DABSMYLA’s Biggest Show To Date

We recently took a quick trip away from the Spray Planet headquarters to view the opening of the most recent DABSMYLA exhibit titled “Things That Can’t Be Seen” that opened in Los Angeles on Saturday, October 20, 2018. In their biggest show to date, the husband-wife duo continues to push the boundaries of their unique fun and irreverent visual art style. Through the creation of beautiful, large-scale paintings, colorful sculptures, and unique complimentary floral displays, the artist couple transforms a dreamlike fun fantasy into tangible reality for all spectators to experience.

DABSMYLA have elevated their perfected use of vibrant and expansive colors to illustrate realistic subject matters in fantastical situations.  The paintings and sculptures are meticulously designed in a way that allows the exhibit attendees to playfully connect with imagined characters or entities from worlds beyond our own. The couple states:

“We wanted to bring our subconscious thoughts to life in this new body of work and have spent the last two years exploring and painting these ideas, broadening the scope of our universe.”

Things That Should Be Seen, A Walk Through of The Show Opening

DABSMYLA Los Angeles Gallery Opening & Reception

You are probably more familiar with DABSMYLA for their massive colorful murals and graffiti-inspired artwork that can be seen around the world from the USA to Brazil to the UK and beyond. DABSMYLA landed in Los Angeles to exhibit their largest and most innovative works to date. Curated by Beyond The Streets (2018 LA-based exhibit) founder Roger Gastman, “Things That Can’t Be Seen” opened doors to the public on October 20, 2018, at the Taschen Gallery, located at 8070 Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles. The show will be on exhibit through November 11, 2018. 

The Venue for DABSMYLA "Things That Can't Be Seen"

Upon first glance at the venue, you really can’t miss the location. Taschen Gallery gave DABSMYLA almost completely free reign, and they definitely took advantage!  Visitors to the exhibit are immediately invited inside by the large-scale mural covering the entire exterior of the building.  The mural features DABSMYLA’s signature floral patterns and rich bright color motifs. As you come up the side of the building, you are immediately lead to see the names of the husband-and-wife art duo painted across the front exterior of the building and lit up for all to see as they drive down Beverly Blvd.

Experiencing DABSMYLA "Things That Can't Be Seen"

After entering the front doors of the gallery the painted floral mural on the exterior walls transform into an extravagant, eye-popping floral display positioned immediately in the center of the room. DABSMYLA collaborated with Birch and Bone floral designer Amelia Posada to develop unique complementary exotic bouquets and arrangements that interact with the repeating floral theme and the entire world that DABSMYLA has created.

Additionally, DABSMYLA collaborated with renowned ceramicist New 2 to create a number of delicate sculptures for this specific exhibition. DABSMYLA inspired decorated floral vases and intricate multi-colored ceramic characters, symbols, and themes derived directly from their paintings are displayed adjacent to the floral installations to create a sea of color and just plain fun that is impossible to resist. The layering of flora, colors, characters, and juxtaposition of natural vs. manmade objects floods the viewer to almost sensory overload. 

Continuing through the exhibit, DABSMYLA has created a life-size sculpture acting as an interactive photo opportunity for their guests. The sculpture, a painted hand in the shape of a peace sign against a background out of one of the couple’s paintings, allows you to step into the trippy world that DABSMYLA has worked so hard to develop. The sculpture itself is a recurring motif occurring throughout many of their large-scale paintings hanging throughout the gallery.

Dive Into DABSMYLA's Attention To Detail

Continuing to explore the show, there are small display cases positioned in the corners of the rooms.  Within each of the display case are carefully crafted mini-exhibits that clearly illustrate to viewers the detail, precision, and work that goes into DABSMYLA’s work. From high precision art tools to color swatches for picking exact colors, to detailed sketches, to real-world reference material – as a viewer, you begin to understand how much thought, preparation and excruciating work goes into bringing an entirely new world to life.

An Extra-Sensory Gallery Opening

Not to be limited to a purely visually interactive show, DABSMYLA takes their show a step beyond. By allowing attendees to experience the show through taste, DABSMYLA added another level of immersion into their fantastical world.  

Small sugar cookies depicting a few of their latest characters including “TRUE SPIRIT” and “SOFT THING” were being distributed throughout the evening to be enjoyed by guests. According to the artist couple, TRUE SPIRIT exists to change one’s perspective in an attempt to think outside of the box, while SOFT THING is absorbed all of one’s negative energy, transforms it and release that energy back into the world as something positive. It is common to have refreshments at openings, but it is rare if ever that there is a connection between food and the artwork designed to draw attendees further into the exhibit, to see things that can’t be seen.

Take Some of DABSMYLA's World Home

Fans of DABSMYLA attending the show for whom the artwork might be a bit out of the budget, there are limited edition small enamel pins of both “TRUE SPIRIT” and “SOFT THING” available for purchase. You can take a small piece of DABSMYLA’s world home with you, aside from the memories and photos from your brief peek into their alternate reality.

DABSMYLA Sight Unseen - A World of Possibilities            

The highly anticipated show by DABSMYLA, “THINGS THAT CAN’T BE SEEN” is undoubtedly a work of curiosity and marvel that should be enjoyed by everyone. Working together collaboratively for more than a decade, the artist couple cohesively demonstrates their artwork growth.  The range of DABSMYLA’s work has expanded from expansive applications in mural and graffiti art to canvas paintings, sculptures, drawings, and now interactivity and sensory emersion. Their subject matter has continued to expand and mature while maintaining an irreverent feel that makes it capable of reaching audiences around the globe.