Emilio Garcia

Emilio Garcia (2015)

Emilio Garcia at CONTEXT Art Miami, 2012

Emilio Garcia (born January 22, 1981 in Tarragona ) is a Spanish artist and entrepreneur. Growing up between his hometown of El Vendrell and Barcelona , he is mainly known for his "Jumping Brain" designer toys .

biography

Emilio Garcia, known for his brain-like sculptures, was born in January 1981 in Tarragona, Spain. Fascinated by cognitive development and pop culture, Emilio Garcia explores the neuroplasticity of the human brain through modern, eye-catching and ironic sculptures and paintings in vivid colors.

In 1999 he completed his graphic design studies at the Escola d'Art i Disseny in Tarragona. During his studies Garcia worked in various animation studios in Barcelona in the design and as a draftsman.

After completing his studies, he began to work as a freelance art director for major international companies such as Berlitz Corporation, Hitachi, Diesel, Inditex, Metro, Vans and The North Face, specializing in user interface design and interactive content. His work has been published several times, including in “Web Design Index” books by Pepin Press & Agile Rabbit (2002-08) or “Taschen's 1000 Favorite Websites” (2003).

Concerned about the digitization of our society, he noticed how he slowly seemed to lose sensitivity to his culture. In response, he left his multimedia career behind in 2008 to devote himself to other objects. Fascinated by the creative possibilities of plastic art, he started his own company as a product designer, sculptor and painter under the name The Secret Lapo Laboratories (also known as Lapolab .).

Works

His first independent work was the now famous "Jumping Brain", a combination of brain and frog, inspired by "true lore of the crazy and funny ideas people had to get over the Berlin Wall", as he said in an interview announced. He had created his first sculptures at home as a special limited edition series and received the highest distinction of the Plastic and Plush Toy Awards, in the category of best sculpture in 2008. In 2009 he teamed up with the designer toy company Toy2R to produce his works as an art toy.

This simple idea, with its sleek, detailed design and a touch of inspiration, placed it in the list of most voted collectibles and sold out very quickly. Oversized “Jumping Brain” versions made of bronze were sold at the “SCOPE Art Show 2011” and at the “Swab Barcelona Contemporary Art Fair 2012”, just as they were eye-catchers at the “MIA Art Fair 2012” in Miami. With his growing artistic importance and ever greater success, Emilio continues to research the neuroplasticity of the human brain and presents the “Skull Brain” for the first time at “CONTEXT Art Miami 2012”. A year later, among other things, an oversized version of the "Skull Brain" was exhibited at the "Pulse Miami 2013".

After that he was involved in all kinds of urban merchandising, from skate decks and clothing to posters and much more, in collaboration with large companies such as Disney or Chanel but also with artists such as Paul Frank or Mark Ryden . His work has been shown in museums around the world such as the Musée des Beaux Arts in Québec and the International Museum of Surgical Science in Chicago. Since then he has created many more playful brain sculptures and paintings, such as the most recent works "Sponge Brain" and "Brain Heart", the latter was shown at the "Art Fair Tokyo 2016" and the "Swab Barcelona Contemporary Art Fair 2016".

In 2019 his work "Forbidden Brain" received the Designer Toy Award. In this work he keeps the motif of the brain and places it in a transparent apple in order to playfully take up the image of the forbidden fruit of knowledge from Christian art of the late Middle Ages.

Publications

Emilio Garcia's works have been featured in many art, design and culture magazines such as Clutter, Neo2 and Juxtapoz as well as in various art catalogs and books such as "We are Indie Toys" by HarperCollins ISBN 9780062293435 , [2] "Resin Toys" by Lemo Editorial ISBN 8494115421 and "Skullture: Skulls in Contemporary Visual Culture" published by Gingko Press ISBN 1584236132 .

Emilio was also part of the documentary "An Artisan Designer Toy" by Jose .M Cuñat & Victor M. Mezquida in 2014. In which he talked about his life, inspiration and creative path.

Exhibitions

• Block Mickey by Disney. Times Square, Hong Kong, 2009
• Swab Barcelona Contemporary Art Fair , Iguapop Gallery booth. Barcelona, ​​Spain, 2010
• Street Anatomy , International Museum of Surgical Science. Chicago, USA, 2010
• Conjoined in 3D , Copro Gallery. Santa Monica, USA, 2011
• Art @ HBM , Musée des Beaux Arts. Québec, Canada, 2011
• Brain Evolution , Toy Art Gallery. LA, USA, 2011
• SCOPE Art Show , Black Square Gallery booth. Miami, USA, 2011
• Miami International Art Fair (MIA), Black Square Gallery booth. Miami, USA, 2012
• Jumping Brain Workshop and Lecture, Drexel University. Philadelphia, USA, 2012
• Emilio Garcia's OTIVM , Artoyz Gallery. Paris, France, 2012
• Toy'z Swab , Sotheby's Beneficial Auction. Barcelona, ​​Spain, 2012
• CONTEXT Art Miami , Black Square Gallery booth. Miami, USA, 2012
• At home I'm a tourist - Selim Varol Collection, CAC Málaga, Spain, 2013
• Face Off ", International Museum of Surgical Science. Chicago, USA, 2013
• PULSE Miami , Black Square Gallery booth. Miami, USA, 2013
• HOCA Foundation Beneficial Auction , Paddle8, Hong Kong, 2015
• Art Fair Tokyo . JPS Gallery booth. Tokyo, Japan, 2016
• "Brain Being" solo show. JPS Gallery. Hong Kong, 2017

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The Thinking Man In: issuu.com (English).
2. ↑ Louis Bou: We Are Indie Toys . HarperCollins, 2014, ISBN 0-06-229343-5 , pp. 200 .
3. ↑ The Thinking Man In: issuu.com (English).
4. ^ Emilio Garcia - Jumping Brains In: vinylpulse.com (English).
5. ^ Emilio Garcia and the Jumping Brains In: forcesofgeek.com (English).
6. ↑ 2008 Toy Awards: Best Sculpting In: plasticandplush.com (English).
7. ↑ Toy Fair: Designer toys, including Lapolab's "Jumping Brain" In: boingboing.net/ (English).
8. ^ Rob Carney: Jumping Brain Comes to Life . Computer Arts Projects, 2010, p. 89 .
9. ^ Art @ HBM: introducing Emilio Garcia In: neurobureau.org (English).
10. ↑ Street Anatomy - Emilio Garcia In: streetanatomy.com (English).
11. ↑ Designer Toy Award Best Resin Design , accessed on August 22, 2019.

swell

• Baselga, Jose M. "Salto con cerebro en El Vendrell", Diari de Tarragona, page 64, May 2009.
• Nardon, Florian. “Emilio Garcia,” “Be Street Magazine,” 102-103, September 2009.
• Cogotudo, Santi. “Jumping Brain, cerebros de edición limitada”, Supplement Cultura Tendències, IV / 244, page 4, El Mundo , February 11, 2010.
• Baselga, Jose M. "El poder de la mente", Economía y Negocios, 855, pages 1 & 7, Diari de Tarragona, March 7, 2010.
• San Jose, Paloma. "Los cerebros de diseño de Emilio Garcia", Expansión, pag 5, May 19, 2010.
• Carney, Rob. “Comercial Characters: The Jumping Brain Comes to Life”, “Computer Art Projects”, page 89, August 2010.
• Baselga, Jose M. "El 'cerebro' del Vendrell, una estrella en Holywood", Diari de Tarragona, page 17, August 28, 2011.
• Jáquez, Andrés, “EMILIO”, “Medina Magazine”, cover & page 67 to 93, July 2012.
• Bou, Louis & Minguet, Josep Maria, "Swab Toy'z by Fls", Monsa ISBN 8415223668 , pages 66,67 & 180,181, October 2012.
• Varesi, Annalisa. “Emilio Garcia”, “Wait! Magazine ”, pages 20 to 26, March 2013.
• Bou, Louis. “We Are Indie Toys”, HarperCollins , ISBN 0062293435 , pages 200 to 207, February 2014.
• Abio, Javier & Romero, Manu, "UI Designer", Neo2 Magazine, 130, page 47, February 2014
• Cuñat, Jose M. & Mesquita, Victor M. "An Artisian Designer Toy" Documentary, Syntetyk, July 2014.
• Curtis, Nick, "The Thinking Man," "Clutter Magazine," 48 to 53, Fall 2014.
• Sesé, Teresa. “Una volta al món en 65 stands. Els insectes es vestixen de Chanel ”, La Vanguardia, page 43, October 2, 2015.
• Bendando, Luca & Dizman, Paz. "Skullture: Skulls in Contemporary Visual Culture", pages 106 & 107 Gingko Press ISBN 1584236132 , November 2015.

Web links

• Emilio Garcia's website