Designer Toys, Art & Pop Culture

December Exhibit: Sad Salesman & Horrible Adorables

The Sad & Horrible Show

New Works by Sad Salesman & Horrible Adorables
December 19, 2020-January 10, 2021

As we were planning the end of our exhibit calendar for this year we couldn’t have known just how insane 2020 would be, but we’re ending the year on something Sad and Horrible regardless, very apropos. But there is literally nothing sad or horrible about the works of Sad Salesman and Horrible Adorables — both make some of the cutest things on the planet and we can’t wait to show you what they’ve been up to!



The exhibit will be open for viewing and sales beginning Saturday, December 19, 10am-6pm, but we are being cautious and will not be holding an opening reception. There will be many pieces in the exhibit that are cash and carry, so it’ll be a great show for a little gift shopping!

Can’t make it to the gallery? Sign up for our gallery previews email list at previews.rotofugi.com to receive an email when works are available to purchase online! We try to have a preview out the day before an exhibit opens, though sometimes it doesn’t go out until sometime after the opening.



The gallery is open for viewing at Rotofugi, 2780 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago, 10am-6pm daily, or view online at gallery.rotofugi.com.



About the Artists

Sad Salesman is New York-based artist Eric Althin…he believes there is a little sad salesman in everyone. He created a  tragic but tenacious fellow, who ended up becoming his mascot/logo/website. He has always been a character lover and for most of his life, a toy collector. As a kid it was He-man and Star Wars toys, then it became designer toys and sofubi. He started sculpting his own toy designs and fell in love with bringing new characters into the world to make your inner sad salesman smile :)

Horrible Adorables are the creations of Jordan Elise Perme and Christopher Lees, a wife and husband team from Cleveland. They met at the Cleveland Institute of Art where Jordan graduated with her BFA in Fiber & Material Studies, and Chris was pursuing training in fine arts after completing his BS in Mechanical Engineering.

Jordan and Chris bring their soft sculptures to life by meticulously arranging patterns of felt scales onto hand carved forms. The resulting characters have qualities that are booth cartoonish and eerily realistic at the same time. Horrible Adorables are strange hybrid creatures from a fantastical world. Their facial expressions and postures reveal recognizably human emotions as they interact with one another.

In addition to Horrible Adorables, Jordan also works as a freelance toy and textile deisgner. She has proudly worked for companies such as Little Tikes, Hasbro and Joann Fabrics.


November Exhibit: Daniel Danger

Half Curtained and Breathless

New Works by Daniel Danger
November 21-December 13, 2020

We’re always excited to have a new exhibit, but we’re particularly pleased to be announcing that our next exhibit will feature new works by Massachusetts-based illustrator and print-maker Daniel Danger. We’ve previously shown Daniel’s art in two solo exhibits and each time he has wowed us with his meticulous style and command of a limited color palette. This is a show you don’t want to miss!



The exhibit will be open for viewing and sales beginning Saturday, November 21st, 10am-6pm, but we are being cautious and will not be holding an opening reception.

Online sales will start on Sunday, November 22nd— sign up for our gallery previews email list at http://previews.rotofugi.com to receive an email when works are available to purchase online!



The gallery is open for viewing at Rotofugi, 2780 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago, 10am-6pm daily, or view online at gallery.rotofugi.com



About the Artist / Artist Statement



Daniel Danger is an illustrator and print-maker living in the woods of Massachusetts. The son of a middle school art teacher and a professional potter, he was probably never going to be an accountant. His explanation of his own work is borderline nonsense and involves overlapping timelines, references to SIERRA point n' click adventure games, number stations in the desert oscillating whispered converations, the death of ghosts at the hands of foliage, giant trauma shadow beings born of kidnapped children that drip wolf shadows, and 1920s childrens books.  He is the lost boy-king of Ghost Island, and a broken brain'd hoarder of vintage music gear, old toy ambulances, and bad hardcore records. Him and his wife have a dog named after noted character actor Toby Huss.

Daniel plays or has played in the following bands: Caspermask, A City Safe From Sea, The Saddest Landscape, IDNOCLIP, Squall, XcrimedogX, & Some Stranger.


October Exhibit: Cherry Moth Cake

Supermurgitroid

New Works by Cherry Moth Cake
October 17-November 15, 2020

It’s October and that means more awesome work from our good friends Nick and Lindsay DiFabbio, aka Cherry Moth Cake! In what has become a fall tradition, we’re welcoming this dynamic duo back once again to fill our gallery with the weird, wonderful and gnarly like only they can do!

Opening Day Sales Information

While we will not be holding an opening reception, we will be open at 10am on opening day (Saturday, October 17) with new paintings, toys, shirts, and more — we look forward to seeing you!

Please Note: If you plan to attend on the opening morning, masks are required to enter our space, and social distancing will be enforced. There will be clear markings outside our store to help you distance if you plan to line up. We respectfully ask that you please maintain your distance from anyone that is not in the party you arrived with. We will be allowing a small number of patrons into the shop at a time to view and purchase works and you will be requested to not congregate in the space after your purchase. It stinks, we know, but we want both you and our staff to be safe.

Online Sales Information

Originals and toys are available now to reserve via email... see the exhibit page on the Rotofugi Gallery website for availability, thank you!

Pins, bandanas, prints and shirts will be made available to purchase via rotofugi.com (link) between 6pm and 7pm Central Time on Saturday, October 17. All items will be limited to one per customer for online sales.


September Exhibit: Hori Miso

Robots, Samurai & The Inbetween

New Works by Hori Miso
September 19-October 11, 2020

We are excited to be welcoming Chicago-based artist Hori Miso to our walls beginning Saturday, September 19. Primarily working with wheat-pasted pieces on the streets of Chicago, Hori Miso blends pop culture, hip hop, Tokyo street art and the Japanese aesthetic.

While we will be open for viewing on Saturday the 19th, 10am-6pm, we are being cautious and will not be holding an opening reception — so make sure to sign up for our gallery previews email list at http://previews.rotofugi.com for first notice when works are available to purchase!

The gallery is open for viewing at Rotofugi, 2780 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago, 10am-6pm daily, or view online at gallery.rotofugi.com

About the Artist / Artist Statement

“Growing up in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood, I have always been drawn to the pulse of the city. My primary focus is wheat-pasting, applying an image, usually on a public space, with homemade paste. I have expanded mediums to canvas work and murals, but I enjoy wheat-pasting the most because of it’s organic, temporal nature. The lifespan of my wheat-pasted pieces is unpredictable…some fade with grace while other are gone too soon, but either way I try to compliment the landscape they call home. Wheat-pasting allows me to put an idea to paper, bring it to life with paint, and share it by choosing just the right location to provide context. The application process allows me to literally get my hands dirty and contribute to the sights and sounds of the city.”

“My self-taught work is influenced by pop culture, hip hop, Tokyo street art and the Japanese aesthetic. While my work can currently be seen around the city of Chicago, I’ve had the opportunity to wheat-paste in some of my favorite spots in Tokyo, leaving behind a little of myself in a place that’s given me so much.“

“Creativity feeds the soul and I am constantly finding inspiration in the ‘every day.’ Robots and Samurai are rad, but don’t forget the inbetween.“

- Hori Miso, Chicago, September 2020


August Exhibit: Shawnimals

Support Systems

New Works by Shawnimals

August 15-September 13, 2020

Longtime Rotofugi friend and collaborator Shawnimals is back in August with an all new exhibit of paintings based on his “All Shapes” motif. They're simple and fun, yet all about friends, community, celebrating and accepting our differences, and remembering that we really do need each other. In short, be kind because it takes all shapes!

While we will be open for viewing on Saturday the 15th, 10am-6pm, we will not be holding an opening reception so make sure to sign up for our gallery previews email list at http://previews.rotofugi.com for first notice when works are available to purchase.


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