Geoff McFetridge
April 29, 2009
Satchel DeVere
Professor Jenkins
Digital art and Design
22 April 2009
Geoff McFetridge and Champion Graphics
Geoff McFetridge is a Canadian born artist who now resides in Los Angeles California. McFetridge’s work usually revolves around people, teeth, and unbelievably imaginative creatures. A constant in his work is that pieces are usually one solid color or in blocks of defined color.
Geoff McFetridge obtained his education at the Alberta College of Art and the California Institute of the Arts, and quickly started climbing to the top of his game. Once McFetridge finished his education in 1995, he wasted no time and began his own graphic design studio, Champion Graphics, in 1996. He is best known for establishing Champion Graphics which now does work for a number of well known corporation. Champion Graphics is located in Atwater, California. The creation of the company was the beginning of an incredible digital art career.
Champion Graphics was successful and McFetridge blew up, with art appearing in both solo and group shows. His recorded shows are:
Group Shows:
Move in 2001
Communication What, and Streetwise 1 in 2002
National Design Triennial, and California Design Biennial 2003 in 2003
Beautiful Losers: Contemporary Art and Street Culture in 2004
Sea Donkeys on Airplane Wings(people that surf that make stuff) in 2005
Making Do in 2006
California Design Biennial 2007 in 2007
Two Lines Align in 2008
Solo Shows:
Bury Me in The Sand, and In the Mind in 2008
Bend the Void in 2007
That Line Rhymes in 2006
All Smiles Have Teeth in 2005
The Mind Trip: There and Back in 2004
A Way of Life in 2001
The Rock Machine in 2000
30 days 30 shows in 1999
Geoff McFetridge is well respected by critics, viewers, and fellow artists alike. His wide range of talent has landed him designing jobs for magazines, posters, t-shirts, textiles, motion graphics and advertising as well as film production. He has been recognized for having unique imagery in his work such as hands, teeth, and animals. McFetridge’s work interested me personally because of its style. Many of his pieces are extremely colorful, while other sets rely mainly on silhouettes, and usually contain odd or creative characters. A first glance leaves viewers intrigued and wanting more of this crazy artwork. It may seem sporadic, but the consistency throughout each piece brings a calm steadiness to the work as a whole. Geoff’s imaginative works inspire many angles of view and possible interpretations for each viewer.
A particular piece I enjoyed resembles a large blue bike with what appears to be trumpets spiraling upwards from it via a strange pipe dream maze. This piece reminds me of the imaginative vehicles that the who’s rode in “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”. As a favorite childhood movie, many images have stuck in my head, and this is one of them. The size, and blue on white color scheme ultimately make this piece stand out and demand recognition at a gallery show. Looking at an entire show would reveal that many other pieces also share the blue and white color layout.
Champion Graphics is now a powerhouse graphic design corporation. The company designs graphics and logos for a number of well known corporations and businesses. A few of the mentioned companies are: Boards Magazine, Bohiemian Modern : The Homes of Silverlake, Colette, Comcast, Hewlet Packard, Intel, Monster Dice, MTV, Napster, Nike, New York Times, Patagonia, Pepsi, Salomon, Solitary Arts, Vans, and Whitest Boy Alive.
Geoff McFetridge’s work can range in scale and focus, but the style and creativity remains constant. The obscure and colorful pieces are eye catching and appealing, which is probably why Geoff’s company Champion Graphics was such a success. With this much success in his first decade of producing art it is hard to imagine what else he will accomplish with the rest of his career.
