1980s Video Games Celebrated at New Echo Park Gallery Tonight

iam8bit Productions, a popular publishing and production company, hosted a preview of their new work and exhibition space in Echo Park on Wednesday evening. The 4,500-square foot space officially opens today, Thursday.

Click to find out more information about the opening extravaganza.

Intended for artists, friends and members of the press, Wednesday's VIP preview was a gala event of twenty and thirty somethings musing over artwork by the over 100 artists in the show called Super iam8bit.

Building on four previous iam8bit shows presented by company founder Jon Gibson, the show is a celebration of popular culture and the universe of video games as well as our country's obsession with genre, diversion and recreational activities confined to couches.

This new show--the first one in three years--is called "Super" because of its size and the large venue where it is mounted.

The art, aside from being entertaining, is for the most part aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Even without a basic knowledge of video games, you can see the technical talent of the artists included in the show.

“This art of ripe for interpretation,” said Tim Lapetino, principal designer for Hexanine, a design company that designed the Super iam8bit catalog. “People can relate to these works on a character level. They’re about personalities, and though they’re simple, people impregnate them with meaning.”

So many of these characters from video games appear as archetypes--including Super Mario, Link from The Legend of Zelda and Mega Man.

Some of the artwork approached the concept in more abstract ways, such as Darick Maasen’s antique taxidermied turtle with attached chicken wings, paying homage to Super Mario’s Koopa Troopas. Maasen claimed to have found his antique materials in New York City.

“It’s very exciting to get invited to an 8bit show,” he said. “You hear all that stuff like ‘its just art for fluff,’ but Leonardo Da Vinci and all the rest of the masters were doing basically the same thing, which was just painting what was relevant at the time."

“Art is whatever moves you,” said Stephanie Farfan, who was working at the event as a promoter, pointing people towards the upstairs parking lot where a larger than life Atari controller was constructed for the amusement of guests. “Growing up with video games and seeing them presented in this new way makes me happy.”

iam8bit’s gallery and production space is located at 2147 Sunset Boulevard, between Mohawk Street and Alvarado Street. The grand opening begins Thursday night, August 11, at 7 p.m.