Decibel illustrator and layout guru Bruno Guerreiro is curating his first art show in Philadelphia. Huzzah! Held at Kung Fu Necktie, a neighborhood-centric watering hole/club, Guerreiro is aiming for the highest highs, displaying his illustrations to a backdrop of outer space heavy — in the form of local astro rockers Rosetta and Restorations, Brooklyn-based doom outfit Batillus, and newjacks Sunburster — and blitz-making beverages.
| WHERE | Kung Fu Necktie 1248 N Front St. Philadelphia, PA 19123 |
| WHEN | February 10th, 8 PM |
| HOW MUCH? | $10, Tickets HERE |
We’ve also managed to corner the master Bruno mid-curate for questioning. Of course, knowing the guy who illustrates the wacky “Cry Now, Cry Later” section, we had to prepare ourselves for the unexpected. Would he be all Danzig WTF or Gaahl IDC? If either situation reared, we’d have to take it in the chin, so to speak. Anyway, here it goes.
As an artist, what is the fire that burns the seat of your pants on a daily basis?
Bruno Guerreiro: Not having yet witnessed a Stanley Cup be brought back to Philly.
Are there singular inspirations you draw from or is it a collective form of input?
Bruno Guerreiro: I think when I’m working on a poster, it’s probably collective. I enjoy drawing and creating monsters, demons, zombies, etc. I am also fascinated by space, and feeling insignificant, so I try to bring these things together in my most recent work. If I’m working on album art, then usually most of my inspiration will come from the songs, lyrics, and the mood it creates for me.
Do you have a favorite medium in which you work?
Bruno Guerreiro: Right now my favorite tools to use are a brush pen, sharpie pen and a sketchbook.
You’ve done a bunch of handbills for shows. Describe what goes into creating a handbill? I know you do custom printing, which is, at this stage, sort of like saying you only drink RC Cola or Tab.
Bruno Guerreiro: All the handbills that will be in the show were completely done by hand. From the illustration to the text. I only use the computer to apply color. Since doing magazine layout forces me to be on the computer, when I work on freelance projects from home, I try to stay away from the computer as much as possible. I’ve been very much inspired by old show fliers that were all done by hand, some old comic book covers as well. Since I’ve been doing hand lettering in Decibel, and drawing at home, the two finally joined forces at some point, which produced all the posters in this show. When I finish a poster and decide on colors and paper, I usually send it over to my friends at Awesome Dudes Printing or Sire Press, and both do great work when screen printing posters for me.
What about the Decibel illustrations? Are they conceived on-the-fly, so to speak, or planned out based on the textual content?
Bruno Guerreiro: The “Cry Now, Cry Later” article written each month by the wonderful J. Bennett, usually starts with an email from me picking his brain for what he’d like to see accompany his story. Sometimes he has a clear idea, and sometimes he’s more open to interpretation. Any other illustrations done by me in the magazine are usually just based on the textual content.
OK, us 99% will never participate in or curate an art show. What does it entail? Soup to nuts kind of stuff. I’m sure most of it is project management, but dealing with the artist must be a pain in the ass. Oh, and the artist is you, so…
Bruno Guerreiro: Well, this is my first art show, but so far everything has been pretty smooth. Having a friend at KFN [Kung Fu Necktie] helps the process a bit I’m sure. But this week will be interesting since I have to start hanging work and getting the space ready for the show. So, I might have to get back to you on this one.
You’re hosting the show at a local music venue/bar called Kung Fu Necktie. Why this setting and not some downtown gallery, where people with 18th century facial hair and smart outfits sip smarter cocktails?
Bruno Guerreiro: Kung Fu Necktie is probably one of my favorite venues for shows. I spend enough time there, so it just made sense. The opportunity to have bands play that inspire me and that I have worked with, makes this even more ideal. I don’t hang around too many art galleries, so this is way more comfortable. But honestly, the real reason, I live a few blocks away and I’m super lazy.
Will felines be in attendance, either as bouncers or petable extensions of yourself?
Bruno Guerreiro: In a perfect world, it would just be me and a bunch of cats hanging at the bar banging our heads. Mr. Bonazelli would be the bouncer. Bennett would be the ring master. Albert would have to be my personal masseuse, making sure I don’t get too tense. And well Chris, maybe you should make sure none of the cats are using my pieces as scratching posts.
There will be live music too, right? Tell the world about the complementary audio pieces?
Bruno Guerreiro: Yes! Batillus will be coming down from NY to melt all the faces. They crush live. My close friends in Restorations will be playing. I’ve done a lot of art work for these guys. They will hand out good vibes to all. Rosetta will be blasting everyone off into space to end the evening. I’m a big fan of those guys. Sweetest dudes. The opening band will be Sunburster. I don’t know enough about these guys yet, they are a fairly new local band. I believe they have a stonery vibe, so I’m cool with that.
Can we expect to meet other illustrators and artist types there?
Bruno Guerreiro: Let’s hope not. I don’t need them judging me with their eyes. [Laughs] I’m not really sure who’s coming out to this. I’m really just looking forward to hanging out with friends, enjoying some drinks with new faces and soaking in the heavy sounds.
Will the discerning art connoisseur be able to pick up original Bruno art at the show? Or maybe frameable prints of original Bruno art?
Bruno Guerreiro: Absolutely. I will have a limited amount of prints for each of the posters that will be hanging. The ones hanging in frames will also be for sale, as well as original art. Anything that goes unsold, which I imagine would be everything, might end up on my online store: Bruno Guerreiro’s Art Store
