, Italy. This is his second exhibition with Black Book Gallery. He is based in San Francisco.

Mike Giant was born in upstate New York in 1971. In addition to his fine art, Mike is a graffiti writer, tattoo artist and photographer. He also runs The Mike Giant Podcast, which has featured notorious guests such as Killer Mike. Now based in Boulder, this is Mike’s fifth show with the gallery. His artwork has been exhibited worldwide, including shows at the Magda Danysz Gallery in Paris, France and Monster Children Gallery in Sydney, Australia.