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La Colección™

La Colección™

If you buy the same type of thing many times, do you become a collector? Well, I guess so, right? But "art collectors," man, it sounds so pompous… We don’t enjoy that label. Better call us "your friends that have a bunch of pieces that make you remember that we all need more art in our lives."

“Pegasus” — Parra

"Nature as a whole is the most magnificent manifestation of the Universe's grace. Most of us may not even be worthy of its infinite beauty. Hence, The Arts provide a redeeming chance for those who allow themselves to open their eyes and hearts to experience, connect, and humbly, with their hands and minds, replicate and honor beauty. Indeed, the only way to do this is by using the best of our own human nature, Then, we may not only be artists, but also part of The Arts.

Want to do both the talk and the walk? Reach out to this passionate Art fanboy, I’ll keep it as fun as profound. I promise.”

Eduardo Garcia // Co-Founder
Chief Curator of La Colección


“Blind” — Masakatsu Sash

“Dolly” — Gary Taxali

“Untitled” — Andrew Hem

“AmeriCan’t” — Alvaro Naddeo

“Like sands through the hourglass” — Kozyndan

“Untitled” — Doze Green & David Ellis
   
“Pegasus” — Parra

When you ask a Venezuelan how he is doing and he answers, “Caballo Blanco,” which translates to white horse, he is referring to the majestic beast that our independence hero Simon Bolivar rode in glorious style. It pretty much means: “I’m riding in glory.” What better name for our first high performance file sharing system, right? When the time came to update it, we were moving to our new office space in Marina, so we felt that we also needed to upgrade the name. So what is better than a white horse? A flying white horse! And that’s how Pegasus was born. We reached out to our art hero Piet Parra and asked him to honor our silly joke. He did not hesitate a second. Six months later, after flying 5,600 miles, Parra’s Pegasus landed in our office in super-glorious style too. You may wonder why a bird head? Parra and his dad rescued a crow when he was a child. It was a big bonding experience between father and son, and that still remains present in his heart as in his art. Sublime, right?

Want to soar above the dreams of Parra? Go check byparra.com

“Blind” — Masakatsu Sash

We owe so much inspiration to my dear friend Eric Nakamura from Giant Robot . His passion and dedication have brought so much awareness and celebratory success to this so-called “lowbrow” art movement. Among the many artists he has helped to gain public relevance is Japanese master Masakatsu Sashie. Manga culture and Asimov dystopia find a perfect visual blend in Sashie’s work. We got so obsessed with his style that one of our primary missions, when we fulfilled our dream of visiting Japan in 2009, was to get a taste of his work. We jumped on the subway, totally “Lost in Translation,” barely understanding where the gallery that represented him was located. We finally went up through this tiny flight of stairs into this teeny 200 sq. ft. room and we met one of the über Japanese gallerists. We asked about Sashie and we could barely understand from his very broken English that he takes very long time to produce his pieces, so our hopes were crushed. Years later, on a random work trip to New York, we walked into a gallery and BOOM! There it was! This hypnotizing sphere made out of old buildings and tube TV sets. In the end, we did not find him; it was his fantastic vision that found us. So somber and enigmatic; it is that future we should reflect on painted with such mastery you want to get lost in it.

Want to reflect on this apocalyptic dream of Masakatsu Sashie? Go check masakatsu-sashie

“Dolly” — Gary Taxali

Back home, there was an expression that seemed to really click with me at a very young age, maybe around six years old. Anyway, one day an uncle asked me, “Hey Eduardito, how are you doing at school?” I answered with my favorite expression at the time, “Man, I’m working like a donkey!” Almost 40 years later, I ran into an amazing piece from Canadian artist Gary Taxali; a gorgeous donkey silhouette filled with insane, humorous, iconographic characters, and I immediately thought, “this almost feels made for me.” I still work like a donkey, indeed, I’m a bit of a donkey myself, hehehe. Then years later, we contacted master Taxali and he agreed to create our new website illustrations. Wow! Now I feel as lucky as a… a donkey? LOL.

Want to explore Gary Taxali’s soul? Go check garytaxali.com

“Untitled” — Andrew Hem

There we were, at our very first Los Angeles Art Fair at the L.A. Convention Center: tons of amazing artists, from genius Ed Rusha to master Botero. We were in paradise. Suddenly, a giant mass of blue drew our already overloaded attention – Andrew Hem’s painting – a 13 feet high mural on canvas. It was and still is a magnum opus. Once again, as many times before, we asked where is that piece going. It was so big, they felt there would not be much interest in it. We wanted so badly to swim in it forever. This young man sitting at a tiny desk said, “If you want it, it’s only a couple thousand.” We thought, “WE STROKE GOLD!” Well, that fantasy lasted five minutes, until the gallerist representing Hem approached us and said, “It’s a bit more, hehehehe.” Back and forth, back and forth, and we got it! Now, we float everyday on a sea of warm salty waters, connecting with those enchanting looks of three young boys and two puzzling floating heads who whisper to us, “It is another cozy day by the sea to be grateful and relaxed.”

Want to feel the warm blue of Andrew Hem? Go check andrewhem.com.

“AmeriCan’t” — Alvaro Naddeo

Have you met a real wizard? I believe I have. You know, one of those mythical characters that mixes elements and makes powerful magic. That’s my friend, and I’m very lucky to call him that, Alvaro Naddeo. We met by chance at work and he was kind enough to share with me his powers. OMG! His pieces are so full of legendary stories about the typical urban underdog; they feel so deep and so whimsical that they are pure art magic. Every time I look at one of our favorite art pieces at the office – that beat up space capsule sitting on rusted metal roofing – I travel six million light years to a place of warm familiarity and nostalgia, and then I’m pleasantly back home in tears of joy. Oh, and if it wasn’t enough, do you know he uses watercolor? BOOM, head explosion! It takes a wizard to swing such level of fine detail with this kind of “art potion.” I’ll say it again. Alvaro Naddeo is a true art sorcerer and I’m 110% under his watercolored spell.

Want to sense the power of Alvaro Naddeo? Go check alvaronaddeo.com

“Like sands through the hourglass” — Kozyndan

Husband and wife. Soulmates. Always and forever. How does this happen? Is it impossible? Well, what are the chances? We have all considered more or less these notions. Is there an art piece that captures all those questions and romanticism? Yes, I think we can find it in Kozyndan’s panoramic walk through the life of this one-of-a-kind couple. From the playful spirit of their childish experiences to the point when these two stars collide driven by powerful love and hold hands until the end of this realm. Geez, I feel in love. This piece was a gift for my partner in justice and benign crime. If you are open to taking a stroll down this London street, I’m sure that you will find this: no pressure, no commitments, just artistic, idealistic love.

Want to fall for this surreal duo called Kozyndan? Go check kozyndanart.com

“Untitled” — Doze Green & David Ellis

Totally bummed out, since because of work I could not make it to a vacation trip in Spain, I found consolation in attending an art show opening at Shepard Fairey’s Subliminal Projects Gallery on a lonely Saturday afternoon. I arrived early, around 6:30pm, so almost no one else was there. I turned around and saw The Godfather of post-graffiti movement, the one and only David Ellis. He was finishing his last spray paint stroke on a huge rag already painted by Puerto Rican star Doze Green. In a very naïve move, I walked closer and asked him, “Wow, are you selling this?” He answered, “Not that I know, no idea what the plan is, talk to the gallery director.” After wandering around, I finally ran into the gallerist Angela, Shepard’s wife. She asked Ellis directly, “Are we selling this?” He shrugged his shoulders. She asked for $500 in cash to secure it. Darn! Who carries $500 in cash?? I’m not Migos! Anyway, I ran downstairs, down an already dark Western Blvd, not sure how sketchy this area was, but I could not risk missing this chance. I almost had an accident, but I got the money and I got this piece of history. It’s one of the very early works that showcases the innate artistic value of street art.

Want to discover the unbelievable story of the Post-Graffiti movement? Go check david-ellis.org and also dozegreen.com