Individual Sole

To celebrate it’s 10th Anniversary, Upper Playground has teamed up with several artists to create vinyl figures commemorating the event.  The first in the series, Alex Pardee has created the Walrus Rider, a two-faced creature, whose legs were stolen, seeking vengeance and searching for his legs atop his walrus associate. The figure is approximately 11″ tall and has bendy arms and a removable tusk, which fits into the rider’s hand.

The Walrus Rider is available in two colors: Teal and black.  The teal / magenta figure is being produced in an edition of 500 pieces.  A second colorway of black/green is an Upper Playground exclusive and is being produced in an edition of 113 pieces.  The Upper Playground exclusive colorway is releasing on Saturday, May 30th and Alex Pardee will be at Upper Playground’s flagship San Francisco store for a signing from 12 to 2 PM.  Alex Pardee is also taking a trip down to Los Angeles to do a signing at Munky King on Saturday, June 13th.

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Sam Flores is known for his instantly recognizable characters and he continues to carve out his place in contemporary art.  In this week’s edition of Walrus TV, the Sam Flores’ interview from Dithers is available to the public for the first time for free.  Listen in as Sam recounts how he got his start when he first came to San Francisco - all while he paints in his studio.  Flores also discusses his typical day, inspiration and what his ideal painting conditions are.

In conjunction with his latest show, Ego, Addition and Other Bedtime Stories at Subliminal Projects, Sam Flores releases Dragon Tree - a print that depicts the classic struggle between light and dark.  According to Sam, this girl is trying to hide the last beautiful thing left in her world. But if you look closely at the art, you will see that something sinister has just found her.  The print is 12 colors, screenprinted, on 100lb cover stock and measures 18 inches tall x 18 inches wide. There is a limited run of 50, and all prints are signed and numbered.  The print is available for sale at the Upper Playground Web Store.

On May 2–3, Upper Playground is hosting Stoked Sessions Los Angeles 2009, an art auction and fundraiser for Stoked Mentoring.  Every year Stoked teams up with the best artists in action sports, street and fine art to produce original pieces, with 100% of the sales benefiting Stoked Mentoring.  This year, Upper Playground is proud to present Stoked Sessions: “I Love LA” at their flagship Los Angeles location.  EVENT DETAILS AFTER THE JUMP!

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Upper Playground is releasing its newest collection of premium hoodies as part of the DWP series.  Perfect for “dinner with the parents” occasions, the DWP Premium Hoodies are constructed from the finest menswear fabrics to give the basic hoodie a “grown-up” touch.  The DWP Premium Hoodies are fully lined and details include an interior pocket and UP art label, chest welt pocket and 2 side welt pockets.  The DWP Premium Hoodies come in 4 fabrications:  Hobbs Corduroy, York Pinstripe Herringbone, Windsor Birdseye Tweed and Brighton Plaid.  For the first time, the DWP Hoodies are available for women.  The new collection is available now exclusively at Upper Playground retail stores in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, and online at the Upper Playground web store.
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Video Part 1 of 3 – Learning Spray Paint:

The Walrus TV interviews are a taste of what’s to come in the upcoming viewing of Upper Playground Presents - Dirty Hands: The Art and Crimes of David Choe.  In this award winning film, Choe’s hard work and radical antics have been recorded by Harry Kim, who follows David Choe’s trail, documenting eight years of mayhem and artistic awesomeness. The film helps to express Choe’s unwillingness to grow up, his struggle to make it as an artist and his fight to hold on to his sanity for his life and burgeoning art career.  The film is part of the San Francisco Asian American Film Festival and Bay Area residents can enter to win two sets of tickets to the film from Upper  Playground.

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The Upper Playground March series of New Era caps includes three new styles – each featuring the art of 3 San Francisco based artists: Jeremy Fish, Sam Flores and Denis Kennedy.  Jeremy Fish’s Bee Team cap is for all the kids who know what it feels like to get picked last for kickball. Buy the cap and strike back against gym class bullies everywhere.  Sam Flores’ Beat Cycle cap features a wrap-around graphic from Sam Flores’ 12Grain Line. In the simplest of terms, it’s an ode to the way music lovers really feel about a good record – they want to take it with them wherever they go.  Finally, Upper Playground is releasing a favorite among the cast of its scratch and sniff   characters - Grape Drink – paying homage to the last of the liquor store favorites.

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