Anthony Ausgang (born Anthony Charles Grant Thompson, May 22, 1959) is an artist and writer born in Pointe-à-Pierre, Trinidad and Tobago in 1959 who lives and works in Los Angeles.Vacation from Reality: The Art of Anthony Ausgang () Ausgang is a principal painter associated with the lowbrow art movement,Pop Surrealism by Kirsten Anderson ()Hypebeast: Ausgang interview one of "the first major wave of lowbrow artists" to show in Los Angeles in the early 1980s.Weirdo Deluxe: The Wild World of Pop Surrealism & Lowbrow Art by Matt Dukes Jordan () The protagonists of his paintings are catsFlorida Folio Weekly: Ausgang interview"psychedelic, wide eyed, with a kind of evil look in their eyes".2012 Fender Guitar exhibition catalogue, page 60, for the show "Rewind: 50 Years of Fender in Italy"
Biography He was schooled at the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. In 1990, Ausgang had his first solo show at the 01 Gallery in Hollywood.Los Angeles Times: Ausgang 1990 art review Among the places he has exhibited are: La Luz de Jesus, The Laguna Art Museum's "Kustom Kulture" show, Kantor Gallery. Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Roq La Rue Gallery, LA Municipal Gallery, and Copro Gallery.Copro Gallery press release In 2009, Ausgang's work was included in the exhibition Apocalypse Wow! at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome in Italy,Urban Painting Gallery and in late 2012, Ausgang was the featured international artist at the Rewind show in Bologna celebrating the 50th anniversary of Fender guitar in Italy.Museo Musica Bologna: Fender 50th Anniversary Show
By 1993, Ausgang's artistic production consisted of customized cars,Ausgang official website: Custom Cars original acrylic paintings, and commercial merchandise,LA Artland: Contemporary Art from Los Angeles by Chris Kraus, Ariana Fox () including clothing,Ausgang shorts on Amazon puzzles, toys,Ausgang on Vinyl Creep lighters,Ausgang official website: zippo lighters and posters.Ausgang official website: Commercial Art Laguna Art Museum commissioned Ausgang to design a hole for a miniature golf course exhibit at South Coast Plaza in 1996.Ausgang official website: special projects As a "successful artist who appears in several magazines and exhibitions a year", Ausgang also boasts an impressive list of commercial clients including Tower Records, MTV, Sony Music and David Lee Roth.Morning Wood by Roger Gastman () In 2003, Ausgang designed the cover for Dude Descending a Staircase, the fourth studio album by the British band Apollo 440.
In 2010, Ausgang did the cover art for MGMT's second studio album Congratulations,Rolling Stone: Ausgang articleThe Houston Chronicle: Ausgang interviewThe Huffington Post articleBoing Boing: Ausgang interview "an eye grabbing illustration that could easily been found on a Grateful Dead release circa 1974"The New York Times: The Incredible, Inevitable Shrinking Album Cover by David Browne which was nominated by NME for the Best Art Vinyl of 2010.Best Art Vinyl 2010 nominees In 2011, Ausgang designed the Christmas windows for the La Rinascente Department Store in Milan with larger-than-life three-dimensional models of his trademark psychedelic cartoon cats.Italian Vogue: Ausgang at La Rinascente
KeroseneBomb published Ausgang's first fiction book The Sleep of Puss Titter: A Lysenkoist Life in the Random-Word Generation in 2011.The Fox Is Black book review "Vacation from Reality" is the anthology of his major artworks up to 2007. His artwork is featured in several anthologies, including Weirdo Deluxe: The Wild World of Pop Surrealism & Lowbrow Art by Matt Dukes Jordan and Pop Surrealism by Kirsten Anderson. LA Weekly magazine commissioned a painting by Ausgang for their annual "Best Of ... " special issue in 2000.LA Weekly covers In 2011, Anthony Ausgang received the lifetime achievement award at Beyond Eden's annual art fair at Barnsdall Art Park.Beyond Eden lifetime achievement awardLA Weekly article
Books Vacation from Reality: The Art of Anthony Ausgang (9mm Books, 2007) Weirdo Deluxe: The Wild World of Pop Surrealism & Lowbrow Art by Matt Dukes Jordan, Artist Anthology (Chronicle Books, 2005) LA Artland: Contemporary Art from Los Angeles by Chris Kraus, Ariana Fox, Artist Anthology (Black Dog Publishing, 2005) Pop Surrealism by Kirsten Anderson, Artist Anthology (Last Gasp, 2004) Morning Wood by Roger Gastman, Artist Anthology (Gingko Press, 2003) Taboo: The Art of Tiki by Martin McIntosh, Artist Anthology (Outre Gallery Press, 1999) Kustom Kulture by Ron Turner, Artist Anthology (Last Gasp, 1993) Juxtapoz Car Culture by Kevin Thomson, Artist Anthology (Gingko Press, 2009)
References
External links Anthony Ausgang official website List and transcripts of Ausgang interviews You-Tube: Ausgang Ausgang channel