Galvanized Monstrocities

A three person exhibition of works by James Callahan, Matt Deans and Bizhan Khodabandeh. These illustrators have been highly influenced by sequential art, an art form beginning to receive recognition through long standing institutions such as the Eisner Awards, established in 1988. Galvanized Monstrosities moves sequential art and illustration from their origins on newsprint to the art print and installation.

7-10pm Friday, April 9th
At Black Hand Coffee Shop
606 North Sheppard Street
Richmond, VA 23221-1712

Artist BIOS

El Aquador

James Callahan, creator of Barf Comics, is an artist and writer for a host of international publications including his own graphic novel "Rotting in Dirtville", and the comics Booyah the Oblitorator, and the Barf Comics annual. In addition, he is art director of the skate magazine Born Ugly, owner of Nowhere Skateboards, and lends his skills to a bevy of commisioned illustration projects. Known as a connoisseur of cookouts, purveyor of comedy, and antiquarian of wasted time, the man known as Barf is currently on the "no entry" list to multiple countries and nation states.




Gills And Wings

Matt Deans is a full-time digital printer, part-time screenprinter and part-part-time illustrator. When the world was young in 2004, he started a screenprinting art club with some like-minded friends and it was called Team 8. Under the monicker of Team 8, he has contributed art for several t-shirts, album covers, poster, websites and public restroom stalls. Team 8 currently exists as an independent small business specializing in hand-printed gig posters and art prints. In 2008, Team 8 and Velocity Comics published a series of minicomics, one of those said minicomics being Tom Batten and Matt's La Viande est Mauvaise, which received outstanding critical praise from Matt's mom.




Nong Toom

Bizhan Khodabandeh is a visual communicator who moves freely across the professional boundaries as a designer, illustrator, artist and activist. His works vary from small graphic art projects to major public campaigns such as the internationally recognized, "I Dream of a Richmond . . ." project. Khodabandeh is particularly facinated by how art and design can be a catalyst for social change.

He was recently honored as one of the "Top 40 Under 40" Class of 2009 by Style Weekly Magazine. The descriptive article included....."In a town filled with noteworthy visual designers, Khodabandeh is one of the most influential — and prolific."

The work included in Galvanized Monstrosities, exhibits some of his illustrations and fine art prints. These prints exhibit frustration as dissent and surrealistic environments as escape. Most of the work is a combination of traditional and digital media, walking the fine line between commercial and fine art.

Khodabandeh is currently working on a graphic adaptation of Samad Behranghi's, The Little Black Fish, a children's story about questioning authority and finding the answers through exploration.

He teaches at Virginia Commonwealth University and Appomattox Regional Governors School. He is also the Design Director of Gallery5 and freelances under the name, Mended Arrow Design.