Portfolio Review: Pop Surrealist Luke Chueh Explains His Paintings

Pop surrealist artist Luke Chueh is famed for presenting simple animal characters in a seemingly endless series of ill-fated events. His work has found a strong following in Los Angeles, and his figures have been recreated as toys and even stared on the cover of Fall Out Boy's Folie a Deux.

Chueh recently released the new The Art of Luke Chueh, a Gallery1988 book, detailing his most recognizable works. Complex met with Chueh to discuss his personal favorites and he happily broke down the stories behind each of the paintings.

Portfolio Review: Pop Surrealist Luke Chueh Explains His Paintings.

"I Asked for Scrambled was created for the Cannibal Flower anniversary show. It was simply an attempt to illustrate "cannibalism". The painting also features an egg shaped vase with a flower in it."

"The Things You Love Will Destroy You, is a reinterpretation or rereading of the saying "you only hurt the ones you love". The image features a person wearing a shirt with a picture of a rabbit on it. At the same time this object of his affection is on the verge of destroying him. It's only when we open our hearts do we open ourselves up to being hurt."

"The Exit is about passing the point of no return. The painting features bear has out grown his exit. I usually paint white colored bears in an attempt to imply innocence. The black bear in contrast implies that it is tainted."

"In 2004 I created the painting Black In White. The painting features a black rabbit wearing a white rabbit costume. The painting was my way of illustrating facades. Black In White And Red All Over is, in a sense, a sequel to this idea. Based on the joke "What's Black and White and Red All Over?" (note: the punchline is "a newspaper"), I came up with my own punch line: a black rabbit in a white costume with blood all over it."

"The Crush a painting about girls who love 'bad boys.' The girl stares affectionately at the bear with blood-stained hands while the bear looks back at her wondering "Bitch, what are you doing here?"

"It Takes More Than A Jumpsuit (and a pair of Nunchucks) was created for a Bruce Lee theme group show hosted by Nucleus Gallery. As the title says, it takes more to being Bruce Lee than a costume and a pair of Nunchucks."

"For years now, people have been comparing my paintings with the character, Frank, from Donnie Darko. When I was invited to contribute something to Gallery 1988's Crazy for Cult show, I choose to create a painting inspired by the movie. What people seem to forget is that the Frank character has very little to do with the movie. Donnie Darko is a story revolves around the character Donnie Darko (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) and climaxes when a plane engine that falls from the sky and takes his life. My painting features Frank holding a scaled down passenger plane that's missing an engine as a reminder of one of the key elements in the movie."

"In 2008, I had a show where the only painting that didn't sell was a painting that didn't feature any of my anthropomorphized characters (bear, rabbit, monkey, chicken, etc.). But rather than bask in the success of the show, I focused on that one piece, and later exclaimed to my friends, "My bear is my ball and chain!" That moment would become the genesis of this painting, and a year later I created it for my follow-up solo show."

"When coming up with a design for my character, I researched mascots and character designs. I studied character designs from Disney to Hannah Barbara, and from America to Japan. What I realized was that a lot of these characters had to evolve over time to compliment contemporary tastes. Mickey Mouse is a great example of this evolution. However when I researched Sanrio characters, specifically Hello Kitty, I found the characters simplicity was the key to its longevity (over 35 years). Hello Kitty is a simple oval shape, triangular ears, and three dots for facial features (two eyes and a nose). After understanding the genius of this simple design, I consciously employed the formula to my own. Years later, when I was invited to contribute a painting to the Hello Kitty 35th Anniversary show, I choose to feature Hello Kitty inside the bear because I consider her to be one of the roots that make up my character."

"In 2009, I was invited by my friend and colleague Gary Baseman to contribute to a show he was curating called True Self. The show asked artists to create a self portrait of themselves. I've always considered my characters to be an extension of myself, so I decided to take this opportunity to spell it out to my audience, rendering my own features onto my bear. I definitely consider this to be one of the creepiest paintings I've ever made."