"BamBuddha" Don Ed Hardy ©2001 Acrylic On Arcival Synthetic Paper, 83x51

ASIAN WAVES Flood Berkeley Historical Landmark
EXHIBITION BY DON ED HARDY

BABILONIA 1808, the international contemporary art program of the Babilonia Wilner Foundation (BWF), presents an exhibition of Don Ed Hardy in a show entitled Asian Waves. The exhibition begins Saturday, September 8, 2001 with an opening reception from 6-9 p.m. at 1808 Fifth Street in Berkeley.

In 2000, Don Ed Hardy painted 2000 Dragons to mark the Millennium, a Dragon year in the Asian zodiac. This singular horizontal scroll, which measures 51 inches high by 500 feet long, is a masterpiece work which was chosen to represent the United States in the VII Cuenca Bienal in Ecuador. The mammoth scroll evokes and extends the tradition of classical Chinese and Japanese narrative scroll painting.

In Asian Waves, Hardy continues to explore the scroll format presenting us with a collection of new works ranging in height from two to seven feet.

A Southern California native born in 1945, Hardy revived a childhood determination to become a tattoo artist by undertaking tattoo apprenticeship in 1967 while simultaneously completing a B.F.A. program in printmaking at the San Francisco Art Institute. Tattooing professionally since then, he has developed the fine art potential of the medium with an emphasis on its Asian heritage. In 1973 he lived in Japan to study with a traditional tattoo master becoming the first non-Asian to gain access to that world. Since 1974 he has specialized in tattooing unique commissions in his San Francisco studio Tattoo City as well as in London and Tokyo.

Don Ed Hardy has had solo exhibitions at Catharine Clark Gallery in San Francisco, Track 16 Gallery in Los Angeles, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver, among many others. In addition to showing his own works, Hardy has curated a number of exhibitions for both galleries and nonprofit spaces and frequently lectures at museums and universities. In 2000, he was appointed to the Oakland Cultural Arts Commission by Mayor Jerry Brown and was awarded an honorary Doctorate by the San Francisco Art Institute.

Hardy exemplifies internationalism in contemporary art by combining eastern and western aesthetic traditions into his creative vision. His work also straddles the high and low art realms lending it a wide popularity among diverse audiences.

BABILONIA 1808 mission includes promoting dialogue among arts communities through intercultural exchange, while challenging audiences with provocative contemporary art. Visitors are invited to experience art in a casual, non-institutional setting. By showing works from around the world in an ecologically-restored landmark house in Berkeley the foundation seeks to help highlight the East Bay internationally as a growing nucleus of vibrant contemporary art.

Address: 1808 5th Street, Berkeley, California 94710
Opening Reception: September 8, 2001, 6-9 p.m.
Visiting Times: Wednesday—Saturday, 11am-6pm.
Artist’s Talk: September 29, 2001, 2pm.
Exhibition Dates: September 8—November 3, 2001