Rob Reger
"The Encyclopedia of Hallucinations"
(Excerpts from 3 Chapters)
Chapter 9: The Exquisite Corpse
Chapter 11: Everything's Connected
Chapter 13: Strange Fascination

September 2 - October 3, 2011
Artist Reception: Friday, September 2nd; 8-11 PM


Mixing clean design with a pop culture neo-surrealist sensibility, the concept for Rob Reger's "The Encyclopedia of Hallucinations" has its roots in Reger's childhood camping trips when his father taught him to draw forms from a squiggle with a stick in dirt. The future artist and his father drew mainly faces, animals, and monsters and then created narratives from these figures.

As a result, Reger learned to experience pareidolia, to 'find things in other things,' a concept that is still with him to this day. "The Encyclopedia of Hallucinations" gives the viewer a glimpse into this visual and psychological practice that has become second nature in Reger's own visions. Imagination is Rob's inspiration, and though his suggestive abstract forms, Reger gives his viewers the freedom them to find their own visions. States the artist: "Looking back, I see this early experience as shaping my fascination with suggesting recognizable forms in abstract work and the tendency to personify forms and 'find' figures within general chaos. I inspire others, through specific forms that suggest forms, to use their imagination to find their own forms."

Reger's art aesthetic and his design house, Cosmic Debris, grew from a tangle of roots joining the DIY punk scene of the '80s with guerilla art, surrealism, and the psychedelic explosion of the '60s. As the founder, Creative Director, and President of Cosmic Debris, Reger introduced the world to Emily the Strange —an icon of empowerment for young alternative girls and outsiders of all ages. Like the little black-haired muse herself, Reger fuels his imagination with music, the natural environment, science and the artistic explorations of his friends and other inspiring figures.

Reger received a BFA from University of California, Santa Cruz and a MFA in printmaking from the San Francisco Art Institute. His oil paintings, printmaking, watercolors, and collage have exhibited in galleries around the world, including: Tokyo, Paris, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco, Berlin, Milan, Hong Kong, Sydney, and Santa Cruz.

Attendees will be asked to write a short description of what they see in Reger's paintings. The best of these writings will be documented on the La Luz de Jesus website.

Contact Gallery Director Matt Kennedy for availability and purchase info: (323) 666-7667

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The Peacekeeper Cel vinyl acrylic on canvas 22" x 28" $2,000.00	Darwin Gardens: The Sun Salutations Cel vinyl acrylic on panel 18" x 48" $5,000.00	Friend of a Friend of a Friend Cel vinyl acrylic on canvas 24" x 36" $2,200.00
Strange Bast Cel vinyl acrylic on panel 16" x 20" $1,250.00 Sold	The Power of Strange Cel vinyl acrylic on panel 16" x 20" $1,000.00	Dark Times Cel vinyl acrylic on panel 16" x 20" $1,100.00
Prosperity Cel vinyl acrylic on wood 16" x 20" $1,000.00	Who's the Boss? Cel vinyl acrylic on panel 16" x 20" $1,300.00	The Wizard of Odd Cel vinyl acrylic on panel 12" x 16" $850.00
Caught in the Middle Cel vinyl acrylic on panel 16" x 16" $1,150.00	One Informs the Other Cel vinyl acrylic on panel 12" x 16" $1,150.00	It Takes All Types Cel vinyl on wood 12" x 12" $1,100.00
Lost at Last Mixed media on panel 16" x 20" $900.00	Mother Nature's Abyss Mixed media on panel 16" x 16" $850.00	The Heavenly Father's Unknown Pleasures Mixed media on panel 16" x 20" $900.00
Hallowed Be Thy Name Mixed media on panel 20" x 16" $900.00	Gorganism Cel vinyl acrylic on panel 8" x 8" $500.00 Sold	Know Your Enemy: The Chase Cel vinyl acrylic on canvas 28" x 22" $1,800.00
The Gateway (in 4 directions) View 1, 2, 3, 4 Cel vinyl acrylic on panel 9" x 12" $650.00	The Tidepools (in 4 directions) View 1, 2, 3, 4 Cel vinyl acrylic on panel 8" x 8" $550.00	The Fortune Teller Packs a Heart View 1, 2, 3, 4 Cel vinyl acrylic on panel 11" x 14" $650.00
Getting There (in 4 directions) View 1, 2, 3, 4 Cel vinyl acrylic on panel 4" x 4" $350.00	Playing the Band (in 4 directions) View 1, 2, 3, 4 Cel vinyl acrylic on panel 4" x 4" $350.00	Interstellar (in 4 directions) View 1, 2, 3, 4 Cel vinyl acrylic on panel 4" x 4" $350.00
The Missing Link (in 4 directions) View 1, 2, 3, 4 Cel vinyl acrylic on panel 4" x 4" $400.00	Power Struggle Cel vinyl acrylic on panel 6" x 6" $450.00	Overdrive Species (in 4 directions) View 1, 2, 3, 4 Cel vinyl acrylic on panel 4" x 4" $400.00
Darwin Gardens: The Making Of Cel vinyl acrylic on panel 6" x 12" $600.00 Sold	Imago Milagro View 1, 2, Cel vinyl acrylic on panel 8" x 8" $550.00	Darwin Gardens: Weed Cel vinyl acrylic on panel 6" x 12" $600.00
	The Beast Ate the Dinosaur Ate the Bear Ate the Dog Ate the Cat Ate the Mouse Ate the Spider and Pooped Out Planet Earth Cel vinyl on panel 11" x 14" $700.00