Get those arm’s ready for some serious squeezin’ because this December 1st we will kick off our 5th annual holiday plush show, “Luv-able and Hug-able,” featuring handmade plushes from a wide range of plush artists and crafters worldwide.  Participants in our past shows include Anna Hrachovec [Mochimochiland], Made by Moxie, Elizabeth Doherty, Katy Park, Hine Mizushima, and many more big names in plush. This annual plus show is one of the most renowned annual shows of its kind in the US, and we hope you will join us for it.

Fiber artist Anna Hrachovec will create a miniature epic battle scene rife with cuteness and chaos! Sworn enemies Gnomes and Snowmen fight it out for control over carrot supplies and herds of cuddly bunnies with as much pathos and violence as knitted toys can summon. Inspired by the 11th century Bayeux Tapestry depicting the Norman conquest of England, the installation is a study of iconic characters and their physical limits within the technical constraints of knitting.  The three-dimensional, linear scene plays out along the walls of gallery hanahou in a series of 40-plus panels.

For her solo show A Thousand Ships, New York-based artist Samantha Hahn brings forth an extensive volume of illustrated vignettes to gallery hanahou—featuring airy depictions of timeless beauties, brightly hued inspiration, and charmingly effervescent daily drawings.  The hanahou Hahn salon will include the artist’s signature watercolor bursts, homegrown hand type, and whimsical recreations of ephemera captured in her sketchbook from weekly trips to the Brooklyn Flea. Glimpse through sumptuous watercolors and inks drawn on everything from richly textured French papers, to salvaged scrap, and artful letter press and then finished off in clean metal, vintage, and reclaimed barn wood frames.

To celebrate the sunlight and joy that springtime brings, we will be opening a light-hearted show of prints, independently published magazines and zines, limited-run cards, and other ephemera by some of the artists we love. As the cherry blossoms are sprouting, gallery hanahou’s space will transform into a bright and colorful, pop-up boutique filled with our curated selection of items. Stop by and pick up some unique magazines to read in the park, find some cute artist postcards to send out to friends, or choose a bright new print to freshen up a room for the new season.

Beginning March 3rd, gallery hanahou will host a group show of needle-felting works by four artists who are shaping the medium in significant ways: Moxie, Hine Mizushima, Kit Lane, and Yoko Nomura. Using wool and basic tools, these artists have created worlds and creatures that defy conventional ideas about the craft. The exhibition will be comprised of four mini solo shows that express each artist’s personal sense of humor, wonder, or adventure through soft sculpture.

Curated by renowned artist, fashion illustrator, and educator Bil Donovan, “Fashion Illustration Today: Visual Poetry” brings together 13 of the most talented and innovative artists working in fashion illustration today for an exhibition that showcases the uniqueness and visual poetry of the art of fashion illustration.

More than 50 artists will be stuffing gallery hanahou with their original handmade plushes this year, and what’s more, this year’s show will have a special theme of “Luv-able & Hug-able & Wearable”: many of the cute and kooky plush creatures will double as fashion accessories, making perfect gifts for your entire holiday list.

Opening: Thursday, December 1, 6-9 pm (RSVP info@galleryhanahou.com)

Get those arm’s ready for some serious squeezin’ because this December 1st we will kick off our 5th annual holiday plush show, “Luv-able and Hug-able,” featuring handmade plushes from a wide range of plush artists and crafters worldwide.

Participants in our past shows include Anna Hrachovec [Mochimochiland], Made by Moxie, Elizabeth Doherty, Katy Park, Hine Mizushima, and many more big names in plush. This annual plus show is one of the most renowned annual shows of its kind in the US, and we hope you will join us for it.

This year, being our big 5th birthday of the show, there is no specific theme, we have invited all of our favorite fiber artists to create the pieces they loooove the most, the ones that put them on the map, their biggest sellers…the best of the best.

So please join us on December 1st for the opening party, where plushes big & small can be taken home on the spot for immediate hugging (or giving)!

For more information or images please email us at info@galleryhanahou.com

Opening reception, Thursday, November 3rd, 6-8 pm
RSVP: info@galleryhanahou.com

In conjunction with this year’s Pictoplasma NYC festival, we’re ecstatic to be hosting another exhibit of artist Anna Hrachovec‘s Mochimochi Land knitted wonder: “Gnomes vs. Snowmen.”

Fiber artist Anna Hrachovec will create a miniature epic battle scene rife with cuteness and chaos! Sworn enemies Gnomes and Snowmen fight it out for control over carrot supplies and herds of cuddly bunnies with as much pathos and violence as knitted toys can summon. Inspired by the 11th century Bayeux Tapestry depicting the Norman conquest of England, the installation is a study of iconic characters and their physical limits within the technical constraints of knitting.  The three-dimensional, linear scene plays out along the walls of gallery hanahou in a series of 40-plus panels.

Anna uses the medium of knitting in surprising ways to orchestrate a struggle rich with humor and cartoon violence among her deceptively simple characters. Melting snowmen, flattened gnomes, candy cane fights, and a super-secret third invader are just some of the fun that awaits.

About Anna Hrachovec
www.annahrachovec.com

Anna Hrachovec is a Brooklyn-based designer and artist who combines a wacky sense of humor, unusual design elements, and Japanese kawaii aesthetics to create knitted creatures that all ages can get excited about. After growing bored with her hobby of knitting scarves and hats a few years back, since 2007 she has been making squishy bathtubs, stacking cats, and other seriously silly toys out of yarn and needles.

Anna divides her time between designing patterns that she shares with an enthusiastic crafting community and creating more complex knitted pieces for exhibition. Her character-based soft sculptures and installations have been exhibited in galleries around the US and in Europe and Asia.  Originally exhibited at gallery hanahou in 2010, mochimochiland shows have also been exhibited at Smallspace Gallery in Berlin for the pictoplasma festival gallery walk, as well as at the Lion Brand Yarn Studio in New York City.

She has written two books of patterns for knitted toys, Knitting Mochimochi and Teeny-Tiny Mochimochi.

About Mochimochi Land

www.mochimochiland.com

Anna Hrachovec created Mochimochi Land in 2007 when the creatures she knitted took over her imagination and refused to leave. In Mochimochi Land, every animal, tree, and object has a personality, although more often than not, it’s a flawed personality that would probably benefit from therapy. Iterations of this world emerge in Anna’s artwork and on her blog (at mochimochiland.com), where she encourages knitters to go forth and create their own lands.

Opening reception: Thursday September 22, 7-9 pm 
RSVP: info@galleryhanahou.com

Was this the face that launch’d a thousand ships
And burnt the topless towers of Ilium?
Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss.
- Christopher Marlowe, on Helen of Troy in Doctor Faustus

For her solo show A Thousand Ships, New York-based artist Samantha Hahn brings forth an extensive volume of illustrated vignettes to gallery hanahou—featuring airy depictions of timeless beauties, brightly hued inspiration, and charmingly effervescent daily drawings.

We invite you to sail over to Hahn’s world where legions of candy colored fashion girls, storybook heroines—Helen of Troy, Daisy Buchanan, and Scout Finch—and style savvy bloggers come together in one space. Shuffle by portrait after portrait of her urban runway queens and Harajuku scenesters, as they take part in full on fashion parades.

The hanahou Hahn salon will include the artist’s signature watercolor bursts, homegrown hand type, and whimsical recreations of ephemera captured in her sketchbook from weekly trips to the Brooklyn Flea. Glimpse through sumptuous watercolors and inks drawn on everything from richly textured French papers, to salvaged scrap, and artful letter press and then finished off in clean metal, vintage, and reclaimed barn wood frames.

For more information and hi res press images, please contact press@cwc-i.com.

About Samantha Hahn

Samantha is a New York based artist whose illustrations feature feminine subjects in delicate pens, dreamy colored inks, and winsome watercolors. Her work is inspired by vintage fashion photography, nature, and her urban surroundings.

Samantha studied illustration and earned her BFA from Syracuse University and went on to earn an MA in Art Education from Columbia University’s Teachers College. Her illustrations have been featured in various publications such as Glamour, Bust, Marie Claire, Condé Nast Traveler, Surface, Stella, and Prevention, and she has worked with clients such as APM department store (Hong Kong), Anthropologie, Barnes & Noble, Galison, Te Neues, 2k by Gingham, Johnson & Johnson, Saatchi & Saatchi, Brand New School, Sakura Bloom, Shutterfly, and book publishers Crown and St. Martin’s Press.

Samantha has shown her fine art in group shows, including Lady at Charles Nolan; Aesopica at Rare Device; and 20/10 and Fashion Illustration: Visual Poetry at gallery hanahou. She also participated as a guest artist at Working Proof Gallery and in Berlin-based Bilderklub’s daily drawing archive.