M1Go Godzilla Custom By Baikin

Standard size M1Go Godzilla, custom painted by Baikin for Toy Karma 2 show at Rotofugi in Chicago (2009).  (Photos © 2010 Geozilla Omni-Monster. All rights reserved.)

Toy Karma 2 at Rotofugi in September 2009!!!

Prior to the show, from Mark Nagata's Blog:

"After 2 years since the first, ground breaking show, this September 5th, 2009, Toy Karma, the Kaiju and Japanese art toy show returns to Rotofugi Gallery in Chicago ! I am honored to once again be curating this show. This show features a staggering 68+, gathering of artists, designers and customizers , the largest gathering ever for this type of show ! I dare not single out any one artist, so look at the list and I am sure you will recognized familiar names, but we wanted to make sure we also had up and coming artists, too. Check out Rotofugi's web site and forum for more updates, we will also have the Toy Karma web site updated in a few days as well... Exclusive toys and artists attending will be posted in the weeks to come ... ! I will be there for the opening and look forward to seeing all the cool Kaiju art !!"

Go Hero Mechabot Custom by Steve Forde

This is a Mechabot, custom painted in battle damaged style by Steve Forde of Go Hero. Steve painted it for the Toy Karma show in Chicago last Fall sponsored by Rotofugi and Max Toy Company (Mark Nagata).




















































































(Photos © 2008 Geozilla Omni-Monster. All rights reserved.)

Eyezon Custom 2 by Mark Nagata!

Eyezon custom painted by Mark Nagate (Max Toy Company). Also from Toy Karma Show at Rotofugi in Chicago.














































Photos © 2007 Geozilla Omni-Monster. All rights reserved.

Eyezon Custom by Mark Nagata!

Hand-painted, one of a kind, Eyezon by Mark Nagata (Max Toy Company) from the Toy Karma Show at Rotofugi in Chicago.













































































Photos © 2007 Geozilla Omni-Monster. All rights reserved.

Brain Ear Monster by Carlos Enriquez Gonzalez!!!

This absolutely amazing figure is now the premiere piece in my collection, bar none. Thanks to Carlos, Mark Nagata of Max Toy Company, and Whitney and Kirby at Rotofugi in Chicago for making some of Carlos' work available at the Toy Karma Show that was held at Rotofugi in September. My photos do NOT do this figure justice.

Fiberglass sculpture. One of an edition of 8. 15 inches tall.

Carlos Enriquez Gonzalez is an artist from Caracas, Venezuela. His work is in the permanent collection of the Caracas Museum of Modern Art (Museum of Contemporary Art of Caracas Sofía Ímber) and he has exhibited his kaiju and Astroboy influenced sculptures in other museums and galleries around world.

Mark Nagata has provided a very nice description of how these figures are made by Carlos:

"Carlos goes thru a rather hand intensive process on each figure. First each is carved in wood, than special molds are made, and from those fiberglass copies are made. [The figures that were offered at the Toy Karma show at Rotofugi in Chicago] only have 6-8 unique versions. After the raw casting is pulled, each one must be sanded down and patched up if needed. Once done each is primed for paint. Now the magic begins... very expensive auto paint with glitter in it is used to hand paint each figure. No two figures are the same... each has a subtle "fade" in it's painting... something that no photo can pick up... much like a low rider car, these figures simply glow in the sun! Since these figures are so limited the cost is not cheap. These are not toys or even customs.. but rather fine art, think Murakami or dare I say Warhol in approach. ... After each run is done the molds are destroyed and will never be released again."

You can read more here.



















































































(Brain Ear Monster shown here with a Rainbow Barom 1 Kinokuruge.)











Photos © 2007 Geozilla Omni-Monster. All rights reserved.

Boy Karma by Max Toy Company

Photos © 2007 Geozilla Omni-Monster. All rights reserved.

Carlos Enriquez at Toy Karma Rotofugi Show in Chicago

I was very happy to be able to attend the Toy Karma show, curated by Mark Nagata (Max Toy Company) held at Rotofugi's Gallery in Chicago last weekend.

In particular, I was very excited to meet Carlos Enriquez and see some of his incredibly beautiful work up close and personal.

It was the end of a long day (I got there early to try to get a good place in line for the show), and I wish that I had been able to spend more time speaking with Carlos and many other artists and fans that attended this show hosted by Rotofugians Extraordinaire Whitney and Kirby (with able assistance from Jermy and others)... I also wish that I had taken a lot more care in photographing the show - my pictures turned out about as tired and blurry as I was feeling at the time.

In any event, here are some (very blurry) photos from the show of Carlos and his work. These are all limited edition fiberglass pieces, each approximately 15 inches tall.

Enjoy!

(Many of these figures are still available for purchase from Rotofugi here and here.)









































Shown immediately above, the "Brain Ear Monster"!!!

If you check out Flickr, I am SURE that you can find some much better shots of these figures, and lots of other shots from the show. Look here, here, here, here, and here for example. Also, just try searching for "toy karma" and "rotofugi".

Photos © 2007 Geozilla Omni-Monster. All rights reserved.