Meet Bob Dob: The heavy metal mastermind bringing music-loving monsters to Los Feliz.
SoCal artist and rocker returns to La Luz de Jesus Gallery with “Origins,” a wickedly fun solo exhibition that’s equal parts rock ‘n’ roll, pop surrealism, and beautifully twisted creativity.
Isn’t it the best feeling when you stumble across a band or an artist so outrageously talented that you immediately start texting friends, saying, “You have to see this”?
That’s exactly what happened here at Sunset and Clark when we first discovered the wildly imaginative paintings of Southern California artist Bob Dob, and we’re still hooked with his ever-evolving body of work.
The out-and-proud metalhead, artist, and longtime punk musician is returning to one of our favorite L.A. hot spots—La Luz de Jesus Gallery inside WACKO in Los Feliz—with a new solo exhibition titled Origins.
The show opens July 3 with a free reception from 7 to 11 p.m., where fans can meet the artist, mingle with fellow local art lovers, and get an up-close look at his latest collection.
Dob’s paintings are a creative collision of heavy metal attitude, punk-rock energy, pop surrealism, and dark humor. His colorful cast of demons, monsters, and misfits feel like they wandered out of a late-night party at the Rainbow Bar and Grill, proudly sporting Misfits and Slayer T-shirts and mischievous grins. They’re creepy, funny, strangely fascinating, and undeniably rockin’.
It makes perfect sense that Dob’s work is so deeply rooted in rock culture. Born Bob Dobbie, he’s spent more than a decade playing in the Southern California punk band Lunacy.
Growing up in Hermosa Beach and immersed in the L.A. music scene, music became every bit as influential to his artistic vision as paint and canvas.
“I love to create worlds where the dark side of human nature is present,” Dob writes on his website. “Life isn’t always good times… that’s why my characters have an adolescent quality to them.”
A graduate of Otis College of Art and Design, Dob has built a career putting his wonderfully warped spin on everything from pop culture icons and video game characters to Disney favorites, beach culture, and Americana.
Origins also marks a homecoming of sorts. Dob first exhibited at La Luz de Jesus Gallery in 2004, and now returns with a fresh collection of music-inspired works that feel perfectly at home inside the legendary gallery that’s helped define L.A.’s underground art scene for decades.
The exhibition runs through August 2 at La Luz de Jesus Gallery, located inside WACKO at 4633 Hollywood Blvd. Admission to the July 3 opening reception is free, and all artwork will be available for purchase.
Over the years, Dob’s work has found its way into the collections of entertainment heavyweights including Conan O’Brien and Nick Cassavetes.If your idea of great art includes a healthy dose of heavy metal, punk rock, monsters, and beautifully unhinged imagination, make room on your calendar. Bob Dob’s Origins looks like one helluva visual rollercoaster ride.
Check out more of Dob’s work or RSVP: