Photo: The Night Fair by Marion Peck

Riverside CA – The Riverside Art Museum (RAM) proudly presents Baby Tattooville: Fade to Black, running October 1, 2015 – January 9, 2016, with a free, open-to-the-public Opening Reception on Friday, October 2, from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

The Riverside Art Museum welcomes the return of the annual pop surrealist exhibition organized by Bob Self of Baby Tattoo Books, an alternative, underground publishing company based out of Los Angeles.

Since its inception, Baby Tattooville has evolved into a robust and diverse collective of contemporary artists and collectors. Held in conjunction with their annual private collectors’ gala event at the Mission Inn hotel in Riverside October 2 – 4 (www.babytattooville.com), RAM’s companion exhibitions have taken place for the past eight years and continue to draw fans from across the globe.

“It has been a fantastic eight years for the museum to work with Bob Self and build relationships with him and the exhibiting artists,” says Drew Oberjuerge, RAM Executive Director.

This exhibition embodies RAM’s continuing efforts to present exhibitions of avidly collected, internationally-renowned artists, made accessible to the public through engaging companion activities. The art movements known as “Pop Surrealism” and “Lowbrow” have excited the public with their mixture of the nostalgic, decadent, humorous, and morose. Originating as a hybridized “bastard” art movement, Baby Tattooville has gained an increasingly mainstream fan base, championed by well-known alternative art chronicle, JUXTAPOZ magazine, as well as Hi Fructose, Arrested Motion, and numerous blogs and websites. Self describes the sentiments behind the group simply as, “Strange, fun art.”

This will be Baby Tattooville’s last year. Baby Tattooville: Fade to Black is the grand finale of this amazing event and accompanying exhibition, but don’t despair. To quote Bob Self, “while the lights are fading on Baby Tattooville, it’s happening to clear the stage for new and amazing shows to come. It’s not the end of an era…it’s the beginning of a new one.”

Participating artists this year are: Jessicka Addams (http://www.jessicka.com/), Anthony Ausgang (http://ausgangart.com/), Sas Christian (http://saschristian.com/), Olivia de Berardinis (http://eolivia.com/), Ron English (https://www.popaganda.com/), Camille Rose Garcia (http://camillerosegarcia.com/), Bosko Hrnjak (http://www.boskoart.com/), Marion Peck (http://marionpeck.com/), KRK Ryden (http://www.krkland.com/), Mark Ryden (http://markryden.com/), and Isabel Samaras (http://isabelsamaras.com/).

Join us for the Opening Reception of the grand finale of Baby Tattooville on Friday, October 2, 2015, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Meet the artists, Bob Self, and experience some of the best contemporary Lowbrow/Pop Surrealist artwork currently being created.

The Riverside Art Museum integrates art into the lives of people in a way that engages, inspires, and builds community by providing high quality exhibits and art education programs that instill a lifelong love of the arts. RAM relies on the generosity of members and donors to support its exhibitions, education programs, and special events. A 60-plus-year-old, private, non-profit cultural arts institution housed in a National Historic 1929 building designed by Hearst Castle and AIA Gold Medal-winning architect Julia Morgan, the museum welcomes over 50,000 visitors a year. The museum is open Tuesday – Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. and Sunday, 12:00 noon – 4:00 p.m. For information on exhibits, events, classes, memberships, or sponsorship opportunities, visit www.RiversideArtMuseum.org. Find us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/riversideartmuseum), Twitter (RAMRiverside), Instagram (@riversideartmuseum), and Pinterest (www.pinterest.com/ramarts).